Colombia Displaced In People
U.N. Voices Concern for Colombia's Internally Displaced Youth - US Department of State
According to the United Nations, Colombia's long-running civil war has uprooted over 1.5 million people within the country. Unofficial estimates put the number of internally displaced people in Colombia at between 2 million and 3.5 million. The Colombian government indicates that up to 1 million of the internally displaced live in the country's largest cities, with 400,000 of them between the ages of 13 and 29. ... The State Department said in its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2004 that violence and instability in Colombia displaced at least 137,000 civilians during 2004, and that the country now has more than 2 million internally displaced people, including 800,000 children. ... [Read More]
Colombia - US Department of State
United States Breaks Up Colombian Drug Money-Laundering RingIllegal peso exchange used to funnel drug money, U.S. drug agency saysThe U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced it has broken up a Colombian drug money-laundering ring, resulting in the arrests of 36 people and the seizure of over 21,000 pounds of marijuana, 947 kilograms of cocaine, 7 kilograms of heroin, and $7.2 million in illegal profits. (complete text) Human-Rights ... [Read More]
U.S. Narcotics Control Initiatives in Colombia
the PRM bureau supports international and non-governmental organizations working in Colombia that provide food, temporary shelter, basic health and sanitation, education and other emergency humanitarian assistance to displaced people. PRM also supports the dissemination of information on international humanitarian law to the Colombian military and police, local civilian authorities, and illegal armed groups; ... Beyond the achievements in eradication, U.S. programs have helped strengthen democratic institutions, protect human rights, assist internally displaced persons, and foster socio-economic development. Specifically, we have succeeded in the following areas: deployment of Colombia's first Counternarcotics Brigade which has moved aggressively against drug labs and other illegal facilities and has expanded its interdiction efforts beyond southern Colombia; ... [Read More]
Colombia Program Description and Activity Data Sheets
By the end of FY 2008, USAID will have helped more than 2.6 million displaced persons and at least 3,400 ex-combatant and other vulnerable children. This represents a serious effort to address Colombia's displaced population of more than 2.5 million people and the estimated 11,000 child combatants. This program will also assist in providing licit economic alternatives to deter people from participating in illicit narcotics-related activities. ... [Read More]
Plan Colombia: An Initial Assessment
The flight of any displaced Colombians into Ecuador or any of Colombia’s other neighbors raises questions about the risk for spillover effects in all the countries in the region. Spillover, whether it is in the form of displaced people, violence, or drugs, threatens the goals for which all our nations are working. Those goals, which include the strengthening of institutions, the development of sustainable economies, liberalized trade, and an end to corruption, are meant to form the foundation for prosperity in this hemisphere and will benefit the United States as well as the people of the Andean region. ... [Read More]
A Report to Congress on United States Policy Towards Colombia and Other Related Issues
President Uribe also stressed the priority his government assigns to complementing its security efforts with sustainable rural development programs, based on a comprehensive approach to regional social and economic development and to security. In writing to President Bush, he added that these programs would be focused on regions of strategic importance to the country, with special consideration given to vulnerable segments of the population, such as indigenous peoples, victims of violence and displaced persons. ... [Read More]
Western Hemisphere
The ongoing armed conflict in Colombia has displaced approximately 2.2 million people since 1995. The United States is funding a number of international organizations and NGOs in Colombia that provide emergency humanitarian assistance such as food, temporary shelter, hygiene and household kits, psychosocial attention and health care to newly displaced persons. The United States is also providing mid- to long-term assistance to displaced persons through several international organizations and NGOs, focused on economic reintegration of displaced persons where they reside and a smaller but significant returnee component. Program activities include productive projects, micro-credit programs, vocational training and job placement, health care, shelter, income generation, improved education and basic community infrastructure. Furthermore, USAID has assisted 1,176 ex-combatant and other vulnerable children through their child soldiers program. ... [Read More]
U.S. Assistance to Colombia and the Andean Region
The FARC, ELN and AUC also threaten regional stability. The FARC regularly uses border regions in Panama, Ecuador, Brazil and Venezuela for rest and recreation, arms and narcotics trafficking, and resupply operations. For some time, conflicts between the FARC and AUC in northwest Colombia have led to the limited movement of displaced Colombians into Panama’s Darien region. Venezuela and Ecuador have experienced similar problems with displaced persons at various times. ... [Read More]
Press Conference in Bogotá, Colombia
UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: No, we have not. We believe that contractors -people on contract to the U.S. Government- will continue to be a very important part of our effort here. That is how the modern world works. We have said from the very beginning of all of these efforts that this is very dangerous work, and that the people we hire and the people we train and the people we ask to do this work on behalf of Colombia and America, know it’s dangerous. And so, as I say, I feel great sorrow and great condolence for the people who were killed; we are doing everything we can along with Colombia to find the three people who have been kidnapped; but no, it does not make us reassess who we hire and how we hire them. We believe the contractors will continue to be an important part of our effort here.Le ... [Read More]
Colombia
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and press and the Government generally respected these rights in practice. Individuals criticized the Government both publicly and in private, and the media expressed a wide spectrum of political viewpoints and often sharply criticized the Government, all without fear of Government reprisal. However, journalists regularly practiced self-censorship to avoid retaliation and harassment by criminals and members of illegal armed groups. Several major newspapers and news magazines circulated nationally, and there were many influential regional publications. There were two major national radio networks and many national and regional television channels. The National Television Commission continued to oversee television programming, although it did not censor substantive content. Major international wire services, newspapers, and television networks had a presence in the country and generally ope ... [Read More]
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