US Assistance to Colombia - Military
1 2015-12-14T08:44:37-08:00 James Owen 5142bd6577c8bb547ba4ac26e4ea3bd431bf35bd 7363 1 plain 2015-12-14T08:44:38-08:00 James Owen 5142bd6577c8bb547ba4ac26e4ea3bd431bf35bdThis page is referenced by:
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2015-12-12T16:59:31-08:00
USG Response
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plain
2015-12-14T14:04:15-08:00
- The US Government has lent considerable intelligence and training to the Colombian government in support of their fight against FARC. This support peaked during the Reagan era, and saw a secondary surge in the mid 2000's, that led to many successful air strikes and raids on high level targets within FARC. The high levels of support coincide with periods of high priority on the international war on drugs, as FARC makes a majority of their money in the illicit drug trade through the collection of rents on cocaine producers.
- Multiple high ranking officials, highlighted by the air bombing and killing of second in command Mono Jojoy, have been taken out throughout the last decade because of intelligence and training provided by the US government. This toppling of leadership within FARC has been cited as a major contributing factor to bringing FARC back to the bargaining table with the Colombian government. We advise the US government continue to provide high levels of technical support and training to continue pressure on FARC without mobilizing large numbers of boots on the ground.
- The US Government should continue to use their superior intelligence gathering apparatus to analyse, disrupt, and freeze FARC associated assets and financial flows. Support within Colombia for US-led intelligence efforts against FARC regions has allowed the US to help the Colombian government effectively remove FARC from major economic and urban areas.
- CIA Intelligence has directly contributed to the downsizing of FARC controlled territories, as outlined above.
In order to hinder FARC action, the United States Government needs to focus their efforts on hurting FARC pocket books. U.S. effort should be aimed at drug enforcement and limiting the amount of drugs that FARC is able to successfully trade. Further more, the U.S. should continue to aid the Colombian government with technology to accurately target FARC camps with bombs, missiles, and mortar strikes.
