While Plan Colombia was sold to the American public as a counter-drug plan, U.S. funds were earmarked primarily for military aid to train, equip, and transport three new Colombian army battalions, blurring the lines between counterinsurgency and counternarcotics missions. The drug cartels, under the protection of paramilitary forces, have diversified their operations, finding new production and trafficking routes. After more than 40 years, this war will not be won on the battlefield, but at the negotiating table. Fifth , there are no winners. Ordinary Colombians lose.
Human rights lose.
The region loses. There have already been clashes between guerrillas and paramilitaries in surrounding countries. And the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has begun preparing camps along the border for thousands of displaced persons. The U.S. war on drugs is pushing drug cultivation and trafficking into floundering Ecuador, Peru, and the fragile Amazon ecosystems. The U.S. loses.