My impression is that this rich and beautiful country has been singled out for punishment in the war on drugs. Former U.S. Ambassador Myles Frechette told us that he refused to communicate with President Ernesto Samper, who was suspected of having knowingly accepted campaign financing from drug lords. Nevertheless, the Clinton administration decertified Colombia in 1996 and 1997 for perceived shortcomings in its anti-narcotic efforts and because of Samper's tainted campaign funding. As a result, tiny environmental and population projects have been cut, while military assistance continues to flow. Omayra lives in the vast southern half of the country that drains into the Amazon river basin.
Transportation is confined to boat or plane.
Until recently, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a left-wing guerrilla group, has been the de facto government there. The presence of this guerrilla organization has restricted the growth of paramilitary death squads, often allied with the military, that have increasingly gained control in other parts of the country to combat the guerrillas. But struggles for health and freedom from violence are not unique to the Guaviare department. Our delegation interviewed women displaced from various regions and visited the besieged mayor of Apartado, Gloria Cuartas, in northern Colombia. There, drug lord Carlos Castano has launched a campaign of terror in the surrounding rural zones, forcing thousands to leave their homes and crowd into refugee camps.