Giving Colombia a chance
William Ratliff of the Independent Institute has a good piece in The Washington Times today about Colombia. He points out that the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) recently lost its leader, and that there is an opening to finally defeat this communist insurgency.
Ratliff argues that the U.S. should end the drug war, pass the pending free trade agreement with Colombia and allow that country to grow its economy. He writes,
The death of one of Latin America’s top guerrilla leaders, Colombia’s Manuel “Sureshot” Marulanda, who died last month of a heart attack at age 77, increases the chances for peace and stability in the region. But much depends on the United States, which needs to understand that what happens in Colombia impacts all of Latin America.
The FARC is unpopular in Colombia, but Ratliff argues that it is only propped up by the profits it makes in narco-trafficking, which is primarily a U.S. demand problem. Decriminalize drugs and the funding dries up, according to Ratliff.
Whatever the proper prescription for U.S. relations with Colombia, it would be good for everyone involved if the Chavez-supported FARC became a footnote in Latin American history.
June 9th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Amen, it is the U.S. drug demand that is responsible for completely politically unstabalizing the country of Colombia in the first place. We have our hands full destabalizing countries in the War on Terror, and its seriously time to re-evaluate our drug policy anyhow.