Colombia

Index

Colombia Main Page
La Violencia Claims Thousands of Lives
Rise of Rebel Groups M-19, ELN, FARC, and UAC
Joint Antinarcotics Effort with the United States, Plan Colombia, Begins
President Uribe Makes Strides in the Face of Significant Domestic Challenges
Venezuelan President Chavez Achieves Some Success in Releasing FARC-held Hostages
Political Veteran Assumes the Presidency
FARC Halts Kidnapping and Free Trade Agreement with the U.S. Begins

President Uribe Makes Strides in the Face of Significant Domestic Challenges

In May 2004, the UN announced that Colombia's 39-year-long drug war had created the worst humanitarian crisis in the Western Hemisphere. More than 2 million people have been forced to leave their homes and several Indian tribes are close to extinction. Colombia now houses the third-largest displaced population in the world, with only Sudan and the Congo having more. Uribe has produced some impressive results in fixing his country's ills, however. According to his defense minister, during 2003 more than 16,000 suspected leftist guerrillas and right-wing paramilitary vigilantes either surrendered, were apprehended, or were killed. Since 2003, the right-wing paramilitary group AUC has been involved in peace talks with the government, but despite demobilizing 4,000 troops, the vigilante group seemed as vigorous as ever in 2005. Although the two other major armed groups, left-wing FARC and ELN, continue to finance themselves through kidnapping and drug trafficking, governmental efforts have been successful in significantly reducing the kidnapping rate.

By 2006, the United States had invested $4 billion into Plan Colombia, the joint U.S.-Colombia coca antinarcotics plan begun in 2000. While officials say the program has eradicated more than a million acres of coca plants, Colombian drug traffickers are still managing to supply 90% of the cocaine used in the U.S. and 50% of the heroin—the same percentages supplied five years ago, when the program began. In 2006, a U.S. government survey acknowledged that coca production in the country had in fact increased by 26%, and that aerial spraying of the illegal crops—the primary strategy of Plan Colombia—was failing.

On May 28, 2006, President Uribe was reelected with 62% of the vote. Economic growth and a reduction in paramilitary violence were believed to be responsible for his landslide reelection. A controversy surrounding suspected ties between members of Uribe's government and paramilitary leaders dogged Uribe in late 2006 and into 2007.

In November 2007, the Colombian army captured FARC rebels who were carrying videos, photographs, and letters of about 15 hostages, some who have been held in jungle camps for nearly ten years. The Marxist-inspired FARC—the largest rebel group in Latin America—has been waging guerilla wars against the Colombian government for 40 years. Hostages included three American military contractors and Ingrid Betancourt, former Colombian presidential candidate. Also in November, Uribe withdrew his support of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez’s attempts to negotiate with the FARC, escalating tension between the two countries. Chavez subsequently withdrew the Venezuelan ambassador to Colombia.