The Incoherence of US Counternarcotics Policy in Colombia: Exploring the Breaches in the Policy Cycle

Abstract

This article analyses US counternarcotics policy in Colombia, focusing on the policy cycle of the US aid package to Plan Colombia (from August 1998 to July 2000). Based on the postulate that US foreign policy, in particular counternarcotics policy (both international and domestic), suffers from a lack of policy coherence and ineffectiveness, this article explores a range of explanatory factors, grounded primarily in breaches in the policy cycle. It is argued that these breaches result primarily from domestic politics, namely with regard to pressures emanating from Presidential and Congressional elections, from the omnipresent fear of being accused of being ‘soft on drugs’ and public opinion as well as lobbying groups with interests in Colombia.

Cet article analyse la politique antidrogue des Etats Unis en Colombie, en se concentrant sur le processus de prise de décision relatif à leur contribution au Plan Colombie (d'aoÛt 1998 à juillet 2000). Sur la base du postulat que la politique étrangère américaine, notamment la politique antidrogue (internationale et nationale), manque de cohérence et d'efficacité, cet article explore un ensemble de facteurs explicatifs liés principalement aux ruptures dans le processus de mise en œuvre. Il est démontré que ces ruptures sont le résultat notamment de politiques nationales, voire de pressions de l'opinion publique ainsi que de lobby ayant des intérêts en Colombie, dans un contexte d'élections présidentielles et législatives, avec la peur omniprésente d'être accusé de ne pas être assez ferme sur la question de la drogue.

Notes

 1. Since 1998, funding for international drug control and interdiction programmes has ranged from 14 per cent to 21 per cent of total Federal spending. Since this research examines US foreign and counternarcotics policies in Colombia, the focus is placed on international drug control, that is on the international facet of the war on drugs. It should also be noted that the Federal Drug Control Budget provides funding for both international and domestic drug control programmes.

 2. Democratic governance refers to: the declining legitimacy of the state, strengthening of illicit armed groups, rising number of human rights abuses committed by security forces and illicit armed groups, problem of impunity and disrespect of international humanitarian law, socio-economic, development crises.

 3. Policy coherence refers to the consistency between the declared objectives of a policy and the means used to reach these goals and/or the results attained. The lack of policy coherence may also indicate counterproductive results.

 4. Sharp (1994) defines the policy cycle as the development of policy ‘through a series of stages or phases, beginning with agenda setting, problem definition, and their effect on the policy of enactment’.

 5. For further readings on political pluralism, group theories and the political process, see Dahl, 1967; Almond, 1960; Sapin, 1966; Hilsman, 1971; Baskin, 1970.

 6. Kingdon defines the agenda as: ‘the list of subjects or problems to which governmental officials, and people outside of government closely associated with those officials, are paying some serious attention at any given time (Kingdon, 1995: 2–3).

 7. Andres Pastrana became president on 7 August 1998. President Clinton's proposal of the aid package was submitted to Congress on 11 January 2000. Clinton requested funding amounting to $1.6 billion. During the second phase of the policy process, Congress debated Clinton's proposal, came up with a House (Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill) and Senate (Foreign Appropriations bill and Military Construction Appropriations bill) versions, and finally agreed to a compromise. The final version of Plan Colombia, Public Law 106–25, was signed by Clinton on 13 July 2000. The bill (H.R. 4425) provided $1.289 billion. For further details on the differences in these bills, refer to the study conducted by Nina Serafino, entitled Plan Colombia, Legislation and Assistance, mandated by the Congressional Research Service (Serafino, 2001).

 8. The core coalition-building group in Congress, led by the Speaker of the House, Mr Hastert, was comprised of: Mr Gilman (New York, Chairman of the House Committee on International Relations), Mr Burton (Indiana, Chairman of the Committee on Government Reform), Mr Mica (from Florida, Chairman of the Committee on Government Reform's Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources), Mr Souder (Indiana, former and current Chairman of the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources) as well as Republican Senators, such as Senator Grassley (Iowa, Chairman of the Senate Caucus for International Narcotics Control), Senator DeWine (Ohio, member of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence), Senator Feinstein (Democrat, California, member of the Senate Caucus for International Narcotics Control) and the Senate Majority leader, Mr Trent Lott (Republican, from Missouri).

 9. In 1997, Mr Gilman was lobbying for the procurement of three Blackhawk helicopters to the Colombian National Police. Mr Gilman has close personal ties with the leader of the CNP, General Serrano, who even named their helicopters after him (‘Big Ben’ and after another close ally, Dan Burton (‘Dangerous Dan’) (Gilman, 1997).

10. Based on a personal interview with Gina Mary Hathaway (Senator De Wine), 11 July 2001, Washington, DC.

11. Gina Mary Hathaway (working from Senator De Wine, interviewed on 11 July 2001) and Bill Olson (Staff Director of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, interviewed on 26 June 2001) were responsible for crafting the 1999 Alianza Act.

12. Interviews with Senate staffers confirmed that the key players on the Senate side were a handful of Republican Senators and their staffers: namely Gina Mary Hathaway (Senator De Wine, Republican, Ohio), Bill Olson, Staff Director of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control), Senator Grassley (Republican, Iowa), Roger Noriega (Senator Helms, Republican, North Carolina), Senator Lott (Republican, Missouri, Senate Majority Leader), Senator Coverdell (Republican, Georgia), Senator Feinstein (Democrat, California) and Senator Sessions (Republican, Alabama), Senator Graham, a Democrat from Florida, also supported the House Republican cluster.

13. This section in drawn from the author's dissertation (Neumann, 2004), Chapter 5, ‘Plan Colombia: Multiple Causes of Policy Incoherence’.

14. Occidental Petroleum is the most important US investor in Colombia and has been operating in Colombia for over 30 years. The Caño-Limon Pipeline is operated by both Occidental and Shell (Dutch-owned).

15. US oil consumption has risen by 15 per cent from 1990 to 1999, reaching 19.5 million barrels a day.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Vanessa Neumann

Vanessa Barclay Neumann is a political scientist of British-US nationalities. She obtained her doctorate in Development Studies in May 2004 at the Graduate Institute of Development Studies where she currently holds a position as a lecturer in the field of international development policy, specialising in policy coherence and poverty reduction strategies. This article is a synthesis of the author's PhD dissertation, completed in May 2004, entitled ‘The (In)Coherence of U.S. Foreign Policy in Colombia: “Disentangling the Maze of Drug Control: Is Plan Colombia the Panacea?”’, Thesis No. 9, Geneva: Graduate Institute of Development Studies. It can be downloaded from the following website: <www.unige.ch/cyberdocuments / theses2004/NeumannV/meta.html>.