Colombia, they point out, has been wracked by a devastating guerrilla insurgency for nearly 40 years. The conflict has claimed 35,000 lives in the past decade alone. More than one million Colombians have been displaced. Intertwined with the FARC are Colombia s powerful drug cartels, which, last year, produced 520 tons of cocaine versus 435 tons in 1998 and 230 tons in 1995. Sharpening the congressional debate over helicopters is Colombia s poor human rights record.
Colombian officials take umbrage to the report.
They say they are making progress on human rights, and that the number of violations have declined from 2,000 in 1996 to about 70 last year. Analysts say these funds presage a much larger U.S. helicopter commitment in Colombia. Maintenance and support of these rotorcraft, after all, is expensive. The White House says that U.S. aid in Colombia can play a similarly constructive role. But as critics point out, the Cold War got awfully hot at times.