Spain offered on Tuesday to sell Colombia 21 used military planes and donate four helicopters in a friendship gesture to help the Andean country fight cocaine-smuggling Marxist guerrillas, according to Reuters. "We are not doing a business deal here. We are doing something that shows solidarity in the face of terrorism and in favor of peace," Spanish Defense Minister Jose Bono told reporters in Bogota. The day before, Bono signed a $2 billion deal in Caracas with left-wing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to sell his country naval ships and transport aircraft, a transaction the United States worries could threaten regional stability. Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe is seen by the United States as its top South American security ally. Bono denied that the gesture was aimed at counterbalancing Spain's dealings with Chavez. He has previously argued that Venezuela could use the vessels and aircraft for rescue and anti-drug operations.
