No country in Latin America has received more U.S. military and counter-narcotics assistance over the past decade than Colombia. But while the Colombian government has managed to improve security in some regions, it has failed to curb the illegal narcotics industry, which continues to bankroll both insurgent rebels and right-wing militias.
Now the cartels are fueling a bloody war along their distribution routes through Central America and Mexico. The response of the U.S. policymakers, however, remains largely unchanged: more military and police assistance in an attempt to defeat narco-trafficking by force.
Three OSI partners based in Washington, D.C.—Center for International Policy (CIP), the Latin America Working Group Education Fund (LAWGEF), and the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)—are leading a coalition working to reform U.S. counter-narcotics assistance to Latin America through policies to minimize the damage caused by illegal drug trafficking, promote human rights, and engage local communities in sustainable programs to end the violence.
"Just the Facts" is a key resource developed by the three NGOs for policymakers, journalists, labor leaders, and civil society actors who are concerned about U.S. assistance to Latin America. Its cornerstone is a database with detailed information on U.S. appropriations for military and economic aid since 1996. The "Just the Facts" blog provides news updates and analysis on such issues as human rights abuse, organized crime, and corruption. Another blog, "Plan Colombia and Beyond," by the Center for International Policy (CIP), focuses on security and human rights in Colombia.
CIP also released an in-depth report in December evaluating U.S.-led efforts to combine counterinsurgency with state building. Based on dozens of interviews and months of documentary and field research, CIP found serious shortcomings in Colombia's new counterinsurgency strategy—dubbed "Integrated Action"—including lack of coordination among the government agencies and a failure to address community concerns about such issues as land tenure.
The United States has also supplied the Colombian intelligence agency DAS with wiretapping equipment and training for counternarcotics and counterinsurgency purposes. In response to the widespread, illegal surveillance by the DAS of human rights groups, journalists, Supreme Court judges, and other democratic actors, LAWGEF and WOLA organized a human rights delegation that met with members of Congress and the Obama administration. As a result of these and other efforts, Congress prohibited further funding of the DAS and President Uribe agreed to overhaul the agency.
Finally, a new report by WOLA surveys the evidence on efforts to reduce coca and opium crop reduction and identifies 10 lessons for shaping more effective, less harmful policies. Development First: A More Humane and Promising Approach to Reducing Cultivation of Crops for Illicit Markets argues that proper sequencing is crucial to sustainable success. Unless alternative livelihoods for growers are already firmly in place, eradication campaigns will be counterproductive.