SEVEN BILLION of our tax dollars for the corrupt, failed, murderous U.S. "war on drugs."
At that's just the money we know about.
Colombia, the land of Pentagon "forward operating locations," drone bombing tests, Blackwater "trainings," USAID "pacification" programs, mass graves, vast domestic spying even on judges and prosecutors, U.S.-based pesticide corporations drenching peasant farmers, FIVE MILLION peasant farmers brutally displaced, hundreds of thousands fleeing to Venezuela and Ecuador for refuge, and every week, it seems, over the last decade or so, the murders of yet more labor leaders, teachers, community activists, political leftists and other advocates of the poor in Colombia.
All prep for U.S. "free trade for the rich," which is apparently going to include legalization of formerly illicit drugs, so that monstrous corporations like Monsanto can GMO-ize them and monopolize the trade.
Though I see what may be a wily Obama administration/Leon Panetta/CIA policy, to undermine fascist pig embarassments, such as the Bush Junta's 'made man' in Colombia, Alvaro Uribe, by legalizing the source of his wealth and power--the illegal drug trade (note: their man in Bogota, Manual Santos, advocates the complete legalization of all drugs)--and I also see a surprising Obama/Panetta/CIA policy in the Colombia/FARC guerilla peace talks in Cuba--and, believe me, that would not be happening without an okay from Washington DC--it is simply not possible, and not reasonable, to assume any amount of benevolence, or even just simple common decency, by the U.S. government in Latin America, no matter who appears to be running our government in this era.
All strings go back to U.S.-based transglobal corporations and what they want. Do they now want peace in Colombia--now that so many labor leaders and other advocates of the poor have been slaughtered, millions displaced and impoverished--a ready-made slave labor force--and civic life destroyed? Do they think they'll have better access to the oil, the gold, the coal, the water, the rich coca leaf and marijuana growing lands, without a leftist guerilla army in the jungles? Thus, Colombia now gets "peace," with all this blood under the bridge.
I am all for peace, believe me. It has been my mantra about Colombia for over a decade. I am also in favor of legalization of all drugs. But neither am I naive about what "Washington" is up to.
Under Obama, Honduran democracy was overthrown and fake elections were held under the auspices of the U.S. State Department. Honduras is consequently becoming a mountain of body parts, like Colombia. This follows a horrendous history of U.S. bloody interference, and support for murder and torture, in Latin America, including the U.S.-instigated "drug war" bloodbath in Mexico, and going back many decades, to Reagan and Nixon.
A U.S. policy of REALITY--as opposed to Bush Junta policy--may be occurring, given Latin American voters' devotion to democracy and social justice, especially in South America (with leftist presidents elected and re-elected in Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia, Uruguay and Chile). Wall Street and the U.S. military--our reigning powers--are despised in these countries--rejected, evicted, ridiculed, disbelieved and disobeyed. Does Wall Street demand that the poor be starved by cutting food stamps? Does Wall Street demand "privatization" of everything they can get their hands on? Do the banksters demand trillions in bailouts? Does the Pentagon require obeisance to its "Southern Command"? These countries will, and have done, the opposite; have banded together to do the opposite--have strengthened their democracies and civic culture, have bolstered "the commons," have aided the poor, are drastically reducing poverty by SPENDING PUBLIC MONEY, and have resoundingly rejected militarism, banksterism, Wall Street-ism and deregulation.
So, Washington desperately needed a dose of reality, to deal with all this adamant and unified rejection of its dictates.
This doesn't mean, though, that Obama/Panetta/CIA has good intentions in Latin America. They do NOT. What they want is to now benefit from the horrendous carnage that the Bush Junta unleashed in Colombia, to create a "free trade for the rich" zone for U.S.-based transglobal corporations. The brutality in Honduras has a similar purpose; it is a preliminary to more firmly establishing Central America as the U.S. "circle the wagons" exploitation zone, to battle the leftist democracies to the south. "Wily" is the word, and I think that South American leaders understand this very well.
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