The Bush Administration's budget presentation for 2003 says that FMF funds will be used to train and equip Colombian troops to protect the Caño Limón-Covenas pipeline in the northeastern department of Arauca. [1]

Colombia's narcotics decertifications in 1996 and 1997 prohibited its military and police from receiving FMF, even though funds that were previously appropriated had not yet been spent. Colombia's grant FMF was "frozen in the pipeline" from March 1996 until August 1997, when it was freed by a special presidential action known as a "section 614 waiver" after the relevant provision of the Foreign Assistance Act.

"Defense Department officials" cited in a February 1998 General Accounting Office (GAO) report stated that the decertification delayed up to $30 million in grant FMF. The aid included "items such as spare parts for vehicles, fixed-wing aircraft, and helicopters; explosives and ammunition; publications; and individual clothing items." [2]

The State Department's response to the GAO report cautioned that "the $30 million figure is an 'up to' figure, not an absolute. It should also be noted that it is difficult to tell how much of the FMF was 'delayed,' as the money is only spent gradually, usually over a period of several years." [3]

Sources:

1 United States, Department of State, FY 2003 Congressional Budget Justification for Foreign Operations (Washington, DC: April 15, 2002) <http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/9476.pdf>.

2 United States, General Accounting Office, Drug Control: U.S. Counternarcotics Efforts in Colombia Face Continuing Challenges, document number GAO/NSIAD-98-60, Washington, February 1998: 29 <http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/useftp.cgi?IPaddress=waisback.access.gpo.gov&filename=ns98060.txt&directory=/diskb/wais/data/gao> Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format <http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/useftp.cgi?IPaddress=waisback.access.gpo.gov&filename=ns98060.pdf&directory=/diskb/wais/data/gao>.

3 General Accounting Office 47.