Booker T. Washington High School
Model United Nations Club
Country Briefing: Colombia
Colombia is the second most populous country in South America, with a population of 43 million. It is one of the poorer countries, with a GNP per capita of less than $1900. Some 40% of the people live in poverty. Much of the interior of the country is mountainous and heavily forested, and therefore difficult to control. Drug traffickers take advantage of this to produce and export cocaine, and powerful armed rebel groups like the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) defy government authority to wage a war of terror. The population is complex mix of whites, mestizos, mulattoes and people of African and Indian descent.
History: Colombia, like most of South America, was a Spanish colony until the revolutionary wars of the early 19th century. A republic of northern states known as Gran Colombia was formed in 1810, under the control of military figures from the war of independence and their supporters in business and the landed classes. Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and Venezuela). Panama was part of Colmbia until 1903, when the United States supported an independence movement there to facilitate construction of the Panama Canal. Government has traditionally been based on a narrow coalition of landowners and coastal urban business elites. Much of the interior received little or nothing in the way of government services. A 40-year insurgent campaign to overthrow the Colombian Government escalated during the 1990s, undergirded in part by funds from the drug trade. Although the violence is deadly and large swaths of the countryside are under guerrilla influence, the movement lacks the military strength or popular support necessary to overthrow the government. An anti-insurgent army of paramilitaries has grown to be several thousand strong in recent years, challenging the insurgents for control of territory and illicit industries such as the drug trade and the government's ability to exert its dominion over rural areas. While Bogota continues to try to negotiate a settlement, neighboring countries worry about the violence spilling over their borders. The 1980s saw the growth of powerful new drug cartels which threatened to destabilize the government. Many of the more powerful cartels were destroyed (with considerable US assistance), but the “narcotrafficantes” seem to have regrouped in the interior, under the protection and control of the FARC. New economic reforms initiated in 1991 brought significant economic growth in the 90s, though this has since abated due to the regional recession. New oil fields in the Cusiana region offer considerable promise, especially if production in Venezuela is again disrupted by political instability. Today, trade with the US and Europe makes up the bulk of Colombian exports and imports. This provides for long-term growth, but makes the economy especially vulnerable to international economic trends. Recent attempts to settle the political conflict failed in mutual distrust between the FARC and the government, and the old pattern of guerilla warfare, kidnapping and violence has resumed. The FARC holds hundreds of hostages in the interior, including three American civilians working for the Pentagon. Recently, a government attempt to rescue hostages led to the deaths of ten of them, including a former defense minister.
Diplomatic Agenda: Colombia’s relationship with the United States may be the central problem. It is Colombia’s largest trading partner and principal support in its war against the FARC. Colombia receives almost $2 billion in aid annually from the US, much of it in the form of anti-drug assistance. US security forces maintain a powerful presence in Colombia, from FBI offices to military advisers. The war with the FARC is one of the primary concerns. Recently, the FARC kidnapped three Americans working with Colombian security. The army attempted a rescue, which resulted in failure (and the death of some highly placed Colombian hostages). There is growing pressure from the US to do something about this problem, perhaps even to allow US Special Forces teams operate in Colombia. Such a move might work, but would seriously undermine Colombian sovereignty and support for the government. On the economic side, Colombia is looking for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to develop its oil fields as another major source of revenue. The IMF and private banks could do a lot for Colombia here. In the human rights arena, Colombia is open to some criticism for the actions of paramilitary “death squads” which have carried out atrocities against FARC supporters in the name of the government. In environmental matters, Colombia has many rich and diverse ecosystems, but lacks the money to provide more safeguards for vulnerable parks and wildlife. In addition, there is growing concern among farmers in the interior that US-sponsored drug spraying efforts have harmed the environment and spread carcinogens among some of Colombia’s poorest people.