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Paper Abstract: Targeting of Columbia and Peru. Attempt to stop flow of illicit drugs into the United States. Role of the market system that supports drug use and sales. Black market and high profits for drug traffickers. Assesses Plan Columbia and its inclusion of economic and democratic policies education. Paper Introduction: The U.S. War on Drugs in Colombia and Peru Introduction Throughout the 1990s, the American government undertook a “war on drugs” that targeted the countries of Peru and Colombia (among others) and which attempted to assist other countries and their governments in stopping the flow of various illicit substances into the United States. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the United States, the War on Drugs took a back seat to the new War on Terror (Sharpe & Spencer, 2001). The difficulty of any war on drugs was described by Sharpe and Spencer (2001) as centering on the fact that the “enemy” in such a war is not any particular cartel, drug lord, or drug farmer. It is in fact the market system that supports drug use and sales and makes illicit drugs a highly profitable business. Drug prohib Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. governmentalso committed itself in the agreement to supporting Peruvian communitiesthat make measurable achievements in eradicating cocoa-leaf plantations(Peru, U.S. Petras (2 1) does not believe that Plan Colombia is likely tosucceed. drug war. TheUnited States has, says Petras (2 1), taken an increasingly activist rolein Central and South America. 1-2.Clinton, B. financial support is critical forencouraging Colombians to sacrifice for their survival and prodding theinternational community to assist. The War on Drugs isnow part of America's regional nation-building strategy. democratic regimes. This is due to changes in the drug trade itself. President Bill Clinton (1996) told the American public that Peru hadtaken steps to achieve full compliance with the goals and objectives of the1988 United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugsand Psychotropic Substances. Petras (2 1) describes this plan, which was initiatedduring the administration of President Bill Clinton as a long-term billiondollar program involving large scale modern arms shipments to Colombia.Plan Colombia is seen by Petras (2 1) as heavily influenced byWashington's successful reassertion of hegemony in Central America. (2 1). In the name of zerotolerance, the U.S. NACLA Report on the Americas, 3 (6), 37-44.Marcella, G. FARC has a strong andvital presence in selected regions of Colombia and shows no sign of beingwilling to abandon its control or its involvement in the cocaine trade.Finally, says Petras (2 1), Colombia's government has proven largelyunable to weed out corruption in its military. The triangular drugtrade that imported cocoa paste from Bolivia and Peru, produced cocaine IColombia, and then exported the product to the U.S. This agreement was the first of its kind. However, this did not mean that Peru hadbecome drug-free. Commonweal, 128(1 ), 5.America's shadow drug war: A gruesome shoot-down on the Amazon hints at a large and growing U.S. U.S. A report from the front lines. It must be recognized that getting ridof the cocoa industry in Colombia involves much more than simply shiftingagricultural production from one crop to another. Plan Colombia: The hidden front in the U.S. One of the reasons that he offers for this belief is thatAmerican demand for cocaine has not diminished sufficiently to render therisks involved in drug trafficking unappealing. This incident called into questionthe entire strategy of bringing down airplanes as part of a larger effortto prevent cocaine from leaving Peru. Marcella (2 2)believes that because little of magnitude happens in this hemispherewithout leadership from Washington, U.S. Robinson (1998) claimed that some Peruvian farmers didswitch from cocoa cultivation to other crops. Though the Peruvian government has suspended its air interdictionactivities since the U.S. Marcella (2 2) maintains that close to 3 , acres in Colombia produce an estimated 52 metric tons of cocoa per year.The production areas in Colombia are dominated by insurgents, including theFuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias Colombianas or FARC. Fratepietro(2 1) claims that it is the military nature of America's plan that has ledto opposition from the European Union. It links economic development and security to the peace process. Colombia uses small planes to spray a herbicide to kill the plants. market has been damagedsignificantly by air surveillance, including force-downs and shoot-downs(America's shadow drug war, 2 1). Colombian rebels finance their operations with drug trafficking,acquiring the ability to purchase sophisticated weapons. The main elements of Plan Colombia for 2 1 were: . Congress tripled anti-drug aid for Peru in 2 2,increasing the overall aid package to $156 million, including $3 millionto upgrade Peruvian police helicopters and $8 million for alternativeeconomic development (Spectres stir in Peru, 2 2).The Case of Colombia Over the past decade, the nature of the drug war in Colombia haschanged. Robinson (1998) also statedthat between 1997 and 1998, Peru eliminated 114,9 acres of cocoa - nearlyhalf of its cocoa fields. Plan Colombia has a heavily militaristic component. The geopolitics of Plan Colombia. missionary plane, the government wants to restartthe air interdiction effort in order to support its agricultural shiftefforts. with 7 percent of its cocaine is because the crops weresuccessfully eradicated in Peru and Bolivia over the past decade (Bushchanging plan..., 2 1). Simultaneously,the United States is using a satellite tracking system to assist Peru,Colombia, and other Latin American countries in identifying cocoa fields.Under the rubric of Plan Colombia, Peru is being assisted in its efforts toclose down the cocaine operations of the Shining Path guerrillas (Spectresstir in Peru, 2 2). Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)officials in Peru remarked that the number of drug flights in Peru had beenreduced from 5 to less than 1 per month. Xinhua News Agency, September 12. According to Marcella (2 2), Plan Colombia is a very simple concept. The key factor in this success appears to have been the cooperation ofPeruvian President Alberto Fujimori. Funds managed byUSAID will mostly be spent on improving the health of people living in thedrug producing areas where cocoa is a primary crop. It has also been identified as having ties to drugtrafficking. Newman and Whitelaw (2 1) states that after this tragedy,surveillance flights in Peru and Colombia were suspended. By 1998, the U.S. Memorandum on narcotics producing and transit countries. After theSeptember 11, 2 1 terrorist attack on the United States, the War on Drugstook a back seat to the new War on Terror (Sharpe & Spencer, 2 1). A total of $8 million was usedto build two facilities for the air surveillance program in Peru. government imposed trade sanctions, terminated airprograms, and used its economic muscle to force the major Latin Americancocoa producers - Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru - to eradicate thousands ofacres of cocoa fields and force farmers to produce legitimate crops.Nevertheless, Lazare (1997) maintains that the expansion of cocoaproduction in Peru continued throughout the 199 s. President George Bush has changed the name of Plan Colombia to the"Andean Regional Initiative" and has created a broader package thatincludes economic aid and courses in democratic politics. (2 2). Increased interdiction efforts ($129.4 million) . Accordingly, the five year PlanColombia will cost $7.5 billion. Once a fewcartels dominated the Colombian drug trade, but aggressive law enforcementled to the death of several key actors, including Pablo Escobar, and to thedismantling of the Cali and Medellin drug cartels. To counter thisthreat, the United States has become actively involved in training theColombian military and equipping them with the latest technology andhardware. Groups such as AmnestyInternational, Human Rights Watch, and the National Council of Churcheshave also protested Plan Colombia. (2 2). The success orfailure of American efforts in both countries will be assessed.The Case of Peru Lazare (1997) believes that in the case of Peru, the neoliberaleconomic policies promoted by the World Bank and the International MonetaryFund (IMF) assisted in perpetuating the drug trade. (1998). Flights hadfallen off dramatically, facilitating the shift from cocoa production toother crops (Newman & Whitelaw, 2 1). 1 8 74u6176. American involvement in the War on Drugs inthese countries will be shifted to include institution building andbolstering support for pro-U.S. With 18, small familyfarms now cultivating about 9 , acres of cocoa in Colombia, the economicdevelopment component of Plan Colombia needs to be strengthened. Specialpolice teams were established with American assistance and in 1997, a totalof 1 , arrests on drug trafficking charges were recorded. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, March 4, 32(9), 397-398.Fratepietro, S. Fratepietro (2 1) asserts that many who object to PlanColombia do so because of this factor. NACLA Report on the Americas, 35(3), 21-28.Spectres stir in Peru. Some $129 million was allocated to increased interdiction, of which$68 million goes to upgrading U.S. This report willexamine the War on Drugs, focusing on Colombia and Peru. Fourteen U.S.-owned UH-1H helicopters flown by Peruviansare used for eradication and interdiction. Drugs & money. In Colombia, more than $1.3 billion has been spent on this particulareffort. Available at www.comtexnews.com.Petras, J. Fujimori, assisted by the UnitedStates, developed a two-prong approach of stepped-up law enforcement andaid to cocoa growers who shifted to planting alternative crops. News & World Report, 124(8), 36.Sharpe, K.E., & Spencer, W. P-3 aircraft that are used to detect andmonitor drug shipments destined for the United States. sign anti-drugs agreement. The goal of Plan Colombia, therefore, is the remaking of a securedemocratic society freed from violence and corruption. In many ways, the main reason why Colombia now providesthe U.S. The CIAsurveillance program provides intelligence to help Peruvians shoot downtraffickers. U.S. (2 1). Plan Colombia requires that once adrug laboratory or cocoa field is destroyed there will be alternativeeconomic opportunities provided to Colombians. It directly financesagricultural shifts to eliminate cocoa-leaf cultivation. (2 1). Expansion of counter-narcotics operations in southern Colombia ($39 .5 million) . U.S. (1997). Be that as it may, the United States has undertaken a massive effortto eradicate drug trafficking throughout the world. sign..., 2 2). Colombia will spend $4 billion of its ownmoney on this effort. It is a social plan with a militarysupport element that is necessary despite the fact that this part of theplan has drawn intense criticism. Another $122million has been spent on human rights and justice programs in Colombia(America's shadow drug war, 2 1). A mission gone awry. (2 2). The money will beprovided on an annual basis over the course of the next five years throughthe U.S. A second reason is thatthe Colombian government does not appear willing to undertake a meaningfulnegotiation with FARC and other guerrilla groups. The U.S. The drug trade has fueled a multi-fronted war within Colombia forover 4 years. In 2 2, the United States and Peru signed an anti-drug agreementunder which Washington agreed to provide Lima with $3 million to furtherPeru's anti-drug efforts (Peru, U.S. 3 7) states that "a military effort alone will notbring Colombia back from the brink, but failure is certain without it."All successful counterinsurgencies in the modern world have had strong,social, economic, and political components to complement the militarycomponent. Assistance for the Colombian police ($115.6 million) (Marcella, 2 2). War on Drugs also included aid to spur coffeeproduction. Most planes are flown by Colombian pilots, though some American pilotswork under contract to the Colombian government (America's shadow drug war,2 1). Itscentral premise is that drug money feds the coffers of the guerrillas inColombia, whose attacks give rise to the paramilitary self-defenseorganizations. Drug prohibition policies in the context ofstubborn demand create a black market that ensures extraordinarily highprofits for drug traffickers. The United States also spent $2 million on crop eradication planes.Using satellite and aerial images, the United States locates cocoa-growingareas. (2 2). In 2 1, it was reported that the United States had spent over $1billion on the drug war in Latin America, with a substantial portion ofthis amount going to Peru, Colombia, and Bolivia (A just war, 2 1).However, the joint U.S.-Peruvian strategy of shooting down plans suspectedof carrying drugs has not been without problems. The international community will contribute $3.5billion and the United States will contribute $1.3 billion (Marcella,2 2). Support for human rights and judicial reform ($122 million) . The prospects for bringing all of thesegroups, including the Colombian government to the peace table are seen asenhanced by Plan Colombia. Plan Colombia, World and I, 17(1), 3 4-31 .Newman, R.J., & Whitelaw, K. The Humanist, 61(4), 18-21.Lazare, D. ReferencesA just war? Monthly Review, 53(1), 3 -34+.Robinson, L. dependence on Middle Eastern oil imports. The Colombian army is the primary beneficiary of themilitary aspects of Plan Colombia. The Economist, 385, 21. The end resultwas an almost immediate increase in the number of drug carrying planes thatleft Peru bound for the United States and the Caribbean. Unfortunately, this militaryorganization has one of the worst human rights records in the WesternHemisphere. The United States Congress did notengage in lengthy debate before passing Plan Colombia and is said byFratepietro (2 1) to have acted not only in response to the War on Drugsand concerns regarding democracy in Colombia, but also because Colombianoil is of vital strategic importance to the United Sates because it reducesU.S. (2 1). The CIA also maintains several Citation planes in Peru.Contract CIA employees man these planes and work directly with Peruvian AirForce pilots in the surveillance effort. aid, but other funds willbe spent in Bolivia and Peru. In his analysis of Plan Colombia, Marcella (2 2) argues that thereis no evidence that counter-narcotics and counter-insurgency operations inColombia will have lasting effects. For example, the United States spent $375 million onhelicopters, including 15 Blackhawks that are used to raid drug processingcenters and fight rebels, and 42 Huey II helicopters to move troops andequipment (America's shadow drug war, 2 1). (2 1). narcowar in Latin America. had provided Peru with $45 million toassist in establishing coffee and cacao farms and planned to spend $1 7million in this effort throughout 2 (Robinson, 1998). officials believed that it was essential to give cocoagrowers a viable means of survival to prevent them from returning to cocoacultivation. Other American funds have also been expended in the Colombian war ondrugs. (1996). In Peru, the U.S. The Peruvian success story. Marcella (2 2) summarizes Plan Colombia as a well thought out set ofmutually reinforcing initiatives. These are the kinds ofproblems that make it unlikely in the view of Petras (2 1) for PlanColombia to be successful.Summary and Conclusion The War on Drugs has cost the United States a large amount of money.History has suggested that while it is possible to reduce cocoa productionin one area at a time, the drug lords simply move their operation toanother location. Colombia's politicalsystem itself needs to be strengthened and FARC will need to be included inany restructuring effort. The U.S. Plan Colombia is based not only on American determination to end thedrug trade, but also on Washington's desire to put an end to guerrillaactivity in Colombia. American surveillanceplanes flown by CIA contract employees who work for a U.S.-funded system inPeru, shot down a small unarmed Cessna carrying Baptist missionaries fromthe United States (A just war, 2 1). News & World Report, 13 (18), 31.Peru, U.S. It is this activism that created PlanColombia. Agency for International Development (USAID). Peru alsoadopted an aggressive policy of shooting down suspected drug planes - 45 inthe late 199 s - whose pilots who do not respond to orders to land.According to Robinson (1998), U.S. The American war on drugs is being fought in Colombia under the nameof Plan Colombia. Marcella (2 2, p. It is theorized that if the money going to the drugtraffickers is dried up, the guerillas will no longer be able to pose athreat to the Colombian government and the paramilitary organizations willhave less reason for existence. War on Drugs in Colombia and PeruIntroduction Throughout the 199 s, the American government undertook a "war ondrugs" that targeted the countries of Peru and Colombia (among others) andwhich attempted to assist other countries and their governments in stoppingthe flow of various illicit substances into the United States. (2 1). Before theaccident, Peru's policy of blasting drug flights out of the sky had beenhailed as Peru's single most effective counter-drug tactic. Refueling a doomed war on drugs. Time, 157(18), 36+.Bush changing plan to fight drugs in Colombia. sign..., 2 2). United Press International, March 15, P. It is in fact themarket system that supports drug use and sales and makes illicit drugs ahighly profitable business. pp. The U.S. Colombia willcontinue to receive a substantial amount of U.S. Alternative economic development ($81 million for Colombia, $85 for Bolivia, and $8 million for Ecuador) . A report in Time (America's shadow drug war, 2 1) offered somestatistical data regarding American involvement in Peru's fight againstdrug trafficking. The difficulty of any war on drugs was described by Sharpe andSpencer (2 1) as centering on the fact that the "enemy" in such a war isnot any particular cartel, drug lord, or drug farmer. There are a number ofparamilitary vigilante groups in the regions dominated by FARC whichinclude the provinces of Putumayo, Caqueta, and Guaviare. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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