Change directions on trade and war in Colombia

Chledren in a displacement camp
Children living in diplacement camp in Colombia.
Photo courtesy of David Bacon.

Despite accusations of Colombian government links to the worst human rights violators in the Western Hemisphere, the U.S. government continues to fund Plan Colombia and move forward with a free trade agreement. There is a dire need for a change in current U.S. policies toward Colombia. With a new direction, the U.S. can play an important role in helping to solve Colombia's crisis.

The past seven years are proof that investing $5 billion of U.S. military aid to fight a war on drugs will not eliminate the trafficking and production of cocaine, the growth of coca, or bring stability to Colombia. The United States would do well to take the advice that the conservative RAND Corporation doled out seven years ago, when Plan Colombia I began; namely, that it is 23 times more efficient to deal with consumption of drugs rather than supply through drug prevention and education programs as well as medical services for those who are addicted here at home. In addition, the U.S. should support peace negotiations that will increase the human security of those who are most affected by the violence in Colombia.

The FTA is part of the United States government's "one-size-fits-all" approach with trade agree-ments. It contains the same objectionable provisions as previous trade agreements, such as: extreme monopoly drug patent extensions; extrajudicial challenges of environmental, health and land-use policies by foreign investors; and zeroing out of staple food tariffs in trade partner countries.

The structural and systemic flaws in the current framework have generated growing inequities, the destruction of livelihoods, increasing deterioration in the health and well-being of people living in poverty, and environmental devastation both in the United States and abroad. This trade pact will exacerbate the already critical humanitarian situation in Colombia. It is time for a new direction in U.S. trade policy that will foster peoples' well-being abroad and in the U.S. Such agreements must go beyond narrow commercial interests currently governing our trade policy and create a new framework with values that are built on democratic principles and support the well-being of people and the environment.