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Dear [Member of Congress],

We write to you as members of [X community group, town, church, etc] to express great concern over U.S. policy in Colombia, and to ask for your support for a new policy that strengthens human rights protections, justice, and the possibility for peace in Colombia. 

When Plan Colombia started in 2000, those who expressed concerns over the human rights record of the Colombian army were promised that human rights would be strengthened through U.S. involvement.  We note with concern that the opposite has been the case. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ 2004 report documents an increase in "allegations regarding extrajudicial executions and violations of due process" by public servants, including members of the security forces, compared to 2003. On February 21, 2005, the San José de Apartadó peace community was attacked, and eight people, including four children, were brutally massacred.  According to community witnesses, there is evidence of Colombian Army involvement in this horrible crime.  The UN report also asserts there is ongoing coordination between members of the security forces and brutal paramilitary groups.

Congress also passed Plan Colombia in the hope that U.S. assistance would help bring an end to Colombia’s brutal internal armed conflict. Alarmingly, after 5 years of U.S. aid, the overall level of violence against Colombian communities has not abated.  The Bojayá region in the department of Chocó faces escalating violence from guerillas and paramilitaries; as well, the attacks on the indigenous peace communities of Toribío and Jambaló in Cauca led to a battle between Colombian armed forces and the guerillas, resulting in the displacement of more than 3,000 people.  The lives of these survivors, like the thousands of other rural inhabitants trying to stay out of the conflict, continue to be gravely endangered.

Finally, we are disturbed by the failure of fumigation—an inhumane drug eradication tactic that has destroyed farmers’ food crops, damaged water sources and further impoverished rural communities—to make any appreciable dent in cocaine availability on U.S. streets.  A March 25^th ONDCP press release confirms that although a record number of acres of coca were fumigated last year, Colombia ended 2004 with slightly more coca than it had in 2003—and almost the exact amount as in 2000.  In an April 28^th New York Times article, ONDCP officials acknowledged that "key indicators of domestic cocaine availability show stable or slightly increased availability in drug markets throughout the country.”  More than $3 billion taxpayer dollars have been spent on an anti-drug policy that, judged by any logical indicator, has failed. 

In the interest of forging a more just and constructive U.S. policy, we ask that you:

• Urge the State Department to withhold the human rights certification necessary to release military assistance for Colombia until there is a transparent, impartial investigation and prosecution by civilian authorities of the authors of the San José de Apartadó massacre [and greater progress in ending impunity and breaking army-paramilitary links].
• Pressure the Government of Colombia through dear colleague letters, meetings, and statements to make greater progress in breaking army-paramilitary ties and prosecuting army officials implicated in other violations. Congressional pressure on this issue is crucial, as even the most notorious cases—including that of General Rito Alejo del Rio, accused of actually forming paramilitary groups while in command of the XVII brigade of the Colombian army—have stalled or been dismissed from Colombian courts.
• Offer or support amendments to the 2006 Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill to decrease aid to Colombia’s military and increase targeted assistance to the internally displaced and development aid to help small farmers switch from illicit drug crops to food crops and to help poor rural communities caught in the conflict.  The “social side” of the U.S. aid package has remained less than 20%, but it represents the best hope we have for creating alternative markets for farmers now forced by necessity to grow coca, and thus decreasing the amount of cocaine available on U.S. streets.  
• Turn attention back to strengthening treatment and prevention programs in the United States.  If you really care about the impact of drug abuse, make sure treatment is available to all who seek it.

Plan Colombia’s time is up, and it is up to Congress to redefine U.S. policy to Colombia.  The makeup of next year’s U.S. aid package is crucial.  Will high-profile cases of human rights violations languish while rural communities are left without protection?  Will rural communities continue to suffer the effects of fumigation, while cocaine remains highly available on U.S. streets? Or will Colombia work to strengthen its justice system, extend the rule of law to rural areas, offer rural residents viable livelihood alternatives, and engage in a just peace process that will pave the way to long-term security? 

We urge you to take a strong role in defining the direction of U.S. policy in Colombia, so that the United States may assist in the creation of conditions for peace in a region long ravaged by the violence of war – and better resolve our own problems of drug abuse at home.

Thank you for your attention to these important issues.

Sincerely,