Act Now to Change U.S. Policy Toward Colombia and Cuba

Issue:

Colombia. In mid- to late September, the U.S. Senate will take up the foreign aid appropriations bill, the annual budget bill which includes funding for Colombia and the Andean region (see below for background on the Andean aid package). The US House of Representatives has already debated and voted on their version of the bill, and have passed a bill which contains additional funding for the Colombian military and money to continue aerial fumigation of coca crops in the region.

Although the aid package passed the House, the debate showed a growing unrest within the Congress over U.S. drug policy in the Andes. In their speeches on a number of amendments, representatives addressed issues such as ties between the Colombian armed forces and illegal paramilitary groups, the impact of fumigation on farming communities, legal crops, and the environment, and lack of accountability and supervision in the use of private military contractors. However, with the exception of a few senators, the Senate has largely brushed aside criticisms of the Colombia package based on human rights, environmental or effectiveness issues. Nonetheless, it is likely that during the Senate debate, amendments may be offered to the bill which would cut aid to the Colombian military, add more specific human rights conditions, halt or place a moratorium on fumigation, or prevent an expansion of U.S. support from counternarcotics to counterinsurgency. It is particularly important to speak with senators and urge them to support these amendments and to speak out in the Senate debate.

The Senate appropriations committee met in late July to debate and vote on the preliminary version of the foreign aid appropriations bill. The draft which passed the committee did include some helpful provisions on Colombia and the Andes: they reduced the amount of money provided to the region by $146 million below the Bush Administration's request; included human rights conditions in the bill; emphasized the importance of alternative development funding; and encouraged a mechanism for compensation for farmers whose legal crops are fumigated or who suffer health damages due to US-sponsored aerial fumigation efforts. However, the Senate appropriations committee did not change the fundamental problem with the package: it supports a militarized approach to counternarcotics, including forced aerial fumigation of coca and poppy fields and large-scale funding of the Colombian military despite its ties to abusive paramilitary forces.

Action

Urge your senators to support provisions which would cut military aid to Colombia, and which would halt or put a moratorium on fumigation. Also urge them to vote against any amendments to add more money or equipment to the package.

Ask your senators to speak out during the Senate debate regarding their concerns about the Colombian military's links to paramilitary forces, which commit 70% of the most serious human rights violations in Colombia today. Also ask them to raise concerns about the impact of aerial fumigation on small farmers, and the failure of the administration to date to deliver the social and economic assistance, particularly the alternative development programs, which were included in last year's aid package. Finally, they may wish to express their concerns about how this package is leading to increased involvement by the United States in Colombia's decades-old civil war.
You can reach your Senators or their foreign policy staff by calling the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Background on the aid request. In late March, the Bush Administration announced its plans to continue a military counter-drug strategy in the Andes with its proposed "Andean Regional Initiative"(ARI). This initiative requests military and social and economic aid for Colombia and its neighbors: Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Brazil, and Panama. Most of this aid will come through the regular foreign aid appropriations bill, but additional aid will come through the defense appropriations bill. Together, the aid totals about $1 billion in military and police assistance and economic and social aid to the Andean region for 2002 (this is on top of the $1.3 billion two-year package approved last year). The administration proposed to send a massive $363.04 million in training, spare parts and equipment for Colombia's military and police forces. Because the amounts in the administration's proposal have been trimmed by the House and Senate, the final total will be somewhat less.

Issue:

Cuba. In the face of a difficult political environment and an Administration strongly opposed to a change in US policy toward Cuba, members of the House voted for a new way to relate to Cuba on July 25th. In their debate on the Treasury/Postal appropriations bill, the House passed the Flake amendment, which softens the enforcement of restrictions on travel to Cuba. An amendment prohibiting Treasury funds from being used to enforce any terms of the embargo was defeated by a narrow margin, signaling potential for broader policy change in the future. The Senate will take up the issue after the August recess.

Action:

During or after the recess, please visit or call your two Senators to urge their support for lifting financing restrictions on the sale of food and medicine to Cuba and for totally removing restrictions preventing US citizens from traveling to Cuba. If you would like "talking points" on the upcoming legislation in the Senate, please e-mail lawg@lawg.org.

This alert was written by Lisa Haugaard of the Latin America Working Group.