Plan Columbia: Assessing US-Columbia Counterinsurgency and Counterdrug Strategies
Abstract
Colombia remains one of the most troubled countries in South America. The continued export of drugs coupled with a significant insurgent threat and increased violence against civilians, signals a crisis capable of disrupting the entire region. Insurgent groups such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Front (ELN), and paramilitaries (AUC) have de facto control over large areas of the country and are funded primarily by trafficking cocaine and heroin to the United States and Europe. The U.S. has always maintained a strategic interest in Colombia and her neighboring states. Sixty-percent of U.S. oil is imported from Venezuela. Colombia's trade with U.S. companies exceeds $11 billion annually and is the fifth largest market of U.S. made goods. However, the Colombian drug trade accounts for more than seventy-percent of the cocaine entering the U.S, characterizing Colombia as a violent and corrupt state teetering on the edge of collapse. Consequently, regional security and the promotion of stable democratic governments are at the cornerstone of U.S. policy. The purpose of this monograph is to examine current U.S. and Colombian counter-drug strategies. Will the U.S. contribution in financial and military aid to 'Plan Colombia' ensure success? Is 'Plan Colombia' an appropriate strategy for ending Colombia's insurgency and reducing or eradicating the export of drugs to Europe and North America, or does the plan require modification to achieve the desired end-state? Will greater engagement in the internal affairs of Colombia drag the U.S. into a regional conflict similar to Vietnam? The monograph concludes that the implementation of Plan Colombia will begin the process of conflict resolution. Over time, military and financial aid from the U.S., European and Colombia's regional partners will bring to an end the civil war that started more than fifty-years ago.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 15, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA400798
Entities
People
- Paul S. Warren
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College