The U.S. government considers diversifying its sources of oil a critical component of national security planning, especially in the post-9/11 world. Colombia is currently the ninth-largest foreign supplier of oil to the United States, but is believed to have large additional reserves. The Bush administration, backed by Congress, has redirected U.S. foreign aid to Colombia from the traditional War on Drugs to a new initiative called Plan Colombia, under which $94 million in military assistance is being provided to Colombia to protect U.S. oil interests there. As part of this effort, U.S. Special Forces have begun training 4,000 troops from two Colombia army brigades to protect the Caño Limón Pipeline from rebel attacks. The United States is spending $6 million in 2002 to begin the training program and plans to spend $88 million next year, including the purchase of new military helicopters and other equipment.
Critics charge that the policy shift in Washington is in response to pressure from the powerful oil lobby, which has contributed millions to both political parties in recent years in an attempt to affect how the United States treats Colombia. The environmental advocacy group Amazon Watch estimates that the new security apparatus this program will provide on behalf of Occidental and other oil interests amounts to a massive subsidy by U.S. taxpayers of up to $24 per barrel of Colombian oil. Human rights activists also oppose the training of Colombian soldiers by U.S. forces because of the Colombian army's historical links to paramilitary organizations notorious for killing and kidnapping civilians throughout the country's 38-year-long civil war.
With the recent policy shift, Colombia now ranks as the third-largest recipient of U.S. security assistance in the world.
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