Live
Audio Only
The billion-dollar 'Plan Colombia' program, that the U.S. has supported for 20 years, hasn't stop Illegal drug market to grow stronger in both countries.
The Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission (WHDPC) recognized the failure of the 20-year-old Plan Colombia, which is a U.S.-funded program to counter drug trafficking and insurgency in the Latin American country.
RELATED:
Audio Leaks Implicate Former Colombian VP in Drug Trafficking
"Despite decades of U.S. support to eradicate crops and interdict shipments, Colombia remains the world's largest cocaine producer," the WHDPC acknowledged in a report released on Thursday.
In 2019, Plan Colombia eradicated over 100 hectares of coca crops. However, the amount of coca cultivated in the country reached a record 212,000 hectares (485,000 acres) that year.
"The U.S. program has not helped Colombia to curb drug trafficking, which has multiplied, led to more deaths, and encouraged the rise of criminal gangs," journalist Natalio Cosoy wrote for the BBC.
A reminder that Joe Biden called Plan Colombia, “one of the most successful and bipartisan American foreign policies of the last half century.”
— Sebastian ☭ (@LatinoDissident) November 24, 2020
Millions were displaced and given cancer by American planes spraying carcinogenic pesticides in the air destroying people’s lives. pic.twitter.com/xwLGtt4Zk5
Since 2000, the U.S. has provided US$11.6 billion in aid to Colombia to attack drug trafficking and its supply chain. Over US$10 billion was allocated to Plan Colombia.
"The U.S. sold the plan as the largest and longest-running bilateral aid program in this hemisphere," Cosoy assured.
However, "the alleged war between the two countries against drug trafficking has left over 10,000 'false positives,'" he said, alluding to the deaths that are not related to the conflict.
Newsletter
