Matt Fine Lauran Cario Joe Torlucci Christina Petrillo

 Combination of civilian airport and military base in Ecuador  1999: US and Ecuador sign 10 year agreement to allow up to 475 military personnel at Manta rent free  About 100 missions per month flown by US looking for drug running boats departing Colombia

 2008: Air attack on FARC rebel camp in Ecuador  Raúl Reyes (FARC spokesperson) and 24 other people were killed in the bombing  Speculation that US (via Manta) was involved

"Since Plan Colombia was launched in 2000, a strategic alliance between the United States and Colombia has taken shape, first to combat the insurgents and later to involve neighboring countries in that war, what is happening today is a consequence of that." -- high level Ecuadorian military official who preferred to remain anonymous

 The Manta air base lease clearly stipulated that the base could only be used for counter- narcotics operations  Ecuadorean Foreign Minister María Isabel Salvador said she had had "a conversation with (U.S.) Ambassador Linda Jewell who ensured us that the planes (at the base) were not involved in any way" in the bombing of the FARC camp

Ecuadorean Defense Minister Sandoval declared that "equipment that the Latin American armed forces do not have" was used in the March 1 bombing. "They dropped around five 'smart bombs'," the kind used by the United States in the First Gulf War (1991), "with impressive precision and a margin of error of just one meter, at night, from planes travelling at high speeds.”

 William Brownfield (US ambassador to Colombia) stated that the air base would be moving from Manta to somewhere in Colombia on April 14, 2009  The last U.S. military anti-narcotics surveillance mission from Manta was flown on July 17, 2009

 120 miles north of Bogotá.  Speculation this is location of new Air Base

“Without a doubt, there are possibilities in Colombia. Our government could propose and the host would decide if this type of collaboration is permitted.” --William Brownfield

“We will continue to do everything possible to strengthen the help of the United States in the effort to defeat narcotrafficking. We have not talked about a military base, we’ve talked the way we always do... about ways to strengthen cooperation.”-- Álvaro Uribe

  Cali Cartel  Money received for campaign  United States revoked his visa

  Improved relations with the United States  United States pledge- military support to combat the drug issue (1 billion dollars)

  billion more dollars  Big supporter of Plan Colombia  He was concerned about Obama’s 2011 budget  Cut funding for Plan Colombia by $50 million  Experts say this is a sign of PC being phased out

 2010-present  Under him, Colombia has been financing more operations over the US  Walid Makeld  US support is no longer in the form of aircraft and weapons  “We would like to stop being a simple country that begs for help every year”

Plan Colombia: -developed during the years of 1998 and implemented by former President Pastrana ( ) -6 year plan to end Colombia’s drug trafficking and promote economic and social development

 The Andean Counterdrug Initiative (ACI): -Primary U.S. program that supports PC -From : PC received $2.8 billion from ACI  Foreign Military Financing (FMF) -U.S. government program that provides grants and loans -supports regional stability  U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) -When FMF & DOD assistance is included, total U.S. support to Colombia is about $4.5 billion

U.S. vs. COLOMBIA

 Elected in 1998  Promised to end 40-year conflict in Colombia  Committed to promoting peace in Colombia  Went to the U.S. to promote his Plan Colombia  Clinton administration supported a peace process in Colombia initially  claimed it was too vague and not linked to the main concerns of U.S. political agenda

 Drug Flow into US  Cultivation of Drug Crops  Violence and Crime  Armed Conflict  Economic Development  Promotion of Democracy, Law an Human Rights  Regional Stability  US Disengagement

 Cocaine and Heroin availability, price and purity has remained stable.  90% of cocaine entering US comes from Colombia  Higher prices would mean decreased supply  Prices fell in 25 US cities  US officials argue that drug interdiction takes time  Also say that traffickers can absorb the increase of cost

 Office of National Drug Control Policy says cocaine purity as of 2005 is the same it was in 1980’s.  Heroin purity is has increased since the 1980’s.

 The US State Dept and UN report a decrease in acreage used to grow drugs in Colombia since  The Manual and Aerial eradication efforts appear to be working  ONDCP estimates a decrease from 460 to 430 metric tons since new plants are less productive  More and more Colombians have been taking part in US funded programs to grow crops other than coca.

 Critics claim coca production has been displaced to neighboring countries such as Bolivia.  Also say spraying efforts not 100% effective since crops can be replanted and doesn’t always kill the plant.  US figures say cultivation acreage dropped 7%; UN says it dropped 50%.

 Public safety has improved  Police once again have a presence in every town  Colombians have more confidence in travel now  Increased number of officers  Decreased number of kidnappings; however Colombia still has the highest rate in the world

 The FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia)  heavily involved in drug trade  The Colombian Army launched “Plan Patriota” to recapture FARC controlled territory.  Viewed as a success, reduced members of the FARC from 18,000 to 12,000 in one year (according the Colombian Military)  Destroyed 400 FARC camps  Critics say that because of very difficult terrain, it may be impossible to completely destroy the FARC.  They also say the military is too involved in intra state affairs, acting like a police-like org.  This would never be allowed in the US

 Greater security has led to greater confidence in the Colombian economy.  In 2004, Colombia had the best performing stock market in the world  Oil production accounts for 28% of exports  It decreased recently because of armed conflict and attacks on pipelines  Oil exploration has been hindered by attacks and the lack of security in areas

 US State Dept says some progress has been made, but many serious problems still exist.  In 2004 there were between 3,000 and 4,000 civilian deaths  The judicial system is “inefficient and subject to intimidation and corruption by terrorist groups and common criminals  Although the military was still controlled by civilians, there were still instances of human rights violations and cooperation with paramilitary groups.

Do you think that U.S. involvement in Colombia has helped or hindered democracy and social development? What will the relationship be between the United States and Columbia in the upcoming years? Has Planned Colombia really been beneficial to the Colombia citizens?