US Oil Interests In Colombia - War Objectives Are For Oil
Janice
"We never mentioned the words coca or narco-trafficker in our training. The
objective continues to be oil." -Stan Goff, former US Special Forces
Intelligence Sergeant, on his work in Colombia
http://www.colombiamobilization.org/oil.html
The United States is deeply involved in the Colombian civil war, aiding the
government with over $1 billion, most of which is military support.
Supposedly part of the "War on Drugs," this aid has widely been widely
challenged for not effectively addressing real needs in the fight against
drug use and addiction. An examination of campaign contributions and
lobbying efforts helps to shed light on ulterior motives for US
involvement. Weapons manufacturers and security contractors have vested
interest in US involvement. And in Colombia, international oil industry
interests appear to have deeply influenced US foreign policy.
American Interest in Colombian Oil
The United States imports more oil from Colombia and its neighbors,
Venezuela and Ecuador, than from all of the Persian Gulf. As President
Bush's energy agenda prioritizes energy independence from the turbulent
Middle East and the left-leaning President Chavez of Venezuela, attentions
turn to oil-rich Colombia. Many parts of the country remain unexplored,
making secure access to Colombian oil reserves a high priority.
American Firms and the Colombian Oil Industry
American corporations are a key part of the Colombian petroleum landscape,
as only one oil company is Colombian-owned. The rest are multinational or
American-owned; the biggest is BP Amoco. Others include Shell and
ExxonMobil.
Threats to Oil's Dominance
Opposition groups threaten the dominance of foreign oil corporations in
Colombia. Colombian indigenous people are vocally calling for protection of
their local environment, and are slowing exploration and extraction with
protests. Increasingly, guerrilla groups bomb pipelines as a method of war,
and as a way to extract "taxes" for each barrel of oil they do allow to
pass.
Oil Firms Push for War on Drugs
Threats to profits are anathema to any corporate interest. In order to
protect their investments in wells, pipelines, local personnel, and related
industrial projects, oil corporations have lobbied hard for US military
assistance to Colombia.
Texas-based Enron Corp, Occidental Petroleum and BP Amoco made large
contributions donations to US political candidates and parties, and have
pushed hard for increased US military assistance to Colombia.
Defending the Industry
The Colombian army and right wing paramilitaries (illegal armed groups with
links to the Colombian army) protect and profit from foreign oil interests
in Colombia. Despite a deteriorating human rights situation that the
military claims it is too poor to address, the Colombian army spends nearly
one quarter of its resources on defending oil installations. And credible
reports document security contracts between oil companies and paramilitary
groups.
Those who are "protecting US interests" in the region are doing so
ruthlessly. Paramilitaries target local indigenous activists, and the labor
leaders working in the oil industry have been among the most violently
repressed in the world. Illegal armed groups are responsible for hundreds
of murders and thousands of disappearances, many of which are directly
linked to the protest of oil exploration and extraction activities.
Oil and the Environment
Oil exploration and extraction is a highly toxic industrial activity. In
Colombia, pipelines and access roads cut deeply into ecologically sensitive
areas, including the Amazon rainforest. War-related pipeline bombings-which
happen about 5 times a week in Colombia-dump thousands of gallons of crude
oil onto the ground, and into the local watershed and the ecosystem.
The National Mobilization on Colombia is a national coalition of
organizations and individuals working to transform US policy toward Colombia
and the Andean region. We are committed to nonviolence in our own actions as
well as supporting exclusively nonviolent, negotiated political solutions
to the conflict in Colombia.
Please join us for Phase 2 of the Mobilization
April 19-22, 2002 in Washington DC.
For more information, please call Witness for Peace at (202) 588-1471 or
visit our website
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