"War on drugs" package for Colombia advances imperialism

by an HC

Since its inception, Amerika has developed the so-called "war on drugs" to 
further its economic and political interests. Amerika has now agreed to spend 
over a billion dollars to fight the masses of Colombia under its "war on drugs" 
pretense. This is a slight decrease from the original funding proposal but 
decreasing the militarist expenditure does not change the fact that Amerika is 
acting as world police and is using resources stolen from the Third World to 
further imperialist domination.

Originally, the Clinton administration proposed a $1.3 billion package for "Plan 
Colombia". This money is for the Colombian government's plan to end insurgency, 
which the government argues is funded by drug trafficking. The u.$. House of 
Representatives later increased the proposed package to $1.7 billion. On May 9, 
the Senate Appropriations Committee cut the proposal to $1.143 billion.

Amerikan politicians refer to the proposal as the 'Colombia aid package' since a 
majority of the money will go to the Colombian government. The actual package 
breakdown follows: $713.7 million for Colombia, $205.5 million for other 
countries in the region, $189.5 million for u.$. agencies involved in the war, 
and another $34.3 million for classified purposes.(1) Several contracts to 
Amerikan corporations are included in the package, further increasing Amerika's 
interest in the venture.

Amerika seeks more blood for oil

Colombia is important strategically because of its oil. Colombia is Latin 
America's third-largest exporter of oil to the united snakes. It is no 
coincidence that Amerika prioritizes only two other countries, Israel and Egypt, 
when sending military support. Amerikan military exploits cannot be analyzed as 
attempts to develop peace. Current instability is enabling the u.$ to swoop in, 
take control and set the stage for more efficient surplus value extraction. 
Maoists do not consider imperialist exploitation to be peaceful.

Amerikan corporations make a profit off of Colombian oil ventures, and hope to 
make more. Foreign corporations in Colombia receive half of their profits from 
Colombia from oil production. The majority of foreign oil companies, eleven out 
of eighteen, are Amerikan-owned.(2) For instance, Occidental Petroleum, the u.$. 
corporation drilling on indigenous U'wa land in Colombia, had net sales and 
revenue of $7.6 billion in 1999.(4) The proposed military expenditures will help 
increase Amerikan corporations' extraction of Colombian wealth through the 
export of capital and import of surplus value.

The proximity of Colombia to Amerika makes it important for gas-guzzling 
Amerikans. With the highest oil use per capita, and a domestic oil supply that 
has already peaked, the united $tates must maintain imperialist influence to 
maintain the cheap oil flow. The U$ can save about $2/barrel in transportation 
costs by importing from Colombia compared to the Middle East. (2) More 
importantly, Middle Eastern oil producers control enough of the world's oil to 
trigger a world crisis similar to that of 1973.(3) Amerika is using Colombia to 
curb Middle Eastern leverage and maintain an upper hand for u.s. imperialism.

Imperialists benefit from drug trafficking

Colombia supplies 80% of the world's cocaine and is the third largest exporter 
of opium. In 1993, legal Colombian exports were $7.6 billion, while drug exports 
were estimated at $7 billion.(2) That indicates the importance of drugs for the 
Colombian economy itself.

The importance of oil in the capitalist world economy may be more obvious than 
drug trade. This has not kept economists from concluding that a halt to the drug 
trade would result in an international banking crisis. The United Nations 
estimated that 8% of international trade in 1997 came from drug trafficking.(6) 
For all of its rhetoric, the United Snakes' interests are not in ending drug 
trafficking. Instead, the U$ is interested in making sure that imperialists, 
instead of insurgents, profit from the drug trade.

The United Snakes government has been directly involved in the transport and 
sale of drugs when it serves imperialist interests. These profits as well as 
special deals with drug traffickers helped CIA operations and u.$. military 
campaigns in southeast Asia and in the war against the people of Nicaragua. The 
CIA also hired Manuel Noriega to run drug shipments through Panama. The u.$. 
government benefited financially from these endeavors as did bankers and 
capitalists in Amerika.

Willing imperialist banks make a profit off of money laundering as well. 
According to a model by an Australian criminologist that estimates money 
laundering for the whole world, the united states is the second most attractive 
country for money laundering.(8) The model also estimates that 46.3% (next 
highest 5.3%) of laundered money comes from the U$, 18.5% (next highest 4.6%) 
flows through the U$, and 18.5% (next highest 4.9%) ends up in the U$. This 
provides an indication of the importance of money laundering for U$ capitalists, 
indicating their dependence on the drug trade as well.

Amerika also has other interests in drug trade. For instance, ether and acetic 
anhydride are used to process cocaine and heroin. Amerikan companies provided 
95% of these chemicals to Colombia in 1991 and have recently seen drastic 
increases in demand.(7) If the u$ government is so interested in stopping drug 
trade, why not cut of the supply of required chemicals? The answer is that 
profit is the real goal.

Amerikan interests in Colombia

There are numerous other economic benefits to the united states in strengthening 
its influence in Colombia. The direct exploitation of the Colombian people is 
one important benefit. As Lenin described in ITAL Imperialism: the Highest Stage 
of Capitalism END, the imperialists benefit through loaning capital to poor 
countries and demanding high interest rates on the loans.(9)

Amerikan corporations also see more perceived stability in Colombia as 
beneficial. Imperialist corporations export capital, set up sweat-shops, agri-
business plantations etc. Corporate interests are served when the u.$. 
government sends military aid that will be used to fight various guerrilla 
groups. Companies such as Lockheed Martin and United Technologies Corporation 
have made direct efforts to influence the approval of the aid package, since 
they will be the recipients of the money to build the helicopters and planes 
that will be sent to Colombia (see MIM Notes 206 and 210).

Influence of corporate interests on government policy is characteristic of 
imperialism, where both money and power are concentrated in the hands of a few. 
In Colombia, parts of the military are being privatized to serve the oil 
companies. Not only has the Oxy corporation set up its own platoons, but along 
with Shell they pay about $180,000 per day to the Colombian military. 

The proof that u.$. aid is helping corporate interests and not the people of 
Colombia is clear in the close link between the Colombian military and the 
paramilitary groups that terrorize and murder people who they suspect are 
guerrilla sympathizers.

Commander Yair, a paramilitary leader, is a former Colombian special forces 
sergeant who frequently trained alongside U.S. Special Forces Rangers and Navy 
SEALs during his eight years in the military. He says that at least 20 of the 
leading paramilitary commanders in their region previously held high ranks in 
the police or military, indicating the close link between them.(10) Currently, 
Yair is proposing that his forces work with the Amerikan-trained, anti-narcotics 
forces to eradicate leftist guerrillas in the region.

The most recent proposal allegedly includes reduced military spending and 
increased so-called human rights aid. But when the majority of the money and 
efforts are going to fund military forces (often hard to distinguish from right-
wing paramilitaries) it is clear that human rights is not a u.$. concern. To 
Amerika, peace is only desirable if u.$. puppets are in control. And it cannot 
be considered "human rights" aid if the money is going toward strengthening the 
imperialist position. 

Maoist revolution the only solution

The only lasting peace can occur when the people control their own lives and 
land. As long as the imperialist-backed government oppresses the people, 
revolutionary tendencies will grow. While the struggle will grow and shrink due 
to its dialectical nature, the struggle will always be there until lasting peace 
is established under a genuinely socialist government.

While Maoists build for the day when we have global peace, we recognize the need 
for revolutionary war to overthrow the imperialists. And we are scientific about 
the need for Maoist leadership of this revolutionary struggle. Other political 
lines have been tried and have failed while Maoism has led to the greatest 
advances for the world's people. MIM is confident that a Maoist revolutionary 
movement will rise to lead the struggle in Colombia. In this country we can 
support this struggle by fighting u.s. imperialist involvement in Colombia and 
building public opinion for Maoist revolution.

Notes:

1. Center for International Policy <www.ciponline.org>

2. The Mandala Projects

<http://www.american.edu/projects/mandala/TED/COLOMOIL.HTM>

3. Hubbert Peak: the Coming World Oil Crisis

<http://www.hubbertpeak.com/summary.htm>

4. Occidental Petroleum Corporation <www.oxy.com>

5. CIA Factbook <http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/>

6. United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) World Drug

Report, 1997.

7. ITALMIM Notes 55END August 1991.

8. John Walker. ITAL Modelling Global Money Laundering Flows END

<http://www.ozemail.com.au/~born1820/mlmethod.htm>

9. V.I. Lenin ITAL Imperialism: the Highest Stage of Capitalism END,

available from MIM for $7.

10. Reuters 15 May 2000

<http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters05-15-184217.asp?reg=AMERICAS>