Hope for Colombia?

Plan Colombia was setup to revive the economy of the nation and fight drug trafficking among many other objectives.
As part of its "war on drugs" campaign the US has aided this "plan" with about five billion dollars since 2002 to date. While there have been some gains in the counter terrorism portion of the "plan" and local rebel groups have been weakened, the counter drug program has been a total waste. There has been no decline in lands planted with coca (as raw material for cocaine), there has also been no decrease in the amount of cocaine available in the United States.
There is unfortunately no legislature on the table to put and end to plan Colombia but only a Colombia/US free trade agreement awaits approval. Plan Colombia is sadly spreading to neighboring countries like Ecuador so there does not seem to be and end in sight.
While discussing the effects that local rebel groups and multi-national organizations have had on the lives of the people in Colombia, it is important to mention that the US military has also wreaked its share of havoc.
20,915 people have died during combat attacks between the local guerrilla groups (FARC) and the Colombian military (most of these people were civilians), about 2.4 millionpeople have been displaced. On the flip side, the US military is recorded to have supported armed forces that caused the death of 1,700 civilians since 2002. The UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial executions recently called this into "cold-blooded, premeditated murder of innocent civilians for profit."


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Resistance to Plan Colombia

Plan Colombia is indeed a threat to the lives of many people in Colombia. It has allowed giant multinational and transnational organizations to decide the fate of the people as they take over their lands and poison their environment forcing them to evacuate and be displaced or die.
Many people did not know of the dangers of Plan Colombia until recent times. That in itself is resistance. It is awareness as resistance. I myself was not aware of this problem until I attended a lecture at WSU featuring a leader of an indigenous group in Colombia. He shared his experience of the harmful impacts of the "plan", he even shared with us how he lost his left eye as a result of an attack from the guerrilla groups who are paid and supplied by multinational corporations in the area. Awareness is also increasing as the "plan" spreads to other Latin American countries such as Ecuador.This is an issue that cannot be taken up by and handled by the people of Colombia alone. It is on a much greater scale and requires awareness from many in order to be overcome. As citizens of this country we can make a difference by voting on alternatives to the current US foreign policies that allow such events to occur with the US funding a portion of Plan Colombia as part of its "war on drugs". We need to make it about humanity and not commodity.
The biggest form of resistance however comes from Cauca, a mountainous province in Colombia. This is also where the lecturer who introduced me to the topic is from. Cauca is mainly populated by indigenous groups of Colombia. They have two regional organizations fighting on behalf of the people, the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca and the Indigenous Authorities of Colombia. These organizations are adamant about providing alternatives of self defense such as the recognition of land rights of the native tribes of the area. There are also a few tribes who use shamanistic means to acquire resistance.

ASHLEY,DEBORAH ODEIBA
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Sources

-The Madness of Plan Colombia by Froma Harrop
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/06/the_madness_of_plan_colombia.html

-Colombia’s Coca Survives U.S. Plan to Uproot It by Juan Forero
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/19/world/americas/19coca.html

-'Rethinking' Plan Colombia By Marcela Sanchez
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/15/AR2007031501555.html

-Democracy and Plan Colombia by Hector Mondragon
http://www.zcommunications.org/democracy-and-plan-colombia-by-hector-mondragon

-PLAN COLOMBIA: The Hidden front in the U.S Drug War by Sharon Fratepietro
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1374/is_4_61/ai_76800133/

-Plan Colombia and Beyond
http://www.cipcol.org/?p=80

-Revamping Plan Colombia
By John Lindsay-Poland. Edited by Emily Schwartz Greco, July 21, 2009
http://www.fpif.org/articles/revamping_plan_colombia

- PLAN COLOMBIA-NINE YEARS LATER
Washington Report on the Hemisphere
February 28, 2008
Romero, Massi
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1454402531.ht

-Tempting the Wrath: ``Plan Colombia'' in the Colombian Peace Process
Sanin E.
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mnp/iner/2001/00000006/00000003/00408581

-The Failure of Plan Colombia
Jens Erik Gould
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_failure_of_plan_colombia

-Latin America: Plan Colombia Didn't Work, GAO Report Says
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/559/plan_colombia_did_not_work_says_GAO_report

-Colombia's other war
Sue Branford, 14 November 2005
http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-protest/chemical_war_3020.jsp

-Plan Colombia benefits US oil companies by Garry Leech
http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/221/46959.html

-U.S. Foreign Policy
Towards Latin America and the Caribbean
Spring 2005
http://www.drclas.harvard.edu/revista/articles/view/844

-$4b later, drugs still flow in Colombia by Indira A.R. Lakshmanan, Globe Staff | May 21, 2006
http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2006/05/21/4b_later_drugs_still_flow_in_colombia/


These sources together have allowed me gain a better understanding of this topic. I have been able to gain a background as well as current issues arising from Plan Colombia by using these sources. I have gained an understanding of the political, economical and civil aspects of Plan Colombia with the help of these sources.

ASHLEY,DEBORAH ODEIBA
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Plan Colombia and class concepts

The war on drugs has nothing to do with ridding our society of harmful substances but much to do with who controls and distributes and also profits from these harmful substances. Plan Colombia has allowed more multinational corporations control over the fate of the Colombian people.
Since Plan Colombia trans/multinational organizations have been able to use guerrilla warfare to acquire lands rich in growing coca, the raw material of cocaine. This plant can be processed and made into many other items that could benefit the local economies of the indigenous people of Colombia. However the excessive planting and the use of harmful pesticides and fertilizers on the lands have resulted in the displacement of and even the death of many Colombian natives. Local rebel groups have been turned into guerrillas and supplied with weapons that they in turn use to terrorize the lives of their own people.
Due to legislation related to patents of land and plants by the Colombian government in conjunction with these multinational groups, the people of Colombian get the brunt end of every day living. Multinational organizations are profiting at the expense of Colombians and their government isn't doing much to help them. These people seem to be disposable in regards to the ways in which their lives are put in danger for financial gains. Not only are they refused rights to their own land but activities taking place on these lands are killing them. the government of Colombia needs to recognize the actual objectives of the "plan" and step in to aid and rescue the lives of its people.
Throughout history the lives of people of color have been jeopardized for profit and the situation in Colombia is no different. Each day an estimated 100 people die or are injured due to guerrilla warfare brought on by the "plan".
ASHLEY,DEBORAH ODEIBA
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Columbian Drug Cartel

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History of Plan Colombia

Plan Colombia was introduced by the Pastrana Administration in Colombia in 1999. The main objectives of the plan was to; promote peace, combat the narcotics industry, improve respect for human rights, revive the Colombian economy, and to strengthen the democratic and social institutions of the country.
Colombia was able to finance $4 billion of the total cost and the US financed the extra $1.3 billion in an assistance package. The majority of the aid provided by the US was military and counter narcotics in nature which as I will dive into later is part of the problem The overall aim of the plan seemed to be very good for the country and its economy as well as its relations with other countries, however as I will explore later, this was not and is still not the case.
http://skylight.wsu.edu/s/40f8a43c-9416-426d-925b-1e2dcbdeb093.srv%27,%27_blank%27,%27height=750,width=700,left=800,top=0,status=yes,toolbar=no,scrollbars=yes,titlebar=no,menubar=no,location=no,resizable=yes%27

My topic is US foreign policy and the influence of multinational organizations. It is basically about multi and transnational corporations and the ways in which they acquire outrageous amounts of profit by influencing how US foreign policies are made so that they are favored. This is especially true when dealing with cheap labor in third world countries. These companies spend thousands of dollars on lobbysits to ensure that favorable policies are passed.
I chose this topic because it often gets neglected or even hidden from public knowledge. We are made aware of the hunger stricken, poverty ridden and war torn countries of the third world, however we never find out about how trade and labor policies contribute to this chaos.
This topic connects to the theme of the class because more than any other factor, globalization is the cause of organizations becoming more international. Globalization being the theme of our class, I felt this topic was very related to most of our readings and discussions.
I hope to get educated on US foreign policy as well as help other become more aware of the issues that citizens of third world countries are facing due to corporations and finances controlling foreign policies.
www.peacenowar.net/Colombia/film.htm