war on drugs

The Sudan? No.

The Congo. Wrong again.

How about . . . Colombia.

As a result of more than 40 years of conflict, it is estimated that as many as 3.9 million people – mostly indigenous men, women and children – have been displaced by the conflict in Colombia.  As has been noted on this blog on many previous occasions, the conflicts between the government and its paramilitary supporters, rebel groups and the drug cartels have resulted in a dramatic impact on this nation of 45 million people.

The disparity between the U.S. response to Colombia and the Sudan couldn’t be greater. With respect to the Sudan, the Bush Administration has imposed sanctions on the country, banned investment by U.S. companies and has been critical of the Khartoum government and its treatment of its citizens in the Darfur region.

In Colombia, the U.S. government has pumped billions of dollars in the form of aid to fight cocaine production and exportation into the U.S. The U.S. military and the CIA have provided support to the Colombian government and its military in order to stem the flow of drugs. This has occurred at a time when other countries in Latin America have taken anti-U.S. positions on a range of issues. The surrounding nations of Venezuela, Brazil and Bolivia have all been critical of American foreign policy. Colombia stands as a shining example of what money can buy in the region.

Unfortunately, this comes with a price for the U.S. The Bush Administration continues to overlook the humanitarian crisis, the mass murder of union officials and workers, and an ultra conservative Colombian government in league with paramilitaries committing atrocities almost daily.

The problems facing Colombia’s citizens are noted in one local news site today:

Colombia’s security forces are still violating human rights, Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos admitted Monday, “but we are in the process of improving and resolving,” he told United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay.

Remains of nine of the cafeteria workers at the Palace of Justice drama that disappeared after the army stormed the building to end a guerrilla occupation are in a laboratory of the National University in Bogotá, retired army colonel Alfonso Plazas Vega said Monday.

Colombian president Álvaro Uribe said Friday the scandal involving an intelligence investigation into an opposition senator may be a set up to harm the government’s ‘Democratic Security’ policy.

One person died and three were left injured after a grenade exploded Monday inside a warehouse in Cali. Police arrested a 17-year old suspect.

The U.S. led war on drugs has proven to be ineffective at best. However, like many government programs, admitting failure to the tune of billions of dollars is unpalatable for elected officials. Instead the U.S. government continues to put “lipstick on the pig” by suggesting that this is all part of the war on terror, something that the American people can accept.

On Sunday, the New York Times reported that  “Colombian authorities said on Tuesday that they had broken up a drug and money-laundering ring in an international operation that included the capture of three people suspected of shipping funds to Hezbollah guerrillas.” Their proof? The arrest of three men with Arab names.  As recently as July of this year, John McCain has stated to the Times that “[w]e have a long way to go to stem the flow of drugs into the United States of America,” but “the progress that I’ve seen since previous visits here has been substantial and positive.”

In the meantime, almost 1 in 10 Colombians are displaced refugees in their own country and not a person inside the Bush Administration has said a word.

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