Colombia : Issues for Congress

By Veillette, Connie

Book Id: WPLBN0000013883
Format Type: PDF eBook:
File Size: 0.2 MB
Reproduction Date: 2008

Title:	Colombia : Issues for Congress
Author:	Veillette, Connie
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Government publications, Legislation., Government Printing Office (U.S.)
Collections:	Government Library Collection
Historic Publication Date:
Publisher:	Government Printing Office


Citation APA MLA Chicago Veillette, B. C. (n.d.). Colombia : Issues for Congress. Retrieved from http://gutenberg.us/

Excerpt
Summary: Recent debate on U.S. policy toward Colombia has taken place in a context of concern for the volume of drugs readily available in the United States and elsewhere in the world, and security concerns that have come into sharper focus after the attacks of September 11, 2001. The United States has made a significant commitment of funds and material support to help Colombia and the Andean region fight drug trafficking since the development of Plan Colombia in 1999. Congress passed legislation providing $1. billion in assistance for FY2000 (P.L. 106-246) and has provided more than $4 billion for programs in Colombia from FY2000 through FY2005 in both State Department and Defense Department counternarcotics accounts. Since 2002, Congress has granted expanded authority to use counternarcotics funds for a unified campaign to fight both drug trafficking and terrorist organizations in Colombia. In 2004, Congress raised the statutory cap on U.S. personnel allowed to be deployed to Colombia in support of Plan Colombia. The three main guerrilla groups in Colombia participate in drug production and trafficking and have been designated foreign terrorist organizations by the State Department.

Table of Contents
Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Conditions in Colombia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Illegally Armed Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 National Liberation Army (ELN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) — “Paramilitaries” . 5 The Uribe Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 AUC Demobilization and Amnesty Proposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Referendum and Local Elections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Issues for Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Colombia and Global Drug Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Aerial Fumigation and Alternative Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Colombia and Terrorism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 U.S. Hostages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Human Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Colombia and Regional Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Cross-Border Incursions and Safe Havens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Drug Displacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Refugees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Temporary Protected Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Air Bridge Denial Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Oil Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Funding for Plan Colombia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 List of Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 List of Tables Table 1. U.S. Assistance For Plan Colombia, FY2000-FY2005 By Agency . . . 24