Plan Colombia: A Reliable Solution?

Colombia has undergone a civil war that has lasted for more than a century. Recently, its internal problems have intensified because of factors such as an increase of drug production, the growth of leftist guerrilla groups and rightist paramilitary groups, and the worst economic recession in seventy years. To address these problems, the Colombian government and the international community came up with a multi-purpose plan called “Plan Colombia.” The proponents argue that it is an integral plan which not only tries to solve the drug problem, but it also attempts to solve the socio-economic problems of the country.

The perspective of a complete plan with emphasis on military aid is applicable under the actual circumstances of the C

On the other hand, the opponents of the plan are composed of different groups, but all of them conclude that the U.S. aid in its military form would make the conflict worse. A faction of the American society argues that Plan Colombia “threatens to suck the United States into a long war which most Americans do not understand” (Szulc 1). The U.S. assistance would stimulate the war in Colombia. On the other hand, Colombian citizens fear an increase of poverty, violence and destruction of their already suffering country as a direct consequence of the U.S. aid.

Since the Colombian conflict has demonstrated signs of high complexity, it is important to attempt to solve it with diverse solutions. For instance, it is imperative that the Colombia government gains control of the country, and the U.S. aid would be welcome for this purpose. However, since the main objective is to stop the violence, U.S. authorities would have to reconsider the chief recipient of their funding as well as the amount that every institution would receive. In addition, it is also important that Colombia’s neighbors take part of U.S. help because they will suffer the consequences of the Plan Colombia. Finally, it is vital to emphasize the essential function that the consumer countries have in helping eradicating the problems of Colombia. If they eliminate the demand for illicit drugs, it is quite predictable that the drug business and all that derives from it, would stop.

One of the plan’s major objectives is to reduce drug production. However, this is not an easy task to be accomplished; it

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