New chapter in a dirty war ... the U.S. has been looking for an opportunity to slap down Correa

The U.S. has been looking for an opportunity to slap down Correa, who since taking office has crossed Washington by forging close ties to Chávez and refusing to renew the lease on the big U.S. air base in the town of Manta when it expires in November 2009. It's unclear whether U.S. officials had a broader offensive in mind when they gave Colombia the green light to carry out the raid on Ecuador, which was also a symbolic attack on Venezuela as well. With most of Latin America under center-left or left-wing governments, the conservative presidents who run Colombia, Mexico and Peru remain the U.S. government's only major allies in the region.