Sequencing: Targeting Insurgents and Drugs in Colombia
Abstract
Peru's success in first defeating the Shining Path guerrilla movement in the early 1990s and then reducing coca cultivation in the mid-1990s demonstrates the effectiveness of a sequential approach to these problems. However, is the sequential approach an effective model for handling the dual threat, particularly in Colombia? This thesis examines the overall effectiveness of two distinctly different strategies for dealing with the dual threat of drugs and terrorism in Colombia: President Pastrana's "drugs first" strategy and President Uribe's unified campaign against both guerrillas and drugs. The analysis shows that President Uribe's unified campaign was more effective than President Pastrana's sequential strategy. While President Pastrana's "drugs first" strategy was relatively effective in targeting the illicit drug trade, it did not eliminate the illicit drug industry nor did it achieve its secondary objective of weakening the war-making capacity of the FARC-EP. President Uribe's unified strategy met with substantial initial success as regional and national security dramatically improved and a weakening of the FARC-EP was observed. Despite such success, elimination of the FARC-EP still remains beyond Colombia's reach and the continuation of counter-narcotic policies seems to be reaping diminishing returns. To continue making progress against both threats a continuation of a comprehensive unified campaign is required.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA467388
Entities
People
- Michelle L. Farrell
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School