Help Put Colombia and Cuba in the National Spotlight!
Join LAWG's Elections Campaign on Colombia and Cuba!

The presidential primaries gave citizens of New Hampshire, Iowa, and other states a chance to bring national attention to important Latin America issues.  As Congress passes yet another massive military aid package for Colombia-- bringing the total to over $3.5 billion since 2000-- and the president threatens a veto on an historic amendment to end the travel ban on Cuba, the upcoming elections are a great opportunity to send the message that we want our next president to forge a more just and humane relationship with Latin America.  We need to ask the presidential candidates why we're spending so much money on a failed drug policy in Colombia and why, after forty years, the United States still maintains an inhumane and ineffective embargo on Cuba-- and we need to push for change. 

Here’s how you can get involved in the Colombia or Cuba campaigns:

1. Sign LAWG's petition to the presidential candidates and Congress for a new US-Colombia policy. Click here to sign the petition.

2. Ask a question at election events in your area.  Election events offer voters a chance to hear the candidates speak ask questions, and, sometimes, meet them face-to-face. If activists around the state and the country ask the same question of Senator Kerry and President Bush, they will see that these issues are of concern to many voters-- and that we're organizing to call for a change.  See LAWG's suggested question on Colombia for voters in Iowa and New Hampshire and create a similar one that applies to your state.  

3. Participate in other actions, including:

• holding media-friendly events, such as vigils, at places where candidates are speaking
• placing letters or paid advertisements in local papers
• pushing the candidates to take positions in favor of changing US policy toward Colombia or Cuba by communicating with them and their staff.  Click here to see a letter sent by New Hampshire activists to the Democratic presidential candidates last December.   

If you are interested in getting involved on any level with the elections campaign on Colombia, please contact Elanor Starmer at 202-546-7010 or estarmer@lawg.org. 

To find out more about how to raise Cuba issues in the primaries, please contact Philip Schmidt at pschmidt@lawg.org or 202-546-7010.