Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Colombian President Alvaro Uribe called on Venezuela and Ecuador to fight narco-terrorism and said he wants similar defense accords with the region as he has with the U.S.

“The first message is that Ecuador and Venezuela are our brothers and that we are in a battle against terrorism,” Uribe said in comments carried on the presidential Web site.

Seeking to ease tensions in the region over his plans to allow the U.S. to use seven bases in Colombia to counter narcotics operations, Uribe said he will use all diplomatic channels to explain to Latin America that the agreement completed yesterday with the U.S. is beneficial to the entire region.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said last month he would “freeze” relations with Colombia over Colombia’s plans. Uribe will attend an Aug. 28 meeting of the 12-member Union of South American Nations in Bariloche, Argentina to discuss the bases.

“We want to have agreements with Brazil, with the entire South American continent,” said Uribe. “It would be good if the defense council of South America could quickly integrate with countries that want to help, like the U.S.”

The U.S. is expected to invest more than $46 million in the seven bases in Colombia to patrol the Pacific waters for drug trafficking, according to General Freddy Padilla, head of Colombia’s armed forces. The bases will help replace facilities the U.S. had in Ecuador.

Base Agreement

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa last year notified the U.S. that it wouldn’t renew its 10-year military lease at the Manta Airfield, where as many as 475 troops were stationed. The Colombian bases will house as many as 800 U.S. military personnel and 600 civilian contractors.

Diplomatic relations among Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador have been strained since last year when a cross-border raid by Colombia into Ecuador uncovered computer files from the second in command of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that suggested Venezuela supplied them with weapons and money.

The computer data, belonging to Raul Reyes, who was killed in the attack, also alleged the rebels funded Correa’s presidential campaign.

To contact the reporter on this story: Helen Murphy in Bogota at Hmurphy1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 15, 2009 09:41 EDT