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Last Updated:5/13/01
U.S. Military and Police Aid:
The 2002 Aid Request

Highlights:

  • When all funding channels are considered, the Bush Administration's "Andean Initiative" would give Colombia and its neighbors nearly $1.1 billion in 2002, 54 percent of it military and police assistance.
  • Colombia would get a package of 71 percent military and police aid, compared with 82 percent in 2000-2001. The 2002 aid request contains 24 percent less military and police aid for Colombia than the levels approved for 2000-2001, and 36 percent more economic and social aid.
  • It appears that no new helicopters or counternarcotics battalions are in the 2002 request.
  • The decrease for Colombia is almost exactly offset by large increases in military aid to Colombia's neighbors as part of an "Andean Counterdrug Initiative."
  • The decrease does not represent a change in strategy. Most of the 2002 aid will maintain equipment that has yet to be delivered and support military units that have just begun to exist.
  • A large increase may be possible in the 2003 request. By next year, the 2000-2001 aid will have been delivered, and Congress will be in an election year.

(Este documento tambíen está disponible en español.)

The large aid package for Colombia that became law in July 2000 only covers the years 2000 and 2001. In 2001, Congress will consider a request for additional aid for 2002.

While the 2000-2001 aid package was a separate "supplemental appropriation," the 2002 aid request will be part of the normal federal budget process. Under this process, Congress debates and approves the executive branch's budget request by dividing it into thirteen separate appropriations bills. Nearly all aid for Colombia and its neighbors will come from two of these bills: the foreign operations (foreign aid) appropriations bill and the defense (Pentagon budget) appropriations bill.

On April 9, 2001, President Bush sent his 2002 budget request to Congress. The State Department posted the foreign operations aid request, which accounts for roughly 80 percent of all aid, to its website at http://www.state.gov/s/rpp/rls/iab/. CIP has posted a more detailed draft of the Andean region request at http://www.ciponline.org/colombia/041801.htm. The Defense Department's assistance plans for 2002 would add an additional $84.22 million in military assistance.

Colombia will see a decrease in assistance from 2000-2001, while its Andean neighbors will see large increases. The following are the Center for International Policy's estimates of aid through all channels. To find out how we derived these estimates, view the tables at the bottom of this page.

Country
Military and police aid (millions of U.S. dollars)
Social and economic aid (millions of U.S. dollars)
2000-2001 average (% of total aid)
2002 request (% of total aid)
Percent change
 
2000-2001 average (% of total aid)
2002 request (% of total aid)
Percent change
Colombia
$475.83 (82%)
$367.20 (71%)
-24%
 
$108 (18%)
$147 (29%)
+36%
Peru
$49.18 (30%)
$89.45 (34%)
+82%
 
$116.65 (70%)
$177.03 (66%)
+52%
Bolivia
$51.23 (31%)
$61.25 (36%)
+20%
 
$112.44 (69%)
$108.24 (64%)
-4%
Ecuador
$19.43 (52%)
$31.76 (36%)
+63%
 
$18.09 (48%)
$56.80 (64%)
+214%
Brazil
$3.68 (21%)
$16.36 (59%)
+345%
 
$13.59 (79%)
$11.18 (41%)
-18%
Venezuela
$5.46 (94%)
$13.33 (96%)
+144%
 
$0.33 (6%)
$0.58 (4%)
+76%
Panama
$4.36 (49%)
$13.97 (62%)
+220%
 
$4.60 (51%)
$8.50 (38%)
+85%

Total
($1,098.49)

$609.17 (62%)
$593.32 (54%)
-3%
$373.70 (38%)
$509.33 (46%)
+36%

(Estimates as of May 13, 2001, subject to change.)

As the table above and the bar graph below indicate, military and police aid for Colombia will decrease by an estimated 24 percent in 2002 from 2000-2001 levels. This decrease will be almost exactly matched by increases in military and police aid for other Andean countries. Economic assistance will increase significantly in every country. Total assistance to the "Andean Initiative" countries will be about 54 percent military.

By far the most significant aid program in the foreign operations bill is International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (known variously as "INL," "INC," and "INCLE"), which appears in red in the bar graph below. Administered by the State Department, INC is the government's main counternarcotics foreign aid program. In addition to military and police aid, INC includes all social and economic aid, such as alternative development programs, assistance to displaced persons, and support for judicial reform, administration of justice, human rights and peace.

The main channel for the United States' "Plan Colombia" assistance in 2000-2001, INC in 2002 will support what the State Department is calling an "Andean counterdrug initiative" or "ACI." The ACI will distribute $731 million in 2002 through the INC budget as follows:

Country
Military and police assistance
Social and economic assistance
Total
Colombia
$252.5 million
$146.5 million
$399 million
Peru
$77 million
$79 million
$156 million
Bolivia
$54 million
$47 million
$101 million
Ecuador
$19 million
$20 million
$39 million
Brazil
$15 million
*
$15 million
Venezuela
$10 million
*
$10 million
Panama
$11 million
*
$11 million
Total
$438.5 million
$292.5 million
$731 million

*According to the State Department, aid for these countries is "primarily for interdiction
[military/police assistance], although also available for institutional development, to the extent feasible."

The decrease in military aid for Colombia does not mean that the United States is abandoning the military-based strategy set forth in last year's aid package. Assistance for Colombia's security forces has merely hit a plateau while last year's aid awaits delivery. The 2000-2001 aid package included funding to create two counternarcotics battalions in Colombia's Army (for a total of three); while one completed training last December, the third will not be ready until May 24. These battalions' expensive Blackhawk helicopters will not begin to arrive in Colombia until July, and their upgraded Huey helicopters will begin delivery in November. (Another explanation for the 2002 military-aid plateau, of course, is that 2001 is not an election year. Members of Congress feel less compelled to adopt measures that appear "tough on drugs" when not facing a campaign in the fall.)

With much aid undelivered and the battalion strategy largely untested, no new helicopters or battalions are likely for 2002. The 2002 request appears to be aimed mainly at maintaining aid and programs already in place with spare parts, fuel, ammunition, mechanics and logistics, lots of training, and an expanded aerial fumigation program. (Maintenance will not be cheap -- a Blackhawk helicopter, for instance, costs about $3,500 per hour to operate.)

The proposed increase in social and economic aid is encouraging, for it indicates a that U.S.-funded development programs may be sufficiently well-established by 2002 to absorb the additional resources. It is important to note, however, that even in an "off year" for military aid, 71 percent of the U.S. program will benefit Colombia's security forces.

Next year, we may see an aid proposal that goes beyond maintenance. Congress will consider the 2003 request in the spring of 2002, after the battalion strategy has been in place for some time and at the outset of an election year. An escalated aid program could be more likely.

Other interesting facts about the 2002 aid request for Latin America:

  • The administration is calling for a 262 percent increase in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for the Western Hemisphere (from $4.975 million in 2001 to $18 million in 2002). The largest source of military aid to the region during the 1980s, FMF was reduced to almost nothing during the 1990s as the drug war replaced the cold war. The FMF resurgence is being led by El Salvador ($3.5 million requested, up from nothing in 2001), Argentina ($2 million, up from $995,000), and Bolivia ($2 million, up from nothing), with five countries to get $1 million after receiving nothing in the past several years (Chile, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Uruguay). $4 million goes to Colombia's neighbors, the budget presentation explains, "to counter the 'spill-over' security problems caused by the effective implementation of Plan Colombia." The large outlay for El Salvador may be inspired by gratitude for San Salvador's decision to allow U.S. military personnel to use part of the Comalapa airport as a counter-drug "Forward Operating Location" (FOL).
  • The administration has also requested a 20.6 percent increase in funding for the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program in the hemisphere. A sort of "scholarship" program for foreign military trainees, IMET is to fund courses for almost 3,000 Latin Americans in 2001; if the increase in students matches the funding increase, IMET will be able to accommodate 600 more Latin American trainees in 2002. The biggest increases for 2002 are foreseen for Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Nicaragua, and Paraguay.

The tables below present our estimates of assistance to all "Andean Initiative" countries, from all funding sources (including those not included in the State Department's budget requests), from 1997-2002.

(All figures are in millions of dollars. 2001 figures are official U.S. government estimates, 2002 figures are amounts being requested of Congress. In some cases, we have had to estimate amounts by averaging the previous two years. These estimates appear in italics.)

Colombia:

Economic and Social Programs

 
ESF [Economic Support Fund]
DA [Development Assistance]
CSD [Child Survival and Disease Programs]
P.L. 480 food assistance
INC [International Narcotics Control]
Econ/ Social Total
1997 0 0 0 0 0 0
1998 0 0.02 0 0 0.5 0.52
1999 3 0 0 0 5.75 8.75
2000 4 0 0 0 208 212
2001 0 0 0 0 5 5
2002 0 0 0 0 146.5 146.5

Military and Police Aid Programs

 
INC [International Narcotics Control]
FMF [Foreign Military Financing]
IMET [International Military Education and Training]
Emergency Drawdowns
of counternarcotics assistance
"Section 1004"
[Defense Department counternarcotics aid]
"Section 1033"
[Defense Department riverine counternarcotics aid]
ONDCP discretionary funds EDA [Excess Defense Articles] Mil/ Pol Total
1997 33.45 30 0 14.2 10.32 0 0.5 0.09 88.56
1998 56.5 0 0.89 41.1 11.78 2.17 0 0 112.44
1999 200.11 0.44 0.92 58 35.89 13.45 0 0 308.81
2000 686.43 0.4 0.9 0 85.9 24.63 0 0 798.26
2001 43 0.42 1.04 29 60.9 19.04 0 0 153.40
2002 252.5 0.42 1.18 29 79.8 4.3 0 0 367.20

Bolivia:

Economic and Social Programs

 
ESF [Economic Support Fund]
DA [Development Assistance]
CSD [Child Survival and Disease Programs]
P.L. 480 food assistance
INC [International Narcotics Control]
Econ/ Social Total
1997 0 28.54 0 21.39 25.85 75.78
1998 0 27.96 7.96 17.42 10 63.34
1999 0 27.16 6.52 18.73 20.80 73.21
2000 0 25.54 7.58 20.78 101 154.9
2001 1.9 26.07 6.25 19.76 16 69.98
2002 10.0 25.08 6.4 19.76 47 108.24

Military and Police Aid Programs

 
INC [International Narcotics Control]
FMF [Foreign Military Financing]
IMET [International Military Education and Training]
Emergency Drawdowns
of counternarcotics assistance
"Section 1004"
[Defense Department counternarcotics aid]
"Section 1033"
[Defense Department riverine counternarcotics aid]
ONDCP discretionary funds EDA [Excess Defense Articles] Mil/ Pol Total
1997 17.95 0 0.51 0 4.14 0 0 0 22.60
1998 23 0 0.57 12 3.29 0 0 0 38.86
1999 30.72 0.02 0.53 0 3.05 0 0 1.33 35.65
2000 57 0 0.55 0 6.71 0 0 0 64.26
2001 32 0 0.65 0 4.88 0 0 0.67 38.2
2002 54 1 0.7 0 4.88 0 0 0.67 61.25

Brazil:

Economic and Social Programs

 
ESF [Economic Support Fund]
DA [Development Assistance]
CSD [Child Survival and Disease Programs]
P.L. 480 food assistance
INC [International Narcotics Control]
Econ/ Social Total
1997 0 12.88 0 0 0.05 12.93
1998 0 8.38 2.50 0 0.03 10.91
1999 0 10.51 2.93 0 0.21 13.65
2000 0 8.5 2.90 0 0.20 11.60
2001 0 7.5 7.88 0 0.2 15.58
2002 0 3.38 7.8 0 0 11.18

Military and Police Aid Programs

 
INC [International Narcotics Control]
FMF [Foreign Military Financing]
IMET [International Military Education and Training]
Emergency Drawdowns
of counternarcotics assistance
"Section 1004"
[Defense Department counternarcotics aid]
"Section 1033"
[Defense Department riverine counternarcotics aid]
ONDCP discretionary funds EDA [Excess Defense Articles] Mil/ Pol Total
1997 0.35 0 0.22 0 2.89 0 0 0 3.46
1998 0.18 0 0.22 2 3.44 0 0 0 5.84
1999 0.65 0 0.21 0 1.31 0 0 0 2.17
2000 3.43 0 0.22 0 0.53 0 0 0 4.18
2001 2 0 0.25 0 0.92 0 0 0 3.17
2002 15 0 0.44 0 0.92 0 0 0 16.36

Ecuador:

Economic and Social Programs

 
ESF [Economic Support Fund]
DA [Development Assistance]
CSD [Child Survival and Disease Programs]
P.L. 480 food assistance
INC [International Narcotics Control]
Econ/ Social Total
1997 0 12.08 0 0 0.05 12.13
1998 1 7.80 1 0 0 9.80
1999 1.2 11.76 1.95 0.64 0.6 16.15
2000 1.5 11.75 0.55 0 8 21.80
2001 5.5 8.559 0 0.32 0 14.38
2002 30 6.48 0 0.32 20 56.80

Military and Police Aid Programs

 
INC [International Narcotics Control]
FMF [Foreign Military Financing]
IMET [International Military Education and Training]
Emergency Drawdowns
of counternarcotics assistance
"Section 1004"
[Defense Department counternarcotics aid]
"Section 1033"
[Defense Department riverine counternarcotics aid]
ONDCP discretionary funds EDA [Excess Defense Articles] Mil/ Pol Total
1997 0.28 0 0.43 0 1.98 0 0 0.08 2.77
1998 0.19 0 0.53 1.8 2.75 0 0 0 5.27
1999 0.59 0.08 0.57 4 7.01 0 0 0 12.25
2000 13.2 0 0.52 0 11.25 0 0 0 24.97
2001 2.2 0 0.55 2 9.13 0 0 0 13.88
2002 19 1 0.63 2 9.13 0 0 0 31.76

Panama:

Economic and Social Programs

 
ESF [Economic Support Fund]
DA [Development Assistance]
CSD [Child Survival and Disease Programs]
P.L. 480 food assistance
INC [International Narcotics Control]
Econ/ Social Total
1997 0 2.74 0 0 0 2.74
1998 0 3.18 0 0 0 3.18
1999 0.43 4.60 0 0 0 5.03
2000 1 3.50 0 0 0 4.50
2001 1 3.7 0 0 0 4.70
2002 4 4.5 0 0 0 8.5

Military and Police Aid Programs

 
INC [International Narcotics Control]
FMF [Foreign Military Financing]
IMET [International Military Education and Training]
Emergency Drawdowns
of counternarcotics assistance
"Section 1004"
[Defense Department counternarcotics aid]
"Section 1033"
[Defense Department riverine counternarcotics aid]
ONDCP discretionary funds EDA [Excess Defense Articles] Mil/ Pol Total
1997 0.12 0 0 0 2.38 0 0 0 2.50
1998 0.12 0 0 0 2.59 0 0 0 2.71
1999 0.12 0.60 0.09 0.45 0.64 0 0 1.83 3.73
2000 4.99 0 0.12 0 0.65 0 0 0 5.76
2001 1 0 0.15 0.23 0.65 0 0 0.92 2.95
2002 11 1 0.17 0.23 0.65 0 0 0.92 13.97

Peru:

Economic and Social Programs

 
ESF [Economic Support Fund]
DA [Development Assistance]
CSD [Child Survival and Disease Programs]
P.L. 480 food assistance
INC [International Narcotics Control]
Econ/ Social Total
1997 0 25.33 0 51.05 15.17 91.55
1998 0.01 23.63 7.05 56.90 16.73 104.32
1999 0.30 24.39 9.46 52.75 28.85 115.75
2000 4 27.90 7 45.01 25 118.91
2001 2.2 29.071 9.23 48.88 25 114.38
2002 10 28.65 10.5 48.88 79 177.03

Military and Police Aid Programs

 
INC [International Narcotics Control]
FMF [Foreign Military Financing]
IMET [International Military Education and Training]
Emergency Drawdowns
of counternarcotics assistance
"Section 1004"
[Defense Department counternarcotics aid]
"Section 1033"
[Defense Department riverine counternarcotics aid]
ONDCP discretionary funds EDA [Excess Defense Articles] Mil/ Pol Total
1997 8.98 0 0.48 2.3 12.41 0 9.80 0 33.97
1998 13.25 0 0.46 5.3 14.46 4.83 0 0 38.30
1999 43.57 0 0.48 4 9.44 6.5 0 1.57 65.56
2000 55 0 0.46 0 8.46 0 0 0 63.92
2001 23 0 0.48 2 8.95 0 0 0 34.43
2002 77 1 0.5 2 8.95 0 0 0 89.45

Venezuela:

Economic and Social Programs

 
ESF [Economic Support Fund]
DA [Development Assistance]
CSD [Child Survival and Disease Programs]
P.L. 480 food assistance
INC [International Narcotics Control]
Econ/ Social Total
1997 0 0 0 0 0.05 0.05
1998 0 0 0 0 0.11 0.11
1999 0 0 0 0 0.08 0.08
2000 0.5 0 0 0 0.08 0.58
2001 0 0 0 0 0.08 0.08
2002 0.5 0 0 0 0.08 0.58

Military and Police Aid Programs

 
INC [International Narcotics Control]
FMF [Foreign Military Financing]
IMET [International Military Education and Training]
Emergency Drawdowns
of counternarcotics assistance
"Section 1004"
[Defense Department counternarcotics aid]
"Section 1033"
[Defense Department riverine counternarcotics aid]
ONDCP discretionary funds EDA [Excess Defense Articles] Mil/ Pol Total
1997 0.28 0 0.39 1 4.09 0 0 0 5.76
1998 0.21 0 0.4 0 6.43 0 0 0.15 7.19
1999 0.28 0 0.4 0 3.33 0 0 0 4.01
2000 3.77 0 0.38 0 2.33 0 0 0 6.48
2001 1.2 0 0.4 0 2.83 0 0 0 4.43
2002 10 0 0.5 0 2.83 0 0 0 13.33

 

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