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United States Support For Colombia   Fact Sheet released by the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs   March 28, 2000

Why Colombia Is Not the "Next Vietnam"

A number of Americans have raised concerns that Colombia may become our "next Vietnam." There are good reasons why Colombia is not and will not be another Vietnam.

• Colombia has not asked for U.S. troops, nor do we have any intention of committing troops to Colombia. Large numbers of U.S. troops would not solve Colombia's problems. Only the Colombians can solve Colombia's problems. The U.S. can only play a supporting role in Colombia's efforts.

• Plan Colombia was designed and written by the Colombian Government. The Colombian police and military -- not the U.S. military -- will implement the counternarcotics portion of the plan.

• U.S. support for the Colombian military is targeted at reducing the flow of narcotics and not against guerrilla or paramilitary groups.

• The military assistance the U.S. will provide will be limited to training Colombian units that have been carefully vetted to weed out human rights violators.

• U.S. military assistance will be minimal, monitored, and transparent. U.S. military personnel will be barred from accompanying Colombian police and army units on missions. They would be involved only in training.

• The people of Colombia are determined to counter the menace posed by narcotraffickers and their guerrilla protectors. Fewer than 5% of the Colombian people support the FARC guerrilla group, the principal protectors of narcotics production and trafficking. Paramilitary groups are also involved in narcotrafficking and they are considered reprehensible by a majority of Colombians.

• Colombia's political, economic, and social conditions have little in common with Vietnam. President Pastrana and the Colombian Congress were freely elected in a country with a large, well-educated urban population and a free press.

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