US State Department Certifies Colombia's Anti-Narcotics Program Providing $38 Million in Aid

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

Anti-narcotics workers destroy a coca plantation in Tumaco, Colombia.

The results of the anti-narcotics strategy implemented by Colombia in 2021 was highlighted by the United States Department of State, which on April 19 certified the process through a letter sent to the Colombian Congress. According to the US government, the actions of the South American country have been effective and these do not go against the provisions of the Peace Agreement.

“I certify that the government of Colombia has been implementing a national anti-narcotics strategy with the objective of reducing illicit crops and coca production by 50 percent by the year 2023 and that such strategy does not violate the peace agreements that they signed that were signed in 2016 between the government and the FARC,” says in the letter signed by Wendy Sherman, US Undersecretary of State.

The document described the actions led by the government of President Iván Duque as "aggressive." He highlighted that, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, which stopped most processes around the world, the country's anti-narcotics policy achieved record results in 2020 and 2021.

Likewise, he pointed out that it complied with the Five Pillars established in the 2018 anti-narcotics strategy, which includes the dismantling of criminal organizations, the reduction of drug demand, the fight against money laundering, and the increase in foot power in rural areas.

That "aggressive" policy is what would have allowed that during the current government, according to the Ministry of Defense (MinDefense), 1,010,616 kilograms of cocaine, and 1,062,932 kilograms of marijuana have been seized with 8,625 drug laboratories being destroyed. In addition, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), a 7% reduction was reported in the area planted with coca in the country, going from 154,000 hectares in 2019 to 143,000 in 2020. On the contrary, the capacity to obtain cocaine per hectare has increased in recent years. Despite this, the United States continues to welcome the actions implemented by Colombia.

As for not going against the Final Peace Agreement, the US State Department supported its statement based on an analysis published by the Kroc Institute for International Peace in December of last year. According to the think tank, the current administration has continued to implement the provisions on illicit drugs agreed upon in the agreement.

This document, beyond its political relevance for the country, represents an important economic boost, because this certification is a necessary requirement for the disbursement of 20% of the resources approved annually by the US for the South American country. In this case, the delivery of US $38 million corresponding to the fiscal year 2021 was pending.

The United States is one of the most important countries with which Colombia has cooperation agreements. It should even be remembered that in December of last year the United States approved its defense budget for 2022 and this included alliances with Colombia to support issues such as the fight against drug trafficking and terrorism. In that budget, conditions were also established to deliver the resources.

It is not new that the United States requires certain commitments from Colombia before supporting the programs that are carried out in the country, but it is noteworthy that last year, for the first time, they commit the public force. Colombia must prove that it is investigating the soldiers involved in alleged cases of abuse of force and this will have to be certified by the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken.

"It must be certified that the Colombian State is investigating the police officers who ordered, directed, or used excessive force and other illegal acts against people who demonstrated peacefully in 2021," reads the bill approved last year .

Thus, Colombia must continue to prove to the United States that it is a trustworthy ally. In addition to the guarantees of the public force, it will also have to continue consolidating the anti-narcotics policy because the commitment is that by the end of 2023 the hectares of illicit crops planted in the country will drop to about 104,000.

Source Infobae