By Raul Cienfuegos
The latest phase of US military intervention in Colombia the US$7.5 billion Plan Colombia under the thin veil of the "war on drugs" has completed over a year of operations. The US is now topping up their $1.3 billion contribution with $890 million more and renaming their operation "Andean Initiative".
The focus of the plan is to increase US military intervention in countries neighbouring Colombia where there is significant resistance to US imperialism. The US air force base in Manta, Ecuador and the US airbase in El Salvador are just two examples of the many military bases and operations the US has established in the region. In Guatemala, Ecuador, Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina the US has also increased its military presence by establishing bases or conducting joint training exercises. Many of the exercises have been in operations combating "internal unrest".
Military aid
However, the main focus of US aid has been the Colombian military. The result of giving the western hemisphere's greatest human rights violators a multimillion dollar military package and more than a thousand US military trainers and pilots has been predictable. Like giving pyromaniacs petrol and matches, Colombia's state security forces have increased their massacres and torturing of Colombian workers. In January alone, according to the coca growers association, the army and paramilitary combined forces killed 1500 peasant coca growers in Putumayo province and in the first six months of this year 55 union activists have been assassinated.
There has also been an increase in the number of internally displaced people who now number more than 2.5 million. What could potentially cause even more displacements and deaths is the indiscriminate fumigation of both legal and illegal crops in areas that are known to be left-wing strongholds. This has left the ground sterile in many areas of subsistence farming. Many small waterways have been contaminated and tens of thousands of people have become sick with fevers, headaches and skin rashes as a result of eating or drinking contaminated food or water.
The sticking agent in the herbicide used for fumigation has meant that the people who have been affected are suffering for months on end from endless itching, while others have had the lining of their lungs affected resulting in a slow and painful death.
Meanwhile, municipalities that are under tight military control have seen a boom in coca and poppy production. The US State Department has also admitted that it was involved in initiating the assassination squad that formed the basis of the present paramilitary units that not only carry out most of the human rights violations on behalf of the state but are also self-declared cocaine and heroin producers and traffickers.
US spy planes
The US military also plays another role in Colombia: a sophisticated network of spy planes, satellites and radar stations has been put in place to track the movements and location of left-wing guerrillas. Up until now, this network has proved to be very inaccurate. Villages nowhere near the guerrillas are being bombed.
One of the most publicised examples occurred in 1998 when the village of Santo Domingo in northern Colombia was bombed and 19 civilians were killed by the Colombian air force after a US spy plane identified the village as a guerrilla column. The same network of satellites and planes managed to shoot down a small plane carrying missionaries in northern Peru.
The effects of Plan Colombia have gone beyond the usual counter-insurgency tactics as the US has told the Colombian government that it must pay for the bulk of military expenses with IMF loans. This means that the government has had to carry out further privatisations and food and petrol price increases to meet the conditions of the IMF, making the government even less popular.
Opposition to Plan Colombia
However, US military hawks have not had it all their own way, as no other country has agreed to send military personnel despite many US requests. The European Union has stated that it will not support any military aspects of Plan Colombia and the Organisation of American States which usually rubber stamps any US initiative has voiced opposition to any US military intervention in Colombia.
Inside Colombia, opposition to US imperialism has increased as the effect of the US counter-insurgency program has been that thousands of very angry and desperate Colombians have flocked to the liberated zones and camps of the left-wing guerrillas.
On May 27, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP) celebrated the 37th anniversary of its struggle. Comandante Andres Paris of the FARC said, "This is a celebration of the people's dignity and struggle against injustice and we have good reason to celebrate because we are bigger and stronger than we have ever been."
Politically the FARC has had a huge boost of support from their successful series of public forums, which have given the people a chance to have their say in the peace process. More than 20,000 people have participated in 25 public forums on a range of topics such as unemployment, social security, national debt and the environment. The response of the majority of people who have participated in these forums has been supportive of the ideas and policies of the FARC.
Guerrilla alliance
While the US has spent billions to wipe out the guerrillas, the FARC and the National Liberation Army (ELN) have managed to consolidate a military alliance in the ELN's stronghold. They have expanded their territory and areas of operation, have increased their base of support and cleared the army and paramilitaries from many of their strongholds.
The FARC has also managed to secure the release of 14 guerrillas in a prisoner exchange in which the FARC handed over 355 soldiers. During the three years in which the prisoner exchange has been hammered out at the negotiation table, the FARC and the ELN have managed to break more than 400 prisoners out of jail. About 100 of these are members of the two guerrilla groups.
The most spectacular jailbreak occurred on June 24 when FARC urban guerrillas freed 98 prisoners from La Picota Penitentiary in Bogota. Nineteen of these prisoners are members of the FARC and many others are ELN members. La Picota is the highest security prison in Colombia and is surrounded by military bases, razor wire and heavily armed guards. The guerrillas blew holes through the walls and then shot their way out, before disappearing into a working class suburb of Bogota where the FARC has a large base of support.
The FARC is so confident in its operations that the commander-in-charge of military operations, Jorge Briceno said: "Soon the only thing left in the jungle will be rats, turkeys and birds because we're going to town", implying that an offensive to capture the main cities will soon be launched.
However, the FARC has also stated that it needs every left-wing activist to support the people who are putting their lives on the line to keep the alive idea that revolution and socialism are achievable. The guerrilla groups in Colombia have also stated that they want pressure on the US government to stop arming and aiding the Colombian army and paramilitary so that they do not repeat the genocide that they have committed in many other countries.