Diplomat



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The U.S. and Colombia have had a peaceful political history together. Colombia’s troubling internal conflicts have lead to the U.S. lending a helping hand though. Colombia has become a turbulent country battling civil war, drug cartels, and inhumane treatment. America has increasingly made their presence stronger in the Latin American country in the past five years. There is a huge concern with the burgeoning drug trade that has spread into the U.S. The United States and Colombia have also penned out a free trade agreement.


 Colombia is the leading exporter of the world’s cocaine. The U.S. has become a huge market for that cocaine. Although Colombia is abundant in natural resources like coffee and petroleum, the coca plant is still a major crop cultivated by farmers. So, the United States put Plan Colombia into action in 2000. Under the plan, American forces spray herbicides over coca fields. Planes fly over coca farms, spraying mists of  Glyphosate. The plan has met much criticism. Food crops and livestock have been sprayed by military planes. Local farmers have even been caught in the mists. There are also ground forces that manually destroy the coca plants. Critics argue that the plan keys in on poor farmers who just relocate when their fields are destroyed. <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Colombia has received $600 million in military aid each year from the U.S. The U.S. also supplies Colombia with <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">helicopters, trainers and intelligence to fight against coca farmers and rebels. There have been less murders and kidnappings in Colombian. The rebel group, FARC, has been suppressed. The freed trade agreement has been outlined but, congress hasn’t passed it yet. Colombia’s president, Alvaro Uribe, was able to get it approved in his country. The majority of American exports would become tax free once the bill went through. Colombia would also join the World Trade Organization. The new U.S. presidential administration will continue aid to eradicate the drug trade, insure internal tranquility and preserve diplomatic relations with Colombia. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">   <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;">

__Citations__

__"BBC NEWS | Americas | US weighs costs of Plan Colombia." BBC NEWS | News Front Page. 7 Nov. 2008. BBC News. 05 Apr. 2009 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4627185.stm>.__ __Livingstone, Grace. "America's Toxic War on Colombia's Farmers." Organic Consumers Association. 12 Mar. 2009. OCA. 05 Apr. 2009__ []__.__ __"U.S. Trade Representative Invites Minister Plata to Review Bilateral Trade Agenda." Http://colombiaemb.org. Embassy of Colombia. 5 Apr. 2009 <http://colombiaemb.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=660&Itemid=172>.

Images__

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