The United States is in the final stages of negotiations with Colombia to shift its anti-drug operations from Ecuador to Colombian airbases.
The plan has faced resistance in Colombia, where Senator Gustavo Pietro says the US uses its fight against drugs as an excuse to increase its influence in Colombia’s internal affairs.
When the US was expelled from Manta ten days ago, left behind were over 300 civil complaints over ten years against American military personnel including murder, rape, destruction of property, assault. That the US military got kicked out of Ecuador is something I think worth celebrating. Unfortunately for me, I am a Colombian and my government is preparing to sign a base agreement with the US. The US is about to get access to three air bases and two naval bases including one on each coast. From what I have read, some 1,700 US military and civilian personnel come with the agreement. You’re stepping into my civil war. Please don’t.
Colombia has enough problems without having to host 1700 more. The FARC is far from finished. Uribe can’t finish them. His tactics may have pushed the FARC to the brink but there they remain and since they have a profitable business that earns them hundreds of millions their future remains secure. The cocaine trade is less than 1% of Colombian GDP by UN estimates, other estimates put it at 3% at most. That tiny percentage is keeping a nation of 45 million hostage to the whims of a group of less than 10,000 members. To defeat the FARC, Colombia has to do two things. 1) aggressively reduce social inequality and 2) convince the world either to stop using cocaine or legalize it. I’m more optimistic on the former than the latter. Uribismo has run its course but whether Uribe can be defeated is as yet unclear. The war cannot be won militarily.
I understand that on the margin US foreign policy is changing on a number of critical issues. Gone is the Bush unilateralism but I find that when push comes to shove the US is still imposing its will on hapless countries such as mine. Surely US policy makers are aware that putting US forces into a country still in the midst of a civil war and with deep social cleavages is not a good idea. Then think how Chavez and Correa are going to respond. Recently the Wall Street Journal carried a story on how Venezuela has become a conduit for the drug trade. It’s old news. Drugs always take the path of least resistance and for a good six years that has been Venezuela but I can’t help but think as to the timing of the story. It is as if the drums of war beat on cue.