Colombia asks US for explanation after reports it was targeted by NSA spying

(Guardian) Colombia has expressed concern and called for an explanation after revelations the US spied on the Andean nation, its closest military ally in Latin America.

In a brief statement on Wednesday, Colombia's foreign ministry said it "registered its concern" that there had been an "unauthorised data collection programme" and asked the US government to give an account of its actions through its embassy in Bogota.

The Brazilian newspaper O Globo reported on Tuesday that the US National Security Agency targeted most Latin American countries with spying programmes that monitored internet traffic, especially in Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil and Mexico.

Citing documents leaked by Edward Snowden, the fugitive former US intelligence contractor, O Globo said the NSA programmes went beyond military affairs in the region to what it termed "commercial secrets", including oil and energy.

Colombia is considered a top US military and diplomatic ally in the region after a decade of joint operations against Marxist rebels and drug trafficking gangs.

"In rejecting the acts of espionage that violate people's rights and intimacy as well as the international conventions on telecommunication, Colombia requests the corresponding explanations from the United States government through its ambassador to Colombia," the foreign ministry said.

Regional leaders called for a tough response to the alleged espionage, which O Globo said included a satellite monitoring station based in Brazil's capital.

Snowden is thought to be negotiating his exit from a transit area in a Moscow airport. He has been offered asylum in Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua.

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