The
2005 aid request
On
December 8, 2004, President Bush signed into law the 2005 foreign
aid bill. The legislation was combined with six other appropriations
bills, containing much federal discretionary spending. The Foreign
Operations bill (H.R. 4818), which includes most aid to Colombia,
became “Division D” of this combined “omnibus” budget legislation
(also H.R.
4818).
On
November 20, 2004, a House-Senate Conference Committee reconciled
differences between the two chambers' versions of the bill.
Relevant
text from earlier versions of House and Senate bills
and committee reports
Aid
amounts
(Estimated
total for Colombia: $429.5 million military/police aid, $152.1
million economic/social aid; up to $200 million in additional
military/police aid is included in another bill, the Defense
Department Appropriations Act)
The
bill's final version gives the Bush administration most of what
it asked for, including its full $731 million request for the
“Andean Counterdrug Initiative (ACI).” Administered by
the State Department’s international narcotics bureau, the ACI
provides counter-drug military and economic aid for Colombia
and eight of its neighbors (Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala,
Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Venezuela; Guatemala and Nicaragua
appear within the ACI for the first time).
This
program contains much of the military and economic aid that
Colombia receives. The conference committee's narrative report
recommended giving Colombia $477.7 million from the ACI
in 2005, $324.4 million of it military and police aid ($313.2
for "interdiction" and $11.2 for "Air Bridge
Denial) and $153.3 million of it economic and social aid ($125.7
for "Alternative Development/Institution Building"
and $27.6 for "Rule of Law").
In
February 2005, the administration estimated it would in fact
give Colombia $473.9 million from the “Andean Counterdrug
Initiative” account in 2005, $321.8 million of it for the military
and police ($310.7 for "interdiction" and $11.1 for
"Air Bridge Denial), $152.1 milllion of it economic and
social assistance ($124.7 for "Alternative Development/Institution
Building" and $27.4 for "Rule of Law").
The
ACI aid contains several earmarks. Of the $731 million for the
entire Andean region, at least $264.6 million must fund alternative-development
and institution-building programs, with $237 million going directly
to the United States Agency for International Development instead
of passing through the State Department’s narcotics bureau.
Of that amount, $125.7 million must be USAID assistance to Colombia.
Of
this $264.6 million in economic aid, the bill specifies that
at least $6 million must support judicial reform programs in
Colombia, and an additional $6 million must support organizations
and programs to protect human rights. At least $2 million must
"be made available through nongovernmental organizations
for programs to protect biodiversity and indigenous reserves
in Colombia."
In
addition to the ACI, Congress recommended providing Colombia
with $100 million in Foreign Military Financing
(FMF, the chief non-drug military aid program in foreign aid
legislation). Among other activities, this account funds a program
to help Colombia’s army protect the Caño Limón-Coveñas oil pipeline
in the department of Arauca, and much support for the "Plan
Patriota" military offensive in southern Colombia.
In February 2005, the administration estimated it would in fact
give Colombia $99.2 million in FMF in 2005.
Colombia
would get another $1.7 million in International Military
Education and Training (IMET) funding, which pays for military
and police training, in 2005. In 2004, IMET funded 704 of the
8,801 Colombian military and police personnel trained by the
United States. (The number-one training program, with 6,472
students funded, was the Defense Department’s “Section 1004”
counter-drug funding authority. This program is not even part
of the Foreign Operations funding bill; it is funded separately,
through the budget of the Department of Defense.)
Expanded
authority
The
bill continues language that first appeared in the 2002 emergency
anti-terror supplemental appropriation bill. For the duration
of fiscal year 2005, the bill expands the mission of all past
and present counter-drug aid, allowing it to be used in a “unified
campaign” against both drugs and the activities of the FARC,
ELN and AUC – in other words, allowing aid from counter-drug
funding accounts to be used for counter-insurgent (or “counter-terror”)
operations.
As
in 2003 and 2004, this expanded mission is contingent on the
Colombian military’s execution of “vigorous operations” to retake
territory from paramilitary and guerrilla groups, and to respect
human rights. As in past years, U.S.-donated helicopters must
be returned if the State Department finds that Colombian forces
used them to aid or abet paramilitary groups.
Funding
paramilitary demobilizations
The
bill language requires that any funding for demobilization and
reintegration of armed-group members "be subject to prior
consultation with, and the regular notification procedures of,
the Committees on Appropriations." The Conference Committee's
non-binding narrative report lays out some strong conditions:
The
managers are aware that the Colombian Government is engaged
in demobilization negotiations with such groups, which have
been designated foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) by
the State Department. Leaders of these FTOs have been indicted
by the Justice Department for drug trafficking and these groups
have been implicated in widespread human rights violations.
The managers note that according to the Justice Department,
United States law forbids the provision of United States assistance
to members of terrorist organizations. The managers further
note that USAID included $3,250,000 in its fiscal year 2005
budget justification for `Peace Initiatives' in Colombia,
including demobilization/integration. The conference agreement
requires consultation with and notification to the Committees
prior to the obligation of fiscal year 2005 funds for such
activities. The managers believe that the costs of demobilizing
illegal armed groups should be borne by the Colombian Government,
not the United States. The managers are concerned that the
demobilization process is being undertaken without adequate
safeguards to ensure the dismantling of such FTOs, to deter
members of such groups from resuming illegal activities, or
to prosecute and punish those involved in drug trafficking
and human rights violations.
The
managers do not believe the Administration should request
funds in fiscal year 2006 for the demobilization/reintegration
of members of such FTOs unless it is for limited activities
that are determined by the Justice Department to be consistent
with United States anti-terrorism laws, and the following
conditions can be met: (1) The FTO is respecting a ceasefire
and the cessation of illegal activities; (2) the Government
of Colombia has not adopted any law or policy inconsistent
with its obligations under the United States-Colombian treaty
on extradition, and has committed to the United States that
it will continue to extradite Colombian citizens to the United
States, including members of such illegal armed groups, in
accordance with that treaty; (3) the Colombian legal framework
governing the demobilization of such groups provides for prosecution
and punishment, in proportion to the crimes committed, of
those responsible for gross violations of human rights, violations
of international humanitarian law, and drug trafficking, for
reparations to victims, and for the monitoring of demobilized
individuals; (4) the Government of Colombia is implementing
a policy of effectively dismantling such groups, including
the seizure of financial and property assets; and (5) the
Government of Colombia is taking actions to enable the return
of stolen assets, including real property, to their original
owners.
The
managers are also aware that the Administration has used fiscal
year 2004 funds to support the Organization of American States
(OAS) Mission in Colombia. The managers request that, prior
to the provision of additional funds to the OAS for this purpose,
the Secretary of State report to the Committees that the OAS
Mission is strictly adhering to its verification role, FTOs
are concentrated in zones for demobilization, the legal framework
governing the demobilization conforms with (3) above, and
the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights is providing
advice to the OAS Mission.
Fumigation
in national parks
As
in 2004, ACI funds may support aerial herbicide fumigation in
Colombia’s national parks and reserves “if the Secretary of
State determines that it is in accordance with Colombian laws
and that there are no effective alternatives to reduce drug
cultivation in these areas.”
Human
rights conditions
As
in 2003 and 2004, twenty-five percent of the aid will be held
up until the Secretary of State certifies that the Colombian
military is complying with several human rights standards. (This
is a step down from 2001 and 2002, when all aid was subject
to human rights restrictions.)
They are as follows:
(A)
The Commander General of the Colombian Armed Forces is suspending
from the Armed Forces those members, of whatever rank who,
according to the Minister of Defense or the Procuraduria General
de la Nacion, have been credibly alleged to have committed
gross violations of human rights, including extra-judicial
killings, or to have aided or abetted paramilitary organizations.
(B)
The Colombian Government is vigorously investigating and prosecuting
those members of the Colombian Armed Forces, of whatever rank,
who have been credibly alleged to have committed gross violations
of human rights, including extra-judicial killings, or to
have aided or abetted paramilitary organizations, and is promptly
punishing those members of the Colombian Armed Forces found
to have committed such violations of human rights or to have
aided or abetted paramilitary organizations.
(C)
The Colombian Armed Forces have made substantial progress
in cooperating with civilian prosecutors and judicial authorities
in such cases (including providing requested information,
such as the identity of persons suspended from the Armed Forces
and the nature and cause of the suspension, and access to
witnesses, relevant military documents, and other requested
information).
(D)
The Colombian Armed Forces have made substantial progress
in severing links (including denying access to military intelligence,
vehicles, and other equipment or supplies, and ceasing other
forms of active or tacit cooperation) at the command, battalion,
and brigade levels, with paramilitary organizations, especially
in regions where these organizations have a significant presence.
(E)
The Colombian Government is dismantling paramilitary leadership
and financial networks by arresting commanders and financial
backers, especially in regions where these networks have a
significant presence.
This
section requires the State Department to consult with internationally
recognized human-rights organizations on Colombia every 90 days.
Fumigation
conditions
As
in 2003 and 2004, the law holds up eighty percent of funding
for herbicides until the State Department certifies that aerial
fumigation of drug crops is occurring within a series of guidelines
for health, environment, compensation for those unjustly sprayed,
and availability of alternative development “where security
permits.”
Peru
and Bolivia
While
since August 2003 the United States has been supporting Colombian
Air Force efforts to force down (or shoot down) aircraft suspected
of trafficking drugs and arms, similar aid to Peru remains suspended.
Procedures are still not in place to avoid accidents, such as
an April 2001 incident in which a Peruvian Air Force plane mistakenly
shot down a light aircraft carrying a family of U.S. missionaries.
The bill renews 2003 and 2004 language prohibiting U.S. funding
for a renewed Peruvian air interdiction program until 30 days
after the State Department and CIA certify that “enhanced safeguards
and procedures” are in place to prevent a repeat of the 2001
tragedy.
Human
rights conditions on ACI aid to Bolivia, which first appeared
in 2004, are renewed. Aid to Bolivia’s security forces is now
subject to a determination by the Secretary of State, and a
report to the congressional Appropriations Committees, that
the Bolivian military and police are respecting human rights
and cooperating with investigations and prosecutions of alleged
violations.
Report
No
“Andean Counterdrug Initiative” funds can be spent until the
State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development
give Congress a report on the proposed uses of all funds “on
a country-by-country basis for each proposed program, project,
or activity.” This report was due within 45 days of the bill’s
final passage.
Previous
steps
The
Senate
On
September 23, 2004, the full Senate met and approved the
Foreign Operations appropriations bill (S.
2812). No changes were made to the bill's Colombia provisions
at this stage.
On
September 16, 2004, the Senate Appropriations Committee
approved the Foreign Operations appropriations bill (S.
2812). It made no changes to the amounts of aid in the Bush
Administration's request. The committee's version would do the
following:
-
Appropriate
the full $731 million request for the "Andean Counter-Drug
Initiative" (ACI) account, which includes anti-drug military
and economic aid for Colombia and six of its neighbors.
-
As
in past bills, the ACI money can be used "to support
a unified campaign against narcotics trafficking [and] against
activities by organizations designated as terrorist organizations"
in Colombia.
-
Ensure
that at least $272 million of the $731 million goes to alternative
development and institution-building (that is, non-military,
non-police aid) programs.
-
Ensure
that the U.S. Agency for International Development distributes
at least $240 million of the $731 million ACI account, including
at least $140 million for Colombia. This would be required
to include:
-
at
least $6 million for judicial reform in Colombia;
-
at
least $6 million for USAID-funded human rights programs
in Colombia (the committee's non-binding report language
indicates that this should include the UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights' field
office in Colombia);
-
at
least $2 million for nongovernmental organizations for
programs to protect biodiversity and indigenous reserves
in Colombia (the committee's non-binding report language
notes that, while similar aid in 2004 was earmarked for
Colombia's National Parks office, "due to changed
circumstances, including the replacement of the director
of the Park Service, the Committee directs that these
fiscal year 2004 funds be made available instead to USAID
to support direct grants to NGOs that work with indigenous
communities bordering the parks, to promote conservation
of the parks. The Committee requests USAID to consult
with the former director of the Park Service, and with
the Committee, on the use of these funds.").
-
Prohibit,
in language appearing for the first time, funding to help
Colombia demobilize illegal armed groups, unless the following
four conditions are met:
-
Colombia's "legal framework" for the demobilization
provides for prosecution and punishment, in proportion
to the crimes committed, of those responsible for gross
violations of human rights and drug trafficking;
-
The
Colombian government is acting to dismantle armed groups'
"underlying structures," including the seizure
of assets;
-
The
Colombian government is acting to help civilians forcibly
displaced by illegal groups to return; and
-
The
United States Government is able to continue extraditing
Colombian citizens, including armed-group members.
-
Hold
back 80 percent of funds for herbicides pending a certification
on the environmental and health effects of fumigation,
payments for legal crops destroyed by spraying, and the
presence of alternative-development opportunities in areas
to be sprayed.
-
Hold
back funding for fumigation in Colombia's national parks
until the Secretary of State certifies that it is in accordance
with Colombian laws and that there are no effective alternatives
to reduce drug cultivation in these areas.
-
Prohibit
U.S. armed forces or civilian contractor personnel from
participating in any combat operation in connection with
funds in the bill for Colombia.
-
Human
rights conditions are attached to 25 percent of Colombian
military aid. They are similar to conditions governing
aid in 2004, and identical to conditions in the House
version of the bill.
-
Human
rights conditions are added to aid to Bolivia under the ACI;
they are weaker than conditions applied in 2004, however,
as they do not require a formal certification by the Secretary
of State.
-
The
Bush Administration's request for $110 million in Foreign
Military Financing (FMF) assistance for Colombia is not specifically
mentioned in the bill language (though the administration
is free to use money in the global FMF account for Colombia).
The
House of Representatives
On
July 15, 2004, the House of Representatives approved the
Foreign Operations appropriations bill (H.R.
4818). It made no changes to the amounts of aid to Colombia
in the Bush Administration's request.
The
House version of the bill does not include language requiring
a certification
of the aerial fumigation program, a provision which appeared on
the 2002, 2003 and 2004 foreign aid bills. It also fails to include
language in recent bills (a) requiring that a significant portion
of Andean Counterdrug Initiative funding go directly to the U.S.
Agency for International Development (AID), (b) earmarking money
for justice and rule of law programs in Colombia, or (c) earmarking
funding for Colombia's National Park Service. (The House language
also fails to include a certification of Bolivia's human rights
performance, a requirement that first appeared in the 2004 foreign
aid bill.)
The
House bill includes language identical to the 2004 law which conditions
25 percent of military aid to Colombia on a certification of the
Colombian armed forces' human rights performance.
The
bill also excludes language renewing a prohibition on the presence
of more than 400 U.S. military personnel and 400 U.S. citizen
contractors on Colombian soil. The House debated an amendment,
introduced and later withdrawn by Rep. Sam Farr (D-California),
that would have limited any increase in this presence. (The troop
cap debate, which has centered mainly on the 2005 Defense Authorization
bill, is discussed on another page
in this site.)
The
administration's request
On
February 6, 2004, the Bush administration submitted to
Congress its foreign aid budget request for 2005. It called for
an amount of aid to Colombia slightly higher than 2004 levels:
about $597.72 million, compared to about $574.8 million in 2004.
Of that amount, $447 million would go to Colombia's military and
police, with the remaining $150 million going to economic and
social assistance programs.
Foreign
operations accounts for most - but not all - of the aid that Colombia
gets. The Defense budget appropriation provides additional
counter-drug aid military and police aid, but the Defense Department
is not required to estimate how much aid each country is to receive.
In 2003, however, Colombia's military and police received an estimated
$149 million in additional military and police aid through the
U.S. defense budget. If Colombia receives a similar amount in
2005 - and it is likely to get more - it will get $570.92 million
in military-police aid next year (79.2%), compared to $150 million
in economic-social aid.
|
Program
|
Military
/ Police Aid
|
Economic
/ Social Aid
|
Total
|
International
Narcotics Control (INC
- Andean Regional Initiative)
|
$334,000,000
|
$150,000,000
|
$484,000,000
|
Foreign
Military Financing (FMF)
|
$108,000,000
|
-
|
$108,000,000
|
International
Military Education and Training (IMET)
|
$1,800,000
|
-
|
$1,800,000
|
Anti-Terrorism
Assistance (ATA)
|
$3,920,000
|
-
|
$3,920,000
|
|
Foreign
Operations Budget Request Total
|
$447,720,000
|
$150,000,000
|
$597,720,000
|
Defense-Budget
Counternarcotics Aid (Known as "Section
1004" and "Section
1033"), estimated by averaging 2002-2003
levels
|
$123,200,000
|
-
|
$123,200,000
|
|
Estimated
Overall 2004 Total
|
$570,920,000
|
$150,000,000
|
$720,920,000
|
Foreign
Military Financing
The
Foreign Military Financing (FMF)
program -- used in recent years mostly to provide grant military
aid to the Middle East -- would provide Colombia with $108 million
in 2005. This money continues the effort to help Colombia's army
protect the Caño
Limón-Coveñas pipeline, which runs from Arauca department
to Sucre department in northeastern Colombia. Much oil in this
pipeline belongs to Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum.
Our
FMF request supports Colombia’s integrated national strategy
with significant military assistance and counternarcotics programs
that increase the Colombian military’s ability to establish
a secure environment, essential to President Uribe’s comprehensive
national security strategy.
We
will provide operational support (training, supplies, repair
parts maintenance and infrastructure) and specialized equipment,
including weapons, night vision goggles and communications,
to the Army. The focus of this support will be on the elite
mobile brigades, the Rapid Reaction brigade (known by the Spanish
acronym FUDRA) and the Commando and Lancero Battalions, in order
to defeat high priority narcotics and terrorist targets. The
5th and 18th Colombian Army Brigades, trained in 2003 to provide
protection to the Cano Limon-Covenas pipeline, a key element
of Colombia’s economic infrastructure, will receive additional
munitions, equipment and training to sustain this high profile
and important mission. Support will also include establishing
a national training center and developing an automated logistical
system.
FMF
funding will also support the Colombian Navy and Air Force and
include the provision of interdiction boats, additional combat
aircraft, training and infrastructure improvements, maintenance
and operational support for Colombia’s C-130 transportation
fleet, improving the ability of the entire Colombian military
quickly provide forces for operations throughout the country.
Colombia’s very limited combat search and rescue (CSAR)/aero
medevac capability negatively affects all operations.
As
the military and police re-establish national authority in new
areas, improving the medical evacuation and treatment capability
of the security forces becomes more critical. Our request includes
funds to purchase battlefield medical treatment, CSAR and medevac-related
equipment and training for Army and Air Force units, enhancing
both Colombian capability and force protection of U.S. personnel
in Colombia. FMF also supports naval interdiction programs by
providing secure communications equipment, spare parts, and
assistance to establish an operations center. Riverine forces
will benefit from spare parts and other logistic support.
The
Andean Counter-Drug Initiative request
The
aid request would provide Colombia and its neighbors with an additional
$731 million in International Narcotics Control (INC)
assistance, both military/police and economic.
|
Country
|
Military
/ Police
|
Economic
/ Social
|
Total
|
|
Colombia
|
$334,000,000
|
$150,000,000
|
$484,000,000
|
|
Peru
|
$62,000,000
|
$50,000,000
|
$112,000,000
|
|
Bolivia
|
$49,000,000
|
$42,000,000
|
$91,000,000
|
|
Ecuador
|
$11,000,000
|
$15,000,000
|
$26,000,000
|
|
Brazil
|
$12,000,000
|
-
|
$9,000,000
|
|
Venezuela
|
$5,000,000
|
-
|
$3,000,000
|
|
Panama
|
$9,000,000
|
-
|
$6,000,000
|
|
Total
|
$474,000,000
|
$257,000,000
|
$731,000,000
|
Source
documents
-
-
H.R.
4818, the Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill for 2005
-
House
Appropriations Committee Report 108-599
|
