Colombia: Challenges for U.S. Policymakers in 2021

Colombia: Challenges for U.S. Policymakers in 2021

INSIGHTi

Colombia: Challenges for U.S. Policymakers
in 2021
Updated September 22, 2021
Colombia is a key U.S. ally in Latin America and a long-term security partner. Colombia’s prominence in
illegal drug production prompted the United States and Colombia to forge close counter-drug ties. Plan
Colombia, a U.S.-Colombian program that began in 2000, focused initially on counternarcotics and later
on counterterrorism, laying the foundation for an enduring partnership.
Hard-hit by waves of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections in 2020-2021, Colombia has
faced multiple challenges, all while attempting to recover from a pandemic-driven 6.8% economic
contraction in 2020. These challenges include (1) spikes in coca cultivation and cocaine production; (2)
violence against human rights and other social activists; (3) mass anti-government protests in mid-2021
that lasted nearly three months; and (4) instability spilling over from Venezuela, including the migration
of some 2 million Venezuelans fleeing their homeland’s crises.
For some Members of Congress, priority aspects of the U.S.-Colombia relationship are close
collaboration on security and on countering illicit drugs destined mainly for the U.S. market. For others,
human rights concerns predominate, including accountability for abuses committed during Colombia’s
decades-long internal armed conflict and more recent human rights violations.
Post-conflict Security, Human Rights, and Venezuelan Migrants
Colombia’s 2016 peace accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) resulted in the
demobilization of 13,000 insurgents and the FARC’s transformation from a leftist guerrilla army to a
political party. Neither the government nor the rebels have upheld all their commitments under the
agreement. Some guerrillas, known collectively as FARC dissidents, have recently rearmed.
President Iván Duque, elected in 2018 from the conservative Democratic Center party, campaigned as a
peace accord critic. Many Colombians have protested what they view as his government’s lackadaisical
peace accord compliance. Others have blamed the former FARC, FARC dissidents, and now Colombia’s
largest insurgent group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), for ongoing insecurity.
The 2016 peace accord established a transitional justice court, known as the JEP (based on its Spanish
acronym), to identify and punish crimes committed during the conflict. In February 2021, a JEP
investigation concluded the Colombian Armed Forces (mainly the Army) had killed 6,400 Colombian
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civilians who were falsely presented as enemies killed in combat. Human rights groups consider the so-
called false positive killings a grave abuse and view the Duque government’s criticism of the JEP and
underfunding of its operations to be unacceptable.
After the peace accord was ratified in late 2016 and the FARC demobilized in rural zones, the government
struggled to replace insurgent control with a comprehensive state presence to curb criminal competition
and armed group expansion to fill the power void. Murders of social, ethnic, and labor leaders and of land
rights and environmental activists often occurred in remote, ungoverned parts of the country. Colombian
groups and international bodies such as the U.N. have criticized the Duque administration’s efforts to
protect social leaders.
In spring 2021, a proposed tax increase sparked widespread protests for several weeks, even after the
Duque administration modified and then withdrew the tax increase. Public grievances mushroomed to
include slow implementation of the peace accords, police brutality against demonstrators, economic
inequality, crime, and corruption. Although many protested peacefully, blockades and vandalism by some
demonstrators resulted in an estimated $3 billion of damage to the economy. Domestic and international
monitoring groups condemned riot police and law enforcement clashes with protesters, which resulted in
58 deaths and thousands of injuries. In June, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
denounced Colombian law enforcement’s excessive use of force. In September 2021, the Duque
administration successfully passed through Congress a significantly revised tax reform, which generated
little public opposition.
Colombia has received more than 2 million refugees and migrants from neighboring Venezuela. In
February 2021, the Duque administration unveiled an innovative program offering Venezuelans who
entered before January 2021 a decade of temporary protected status. By September 2021, nearly 1.3
million Venezuelans had registered for access to health care, work permits, other social services, and a
path to citizenship. President Duque said his government has a moral duty to legalize migrants escaping a
dictatorship. However, Venezuelans, previously welcomed in Colombia, have become the focus of rising
xenophobia, due in part to hardships imposed by the pandemic.
U.S. Policy and Congressional Response
Since 2000, the U.S. government has provided about $12 billion in bilateral aid to help implement Plan
Colombia and its successor strategies. At times, congressional views have diverged regarding whether
U.S. assistance should be weighted toward counternarcotics and security or toward development, peace,
and human rights. The Trump Administration’s focus was largely on containing Venezuela and reducing
drug flows. The Biden Administration’s regional aims of strengthening democratic institutions to build
the rule of law and protect human rights likely will drive bilateral relations. Despite occasional areas of
tension, the Biden Administration has signaled it will maintain close relations with Colombia.
Many Members of Congress have praised Colombia’s leadership in promoting a democratic transition in
Venezuela and its humanitarian response toward migrants fleeing the country. Nevertheless, given the
significant amount of U.S. support to Colombia’s police over many years, some Members have
questioned continued funding until police actions against demonstrators are fully investigated.
Congressional oversight of U.S. assistance has continued to consider the efficacy of Colombia’s antidrug
efforts. A long-standing but continuing debate is whether to support traditional supply control measures,
such as the Duque administration’s restart of widespread aerial eradication of coca, or alternative
approaches, such as prioritizing voluntary eradication and alternative development, as favored in the
peace accord.
In FY2021, Congress appropriated more than $463.3 million in bilateral aid for Colombia. The Biden
Administration’s FY2022 budget request includes $460.2 million in bilateral aid for Colombia. The

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House-passed foreign aid appropriations bill for FY2022, H.R. 4373, would provide $461.4 million and
stipulates that 30% of funding under the International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE)
and Foreign Military Financing accounts would be obligated only after the U.S. Secretary of State
certifies that Colombia met certain human rights conditions; for the first time, counternarcotics aid under
INCLE would be subject to certain conditions.

Author Information

June S. Beittel

Analyst in Latin American Affairs

Disclaimer
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