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Last Updated:6/27/05
The 2005 aid request

On December 8, 2004, President Bush signed into law the 2005 foreign aid bill. The legislation was combined with six other appropriations bills, containing much federal discretionary spending. The Foreign Operations bill (H.R. 4818), which includes most aid to Colombia, became “Division D” of this combined “omnibus” budget legislation (also H.R. 4818).

On November 20, 2004, a House-Senate Conference Committee reconciled differences between the two chambers' versions of the bill.

Relevant text from earlier versions of House and Senate bills and committee reports

Aid amounts

(Estimated total for Colombia: $429.5 million military/police aid, $152.1 million economic/social aid; up to $200 million in additional military/police aid is included in another bill, the Defense Department Appropriations Act)

The bill's final version gives the Bush administration most of what it asked for, including its full $731 million request for the “Andean Counterdrug Initiative (ACI).” Administered by the State Department’s international narcotics bureau, the ACI provides counter-drug military and economic aid for Colombia and eight of its neighbors (Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Venezuela; Guatemala and Nicaragua appear within the ACI for the first time).

This program contains much of the military and economic aid that Colombia receives. The conference committee's narrative report recommended giving Colombia $477.7 million from the ACI in 2005, $324.4 million of it military and police aid ($313.2 for "interdiction" and $11.2 for "Air Bridge Denial) and $153.3 million of it economic and social aid ($125.7 for "Alternative Development/Institution Building" and $27.6 for "Rule of Law").

In February 2005, the administration estimated it would in fact give Colombia $473.9 million from the “Andean Counterdrug Initiative” account in 2005, $321.8 million of it for the military and police ($310.7 for "interdiction" and $11.1 for "Air Bridge Denial), $152.1 milllion of it economic and social assistance ($124.7 for "Alternative Development/Institution Building" and $27.4 for "Rule of Law").

The ACI aid contains several earmarks. Of the $731 million for the entire Andean region, at least $264.6 million must fund alternative-development and institution-building programs, with $237 million going directly to the United States Agency for International Development instead of passing through the State Department’s narcotics bureau. Of that amount, $125.7 million must be USAID assistance to Colombia.

Of this $264.6 million in economic aid, the bill specifies that at least $6 million must support judicial reform programs in Colombia, and an additional $6 million must support organizations and programs to protect human rights. At least $2 million must "be made available through nongovernmental organizations for programs to protect biodiversity and indigenous reserves in Colombia."

In addition to the ACI, Congress recommended providing Colombia with $100 million in Foreign Military Financing (FMF, the chief non-drug military aid program in foreign aid legislation). Among other activities, this account funds a program to help Colombia’s army protect the Caño Limón-Coveñas oil pipeline in the department of Arauca, and much support for the "Plan Patriota" military offensive in southern Colombia. In February 2005, the administration estimated it would in fact give Colombia $99.2 million in FMF in 2005.

Colombia would get another $1.7 million in International Military Education and Training (IMET) funding, which pays for military and police training, in 2005. In 2004, IMET funded 704 of the 8,801 Colombian military and police personnel trained by the United States. (The number-one training program, with 6,472 students funded, was the Defense Department’s “Section 1004” counter-drug funding authority. This program is not even part of the Foreign Operations funding bill; it is funded separately, through the budget of the Department of Defense.)

Expanded authority

The bill continues language that first appeared in the 2002 emergency anti-terror supplemental appropriation bill. For the duration of fiscal year 2005, the bill expands the mission of all past and present counter-drug aid, allowing it to be used in a “unified campaign” against both drugs and the activities of the FARC, ELN and AUC – in other words, allowing aid from counter-drug funding accounts to be used for counter-insurgent (or “counter-terror”) operations.

As in 2003 and 2004, this expanded mission is contingent on the Colombian military’s execution of “vigorous operations” to retake territory from paramilitary and guerrilla groups, and to respect human rights. As in past years, U.S.-donated helicopters must be returned if the State Department finds that Colombian forces used them to aid or abet paramilitary groups.

Funding paramilitary demobilizations

The bill language requires that any funding for demobilization and reintegration of armed-group members "be subject to prior consultation with, and the regular notification procedures of, the Committees on Appropriations." The Conference Committee's non-binding narrative report lays out some strong conditions:

The managers are aware that the Colombian Government is engaged in demobilization negotiations with such groups, which have been designated foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) by the State Department. Leaders of these FTOs have been indicted by the Justice Department for drug trafficking and these groups have been implicated in widespread human rights violations. The managers note that according to the Justice Department, United States law forbids the provision of United States assistance to members of terrorist organizations. The managers further note that USAID included $3,250,000 in its fiscal year 2005 budget justification for `Peace Initiatives' in Colombia, including demobilization/integration. The conference agreement requires consultation with and notification to the Committees prior to the obligation of fiscal year 2005 funds for such activities. The managers believe that the costs of demobilizing illegal armed groups should be borne by the Colombian Government, not the United States. The managers are concerned that the demobilization process is being undertaken without adequate safeguards to ensure the dismantling of such FTOs, to deter members of such groups from resuming illegal activities, or to prosecute and punish those involved in drug trafficking and human rights violations.

The managers do not believe the Administration should request funds in fiscal year 2006 for the demobilization/reintegration of members of such FTOs unless it is for limited activities that are determined by the Justice Department to be consistent with United States anti-terrorism laws, and the following conditions can be met: (1) The FTO is respecting a ceasefire and the cessation of illegal activities; (2) the Government of Colombia has not adopted any law or policy inconsistent with its obligations under the United States-Colombian treaty on extradition, and has committed to the United States that it will continue to extradite Colombian citizens to the United States, including members of such illegal armed groups, in accordance with that treaty; (3) the Colombian legal framework governing the demobilization of such groups provides for prosecution and punishment, in proportion to the crimes committed, of those responsible for gross violations of human rights, violations of international humanitarian law, and drug trafficking, for reparations to victims, and for the monitoring of demobilized individuals; (4) the Government of Colombia is implementing a policy of effectively dismantling such groups, including the seizure of financial and property assets; and (5) the Government of Colombia is taking actions to enable the return of stolen assets, including real property, to their original owners.

The managers are also aware that the Administration has used fiscal year 2004 funds to support the Organization of American States (OAS) Mission in Colombia. The managers request that, prior to the provision of additional funds to the OAS for this purpose, the Secretary of State report to the Committees that the OAS Mission is strictly adhering to its verification role, FTOs are concentrated in zones for demobilization, the legal framework governing the demobilization conforms with (3) above, and the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights is providing advice to the OAS Mission.

Fumigation in national parks

As in 2004, ACI funds may support aerial herbicide fumigation in Colombia’s national parks and reserves “if the Secretary of State determines that it is in accordance with Colombian laws and that there are no effective alternatives to reduce drug cultivation in these areas.”

Human rights conditions

As in 2003 and 2004, twenty-five percent of the aid will be held up until the Secretary of State certifies that the Colombian military is complying with several human rights standards. (This is a step down from 2001 and 2002, when all aid was subject to human rights restrictions.) They are as follows:

(A) The Commander General of the Colombian Armed Forces is suspending from the Armed Forces those members, of whatever rank who, according to the Minister of Defense or the Procuraduria General de la Nacion, have been credibly alleged to have committed gross violations of human rights, including extra-judicial killings, or to have aided or abetted paramilitary organizations.

(B) The Colombian Government is vigorously investigating and prosecuting those members of the Colombian Armed Forces, of whatever rank, who have been credibly alleged to have committed gross violations of human rights, including extra-judicial killings, or to have aided or abetted paramilitary organizations, and is promptly punishing those members of the Colombian Armed Forces found to have committed such violations of human rights or to have aided or abetted paramilitary organizations.

(C) The Colombian Armed Forces have made substantial progress in cooperating with civilian prosecutors and judicial authorities in such cases (including providing requested information, such as the identity of persons suspended from the Armed Forces and the nature and cause of the suspension, and access to witnesses, relevant military documents, and other requested information).

(D) The Colombian Armed Forces have made substantial progress in severing links (including denying access to military intelligence, vehicles, and other equipment or supplies, and ceasing other forms of active or tacit cooperation) at the command, battalion, and brigade levels, with paramilitary organizations, especially in regions where these organizations have a significant presence.

(E) The Colombian Government is dismantling paramilitary leadership and financial networks by arresting commanders and financial backers, especially in regions where these networks have a significant presence.

This section requires the State Department to consult with internationally recognized human-rights organizations on Colombia every 90 days.

Fumigation conditions

As in 2003 and 2004, the law holds up eighty percent of funding for herbicides until the State Department certifies that aerial fumigation of drug crops is occurring within a series of guidelines for health, environment, compensation for those unjustly sprayed, and availability of alternative development “where security permits.”

Peru and Bolivia

While since August 2003 the United States has been supporting Colombian Air Force efforts to force down (or shoot down) aircraft suspected of trafficking drugs and arms, similar aid to Peru remains suspended. Procedures are still not in place to avoid accidents, such as an April 2001 incident in which a Peruvian Air Force plane mistakenly shot down a light aircraft carrying a family of U.S. missionaries. The bill renews 2003 and 2004 language prohibiting U.S. funding for a renewed Peruvian air interdiction program until 30 days after the State Department and CIA certify that “enhanced safeguards and procedures” are in place to prevent a repeat of the 2001 tragedy.

Human rights conditions on ACI aid to Bolivia, which first appeared in 2004, are renewed. Aid to Bolivia’s security forces is now subject to a determination by the Secretary of State, and a report to the congressional Appropriations Committees, that the Bolivian military and police are respecting human rights and cooperating with investigations and prosecutions of alleged violations.

Report

No “Andean Counterdrug Initiative” funds can be spent until the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development give Congress a report on the proposed uses of all funds “on a country-by-country basis for each proposed program, project, or activity.” This report was due within 45 days of the bill’s final passage.

Previous steps

The Senate
On September 23, 2004, the full Senate met and approved the Foreign Operations appropriations bill (S. 2812). No changes were made to the bill's Colombia provisions at this stage.
On September 16, 2004, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Foreign Operations appropriations bill (S. 2812). It made no changes to the amounts of aid in the Bush Administration's request. The committee's version would do the following:
  • Appropriate the full $731 million request for the "Andean Counter-Drug Initiative" (ACI) account, which includes anti-drug military and economic aid for Colombia and six of its neighbors.
  • As in past bills, the ACI money can be used "to support a unified campaign against narcotics trafficking [and] against activities by organizations designated as terrorist organizations" in Colombia.
  • Ensure that at least $272 million of the $731 million goes to alternative development and institution-building (that is, non-military, non-police aid) programs.
  • Ensure that the U.S. Agency for International Development distributes at least $240 million of the $731 million ACI account, including at least $140 million for Colombia. This would be required to include:
    • at least $6 million for judicial reform in Colombia;
    • at least $6 million for USAID-funded human rights programs in Colombia (the committee's non-binding report language indicates that this should include the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights' field office in Colombia);
    • at least $2 million for nongovernmental organizations for programs to protect biodiversity and indigenous reserves in Colombia (the committee's non-binding report language notes that, while similar aid in 2004 was earmarked for Colombia's National Parks office, "due to changed circumstances, including the replacement of the director of the Park Service, the Committee directs that these fiscal year 2004 funds be made available instead to USAID to support direct grants to NGOs that work with indigenous communities bordering the parks, to promote conservation of the parks. The Committee requests USAID to consult with the former director of the Park Service, and with the Committee, on the use of these funds.").
  • Prohibit, in language appearing for the first time, funding to help Colombia demobilize illegal armed groups, unless the following four conditions are met:
    1. Colombia's "legal framework" for the demobilization provides for prosecution and punishment, in proportion to the crimes committed, of those responsible for gross violations of human rights and drug trafficking;
    2. The Colombian government is acting to dismantle armed groups' "underlying structures," including the seizure of assets;
    3. The Colombian government is acting to help civilians forcibly displaced by illegal groups to return; and
    4. The United States Government is able to continue extraditing Colombian citizens, including armed-group members.
  • Hold back 80 percent of funds for herbicides pending a certification on the environmental and health effects of fumigation, payments for legal crops destroyed by spraying, and the presence of alternative-development opportunities in areas to be sprayed.
  • Hold back funding for fumigation in Colombia's national parks until the Secretary of State certifies that it is in accordance with Colombian laws and that there are no effective alternatives to reduce drug cultivation in these areas.
  • Prohibit U.S. armed forces or civilian contractor personnel from participating in any combat operation in connection with funds in the bill for Colombia.
  • Human rights conditions are attached to 25 percent of Colombian military aid. They are similar to conditions governing aid in 2004, and identical to conditions in the House version of the bill.
  • Human rights conditions are added to aid to Bolivia under the ACI; they are weaker than conditions applied in 2004, however, as they do not require a formal certification by the Secretary of State.
  • The Bush Administration's request for $110 million in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) assistance for Colombia is not specifically mentioned in the bill language (though the administration is free to use money in the global FMF account for Colombia).
The House of Representatives
On July 15, 2004, the House of Representatives approved the Foreign Operations appropriations bill (H.R. 4818). It made no changes to the amounts of aid to Colombia in the Bush Administration's request.
The House version of the bill does not include language requiring a certification of the aerial fumigation program, a provision which appeared on the 2002, 2003 and 2004 foreign aid bills. It also fails to include language in recent bills (a) requiring that a significant portion of Andean Counterdrug Initiative funding go directly to the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID), (b) earmarking money for justice and rule of law programs in Colombia, or (c) earmarking funding for Colombia's National Park Service. (The House language also fails to include a certification of Bolivia's human rights performance, a requirement that first appeared in the 2004 foreign aid bill.)
The House bill includes language identical to the 2004 law which conditions 25 percent of military aid to Colombia on a certification of the Colombian armed forces' human rights performance.
The bill also excludes language renewing a prohibition on the presence of more than 400 U.S. military personnel and 400 U.S. citizen contractors on Colombian soil. The House debated an amendment, introduced and later withdrawn by Rep. Sam Farr (D-California), that would have limited any increase in this presence. (The troop cap debate, which has centered mainly on the 2005 Defense Authorization bill, is discussed on another page in this site.)
The administration's request
On February 6, 2004, the Bush administration submitted to Congress its foreign aid budget request for 2005. It called for an amount of aid to Colombia slightly higher than 2004 levels: about $597.72 million, compared to about $574.8 million in 2004. Of that amount, $447 million would go to Colombia's military and police, with the remaining $150 million going to economic and social assistance programs.
Foreign operations accounts for most - but not all - of the aid that Colombia gets. The Defense budget appropriation provides additional counter-drug aid military and police aid, but the Defense Department is not required to estimate how much aid each country is to receive. In 2003, however, Colombia's military and police received an estimated $149 million in additional military and police aid through the U.S. defense budget. If Colombia receives a similar amount in 2005 - and it is likely to get more - it will get $570.92 million in military-police aid next year (79.2%), compared to $150 million in economic-social aid.
Program
Military / Police Aid
Economic / Social Aid
Total
International Narcotics Control (INC - Andean Regional Initiative)
$334,000,000
$150,000,000
$484,000,000
Foreign Military Financing (FMF)
$108,000,000
-
$108,000,000
International Military Education and Training (IMET)
$1,800,000
-
$1,800,000
Anti-Terrorism Assistance (ATA)
$3,920,000
-
$3,920,000
Foreign Operations Budget Request Total
$447,720,000
$150,000,000
$597,720,000
Defense-Budget Counternarcotics Aid (Known as "Section 1004" and "Section 1033"), estimated by averaging 2002-2003 levels
$123,200,000
-
$123,200,000
Estimated Overall 2004 Total
$570,920,000
$150,000,000
$720,920,000
Foreign Military Financing
The Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program -- used in recent years mostly to provide grant military aid to the Middle East -- would provide Colombia with $108 million in 2005. This money continues the effort to help Colombia's army protect the Caño Limón-Coveñas pipeline, which runs from Arauca department to Sucre department in northeastern Colombia. Much oil in this pipeline belongs to Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum.
Not all the FMF will go to the pipeline program, however. The State Department's 2005 Congressional Budget Justification for Foreign Operations describes how it would be used.
Our FMF request supports Colombia’s integrated national strategy with significant military assistance and counternarcotics programs that increase the Colombian military’s ability to establish a secure environment, essential to President Uribe’s comprehensive national security strategy.
We will provide operational support (training, supplies, repair parts maintenance and infrastructure) and specialized equipment, including weapons, night vision goggles and communications, to the Army. The focus of this support will be on the elite mobile brigades, the Rapid Reaction brigade (known by the Spanish acronym FUDRA) and the Commando and Lancero Battalions, in order to defeat high priority narcotics and terrorist targets. The 5th and 18th Colombian Army Brigades, trained in 2003 to provide protection to the Cano Limon-Covenas pipeline, a key element of Colombia’s economic infrastructure, will receive additional munitions, equipment and training to sustain this high profile and important mission. Support will also include establishing a national training center and developing an automated logistical system.
FMF funding will also support the Colombian Navy and Air Force and include the provision of interdiction boats, additional combat aircraft, training and infrastructure improvements, maintenance and operational support for Colombia’s C-130 transportation fleet, improving the ability of the entire Colombian military quickly provide forces for operations throughout the country. Colombia’s very limited combat search and rescue (CSAR)/aero medevac capability negatively affects all operations.
As the military and police re-establish national authority in new areas, improving the medical evacuation and treatment capability of the security forces becomes more critical. Our request includes funds to purchase battlefield medical treatment, CSAR and medevac-related equipment and training for Army and Air Force units, enhancing both Colombian capability and force protection of U.S. personnel in Colombia. FMF also supports naval interdiction programs by providing secure communications equipment, spare parts, and assistance to establish an operations center. Riverine forces will benefit from spare parts and other logistic support.
The Andean Counter-Drug Initiative request
The aid request would provide Colombia and its neighbors with an additional $731 million in International Narcotics Control (INC) assistance, both military/police and economic.
    Country
    Military / Police
    Economic / Social
    Total
    Colombia
    $334,000,000
    $150,000,000
    $484,000,000
    Peru
    $62,000,000
    $50,000,000
    $112,000,000
    Bolivia
    $49,000,000
    $42,000,000
    $91,000,000
    Ecuador
    $11,000,000
    $15,000,000
    $26,000,000
    Brazil
    $12,000,000
    -
    $9,000,000
    Venezuela
    $5,000,000
    -
    $3,000,000
    Panama
    $9,000,000
    -
    $6,000,000
    Total
    $474,000,000
    $257,000,000
    $731,000,000
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