August 4, 2005

President Uribe met with President Bush at the Crawford, Texas ranch on August 4. Just days beforehand, the U.S. State Department certified that Colombia met human rights conditions despite numerous allegations of abuse by Colombian security forces. The certification decision - undoubtedly linked to the Crawford visit - releases nearly $70 million in U.S. military aid to Colombia. This is a disturbing sign of U.S. unequivocal support for the Colombian government. But it is also a good opportunity for media – we encourage our advocates to speak up against Plan Colombia and against the decision to certify.

Take Action!
Send a letter to the editor in your local paper denouncing Plan Colombia. A sample letter is provided below - please adapt it to make it personal and/or to relate it local news.

Dear Editor,

As President Bush meets this week with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe at the Crawford ranch, we should ask what we’re getting for our money.

The U.S. has provided more than $4 billion in military aid since 2000 which has, in part, gone to drug crop spraying. Yet cocaine is still prevalent on U.S. streets, and its price continues to decline. The Office of National Drug Control Policy estimated that despite the largest spraying campaign ever in 2004, coca production remained “statistically unchanged” from the beginning of the year—farmers simply replanted. If we want to solve the problem of drug abuse, we need to invest in treatment and prevention at home, as well as in aid to help poor farmers switch to food crops.

Moreover, reports of killings of civilians by the Colombian military are increasing, according to the U.N. High Commissioner’s Office for Human Rights. Collaboration between the Colombian army and brutal, illegal paramilitary groups is commonplace.

Despite the Colombian military’s human rights record, the State Department recently certified that Colombia meets human rights conditions, only a day before Uribe’s visit. Certification had been delayed for half the year due to allegations of human rights abuses by the military. In February, two families—including three children—in San José de Apartadó were murdered, and their bodies dismembered. No one has been prosecuted. We are sending billions of our tax dollars to Colombia – why can’t our government at least use its leverage to insist upon respect for human rights?

Plan Colombia was supposed to expire in 2005, but Congress recently decided to continue funding for Colombia at the same rate. That’s approximately $742 million next year in American taxpayer money. A failed plan should not be rewarded with more money—it’s time to change course.