The war in Colombia continues, claiming the lives of on average 14 civilians a day due to political violence. Much of the conflict is over control of land that is valuable for its natural wealth, including oil, or militarily strategic location. In the process, more than two million Colombians have been displaced from their homes, made refugees within Colombia, often relocating to cities that are also controlled by military factions.
U.S. Funding: Plan Colombia
Since 2000, the United States has spent more than $5 billion on "Plan Colombia," as part of the "drug war" - 80% of it military aid, which has greatly escalated the war in Colombia. Support of the escalation has been bipartisan, and the Bush administration has continued this approach, disguising a bloody counterinsurgency as a war on drugs and introducing enormous increases in military aid to neighboring countries. Since the September 11th attacks, terrorism has been included as a second focus for US military aid.
Colombia continues to be Latin America's number-one recipient of U.S. military and policy assistance, with nearly $500 million expected to be delivered in 2008. (See State Department documents that reveal locations of U.S. military assistance [0] in Colombia.) This military assistance continues at a level twice the U.S. contribution for economic aid to the country. The enormous funding of the Colombian military by the United States has made the military sensitive to human rights accusations and charges that the army is collaborating with illegal paramilitary organizations, especially when these concerns are expressed by Congressional offices or the State Department.
The focus of public officials and much of the media in the United States has been on drugs and violence. The human face of Colombian civil society - both as a protagonist for peace and justice and as a victim of political violence - has been largely invisible here. The motives for the U.S. commitment - such as access to oil in Colombia - have remained hidden. In short, the United States has gotten in deep in Colombia, is tangled in a web of ignorance and deceit, and has no exit strategy.
Building an opposition
Slowly, small Colombian human rights and solidarity organizations have been joined by a growing number of local and national peace and justice groups. For the first seven months of 2005, more than $70 million of military aid for Colombia was put on hold, as the State Department was not prepared to certify that Colombia met the law's human rights conditions. While the aid was eventually released days before Colombia's president met with President Bush, this delay represented growing concern by the State Department and human rights groups regarding cases reportedly involving direct violations by the Colombian Army.
Strategies for Change
We believe that the combination of on-the-ground information gathering and service in Colombia with policy advocacy and grassroots activism in the United States is essential. The firsthand knowledge of people on the ground strengthens work we do in the United States to improve press coverage and change U.S. policy. In FOR's public talks about Colombia, we have found that talking about a specific community makes it more real and human for the people listening. At the same time, accompanying the San José de Apartadó Peace Community and other Colombian communities attempting to construct alternatives of peace and justice requires work in the United States to demilitarize U.S. policy if they are to be effective.
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For Further background on the Colombia conflict, check out these resources [0]