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ColombiaChanges in the scope and nature of U.S. aid to Colombia are in
the works. The administration's
Fiscal Year 2003 budget included a request for over $370 million in military aid
for Colombia which --if granted-- would make this country the third largest recipient of
U.S. military aid in the world. The budget also seeks an additional $98 million
to protect a Colombian oil pipeline which has become a frequent focus of rebel attacks.
Current limitations on U.S. military aid to Colombia restrict its use to counternarcotics
objectives. The Bush administration has signalled that it wishes to revise these terms in an
effort to fight Colombia's terrorist groups and to bolster the Uribe government.
Congress has similarly communicated its interests in the Colombian situation.
On March 6, 2002 both houses passed resolutions
(H.R.
358 and S. 219),
which open the possibility of redesignating the funds allocated under U.S. counter-narcotics
aid for the fight against terrorism. The House resolution calls for "counter[ing] threats from
U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations;" Similarly, the Senate language states that:
"it is the sense of the Senate that the President, without undue delay,
should transmit to Congress for its consideration proposed legislation, consistent with United
States law regarding the protection of human rights, to assist the Government of Colombia to
protect its democracy from United States-designated foreign terrorist organizations and the
scourge of illicit narcotics." A State Department analysis of these resolutions can be found
in the Department's Washington File for March 6, 2002: Congress Passes Resolution in Support of Colombia.
The loosening of restriction on U.S. aid to Colombia and the promise to
hasten the transfer of weapons must be seen against the backdrop described
by the State
Department's human rights report released in March 2002 which noted that:
"The Government's human rights record remained poor; there were continued efforts to
improve the legal framework and institutional mechanisms, but implementation lagged,
and serious problems remained in many areas...government security forces continued to commit
serious abuses, including extrajudicial killings."
Opponents of mission expansion in Colombia suffered their first major defeat on 2 August 2002 when the FY 2002 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill became Public Law 107-206 . By permitting the use of U.S. military assistance for a "unified campaign" against narcotics trafficking and "organizations designated terrorist organizations," Sections 305 and 601 of the Supplemental open the door to greater US involvement in Colombia's 38-year civil war. The supplemental also provides tens of millions of dollars to prosecute the new "unified campaign," including $6 million in initial funding for the training and equipping of a Colombian military unit created specifically to protect the Cano Limon oil pipeline from rebel attack.
Expected Decision Date: Both the House and the Senate versions of the FY 2003 Foreign Operation Appropriations billcontain provisions that build on mission change provisions in the FY02 Supplemental Appropriations Act. The senate version includes a $5 million earmark for training and equipment for an armed forces unit dedicated to hunting down paramilitary leaders, and $88 million in additional funding for the oil pipeline protection unit. While the House version does not earmark funds for the paramilitary leader hunter armed forces unit, it reduces the number of annual certifications that human rights conditions are being met from two to one and includes $10 million more than the Senate version for the oil pipeline protection unit. Delays in the overall appropriations process could hold up the passage of the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill until late fall of 2003.
Additional background information on Colombia