U.S. anti-drug aid to Colombia found its way into the hands of businesses owned by violent narco-paramilitaries, according to an article published by?The Nation. Investigative journalist — and FSRN contributor — Teo Ballvé wrote the report. He recently spoke to FSRN about his findings.
US anti-drug funds from Washington appear to have funded companies in Colombia with links to ultra-violent paramilitary groups and drug traffickers. The monies were funneled to these companies via Plan Colombia, the multi-billion-dollar military aid package.
An in depth interview on how Plan Colombia provided US-taxpayer funds to murderous paramilitary groups and drug traffickers. The funds were to support the cultivation of oil palms, which can be used to make biofuels. All in an effort that's part of the U.S.-backed war on drugs and the Colombian government's drive to become a biofuels powerhouse.
Teo Ballve, periodista de?The Nation, es autor del artí-culo titulado 'The Darkside of Plan Colombia' en el cual afirma que el Plan Colombia dio dineros a una empresa de 'Macaco' y otras que tení-an ví-nculos con paramilitares.
Afro-Colombian communities in the northwestern province of Chocó were violently forced to leave their lands in the late 1990s. When they returned in 2002, they found their farms covered in oil palms, which are grown to produce biofuels. Despite almost certain reprisal, they are fighting to get these lands back.
Although trash recyclers remain at the bottom-rung of the global economic ladder and face harassment from authorities, they are increasingly organized and have won important victories. Colombia's waste pickers were among the first to organize, and they recently invited their counterparts from around the world to discuss shared problems.