Republic of Colombia

2. Republic of Colombia • Population: 46.9 million (UN, 2011) • Major religion: Christianity • Life expectancy: 70 years (m), 78 years (w) (UN) • Main exports: Petroleum, coffee, coal, gold • GNI per capita:US $5,510 (World Bank, 2010) • http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1212798.stm#facts

4. Colombia appears to be a democracy • Elections every 4 years • 3 branches of government • Part of the United Nations

5. Colombia appears to be a democracy • More labor leaders are killed in Colombia than in any other country in the world • 2 political parties: Liberals and Conservatives have had power struggles and wars for years

6. Colombia is rich in resources • Oil • Coal • Gold • Emeralds • Platinum • Uranium • Exports coffee, flowers, sugar and bananas • YET THERE IS MUCH HUNGER IN COLOMBIA

7. INEQUALITIES • 2 political parties: Liberals and Conservatives hold same position on social and economic issues • THERE IS NO POLITICAL MOTIVATION TO IMPLEMENT SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC REFORMS

8. INEQUALITIES • 3% OF THE PEOPLE OWN 70% OF THE ARABLE LAND

9. INEQUALITIES • GUERILLA movements started in the late 1930’s to stand up against inequalities • 2 MAJOR GUERILLA FORCES • FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) • ELN ( Ejercito de LiberacionNacional)

10. PLAN COLOMBIA • In 1999, Colombian President Pastrana argued that "[Drug crops are] a social problem whose solution must pass through the armed conflict...Developed countries should help us ..to offer our peasants different alternatives to the illicit crops”

11. PLAN COLOMBIA • During a1998 meeting, President Pastrana and U.S. President Bill Clinton discussed "securing an increase in U.S. aid for counter-narcotics projects, sustainable economic development, the protection of human rights, humanitarian aid, stimulating private investment and joining other donors and international financial institutions to promote Colombia's economic growth".

12. PLAN COLOMBIA • As a result of these contacts, “US input was extensive, and Plan Colombia's first formal draft was originally written in English, not Spanish.”

13. THE PLAYERS PLAN COLOMBIA OR COLOMBIA’S WAR AGAINST DRUGS

14. HUMAN RIGHTSORGANIZATIONS

15. Human rights workers continue to report abuses by the Army and death squads (supported by the army) at tremendous risk and despite being killed for such reports.

16. THE ARMY

17. One of strongest, most experienced, and brutal in this hemisphere. Colombia’s list of graduates from the SOA is longest of any Latin American country. Colombians started training in 1947 and are both students and teachers at the SOA.

18. The army is allied with drug traffickers and paramilitary death squads, which combat guerillas as well as anyone committed to political or social change.

19. THE PARAMILITARY

20. Were created by the state. They represent an attempt to cover up the brutalities of the army. They have multiple alliances with important sectors of drug-trafficking in coordination with military units.

21. THE GUERILLAS

22. Guerilla groups, FARC and ELN, want agrarian reform, democracy, and protection of natural resources from multinational corporations.

23. Guerillas use kidnapping of the rich to finance their activities. They place land mines in areas where the rich are active and they bomb oil pipelines. They also attack civilians who they believe are friends of the paramilitary.

24. DRUG TRAFFICKERS

25. Drug traffickers have attacked non-combatant peasants and chased them off their land in order to advance socially and economically in Colombia.

26. Since drug traffickers work near guerillas, many guerillas tax drug traffickers in exchange for protection of coca plantations, processing and shipment of drugs.

27. THE DISPLACED PEASANTS

28. Peasants who flee from the war in the countryside can go to the cities and become beggars or prostitutes or go to rainforest and colonize.

29. They can grow corn or plantains for themselves or coca leaves for profit. Coca growing peasants are a result of social, political, and economic problems.

30. LAWYERS and JUDGES

31. One instance of a common event: When an honest judge announced results from her probe into 2 drug traffickers and 3 military officials, she received death threats. 7 months later, her father was slain.

32. THE CHURCH AND PEACE ACTIVISTS FROM VARIOUS RELIGIONS

33. Over 1,500,000 Internally Displaced Person’s (IDP’S) have sought help from the Church.

34. Colombian Jesuits and the Bishops have stood up for the poor.

35. Many activists have been killed or “disappeared” as a result of their support of the poor.

36. THE VICTIMS

37. Lawyers, priests, nuns, political activists, labor leaders, peasant leaders, university professors, journalists, and the poor peasants are all victims of this “War against Drugs.” Approximately 4,300 Colombians are killed each year for political reasons.

38. THE U.S.

39. The U.S. supports the War against Drugs by giving scholarships to the SOA and giving much military support to Colombia’s army.

40. The U. S. does issue reports about human rights violations but the U.S. continues to give military support so these reports are not taken seriously by the Colombian elites.

41. The SOA Watch would like the United States to stop training Colombian soldiers to fight in the war against drugs.

42. Amnesty International  Amnesty International USA has been calling for a complete cut off of US military aid to Colombia for over a decade due to the continued collaboration between the Colombian Armed Forces and their paramilitary allies as well the failure of the Colombian government to improve human rights conditions. http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/countries/americas/colombia/us-policy-in-colombia?id=1101863

43. Successful Plan? The Colombian government has repeatedly insisted Plan Colombia has been successful, while critics note that it has not reached its goals on the diminishing of coca production. http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/7975-plan-colombia-unmentioned-in-us-2011-budget-proposal.html

44. UPDATE December 26, 2007 • The United States passed a bill that makes 30% of the military aid conditional on Colombia's human rights certification by the Department of State, up from 25% • Some of the aerial spraying funding has been cut by the United States • The United States has increased aid for alternative crop development programs • The U.S. Defense Bill remained the same. --Source: Jesuit.org

45. On June 17, 2010 there was an international halt called to fumigation.http://www.lab.org.uk/index.php/news/65/522-colombia-internationational-protest-over-fumigations Update 2010

46. 2010 US Aid In 2010 and 2011,Colombia still dominated Pentagon contracts in South America, with US$77 million out of US $99 million spent on the continent in 2010. http://www.hondurasweekly.com/the-pentagon%27s-hub-in-central-america-201203024915/ http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/7975-plan-colombia-unmentioned-in-us-2011-budget-proposal.html

47. Approval of use of Military Bases and Airports for US in 2011 The U.S. and Colombia recently signed a pact that allows the U.S. to use Colombian military bases and airports for U.S. http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/7975-plan-colombia-unmentioned-in-us-2011-budget-proposal.html

48. 2011 October US Congress passes long-delayed free trade agreement with Colombia, despite concerns over country's poor record of labour relations. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1212798.stm#facts

49. 2011 Free Tradehttp://www.worldpolicy.org/blog/2011/10/04/colombia-and-us-free-trade-aggrievement

50. December 2011 According to the U.N., Colombia had 240 square miles of coca under cultivation last year; more than 3,000 square miles (800,000 hectares) of Colombia's woodlands have been cleared since 1981 in the planting and destruction of drug crops. Deforestation has been devastating, as old-growth forests are felled for coca growing, contaminated by chemicals used in processing then further ravaged by defoliants used in coca eradication. 12/14/11 03:58 PM ET Associated PressColombia's Coca Crop Is A Forest Killer, New Study Claims