From The NY Transfer BBS 718-448-2358
---------------------------------------
Interview
COLOMBIA'S MONTANA DISCUSSES DRUGS, DEBT AND THE WAR AGAINST THE
POOR
Insight Features, May 1990
Colombia, one of the most violent countries in the Western Hemisphere,
is constantly being rocked by bombings in the cities, armed skirmishes
in the countryside and terrible assassinations anywhere, anytime. Those
who work for social change are the main targets of the violence. One
organization, the Patriotic Union (UP), has 1044 members at the hands of
death squads since its inception in 1986. The UP's senior leader, Diego
Montana, recently visited the U.S. and Insight Features interviewed him
on the "drug war," U.S. policy and the future of Colombia.
First some bibliography: Diego Montana Cuellar first answered his
political calling when he was elected student representative to the City
Council of Bogota in 1934. He went on to become a Congressmen, Secretary
of Government, Acting Mayor of Bogota, Embassy Secretary in Chile,
Council General in Santiago, Advisor to Worker's Trade Union of
Fedepetrol, Professor at Free University and National University,
author, and Acting Chairman of the Patriotic Union (a coalition movement
of the left). He was re-elected to Congress this March and visited the
U.S. in April. The following interview was conducted in Chicago by
Alynne Romo, an associate editor of Insight Features and a steering
committee member of the International Forum Coalition.
Q: Due to the limitations of the media, our view of Colombia from the
U.S. is distorted and a bit murky. Almost all the news we hear about
your country is associated with the drug question. How did
drug-trafficking become such a large component of Colombian life?
Montana: There have been three great bonanzas in Colombia. The first
arose some years back with the mining and trade in emeralds. Prior to
that, it took many generations to become rich in Colombia. After the
emeralds, prosperity came with marijuana along with coffee smuggling.
When Colombian marijuana became inferior to the marijuana now grown here
in your country, the prosperity associated with cocaine emerged on the
scene.
So there are now three professions in which fortunes can be acquired
in a few weeks; three jobs that can make certain lowlife people very
rich: the hired hitmen, emerald hunters and, above all, drug smugglers.
Remember that Colombia is not a great cocaine producer or
consumer--it is the corridor through which drugs are moved from Peru and
Bolivia to North America. The primary importance of Colombia to cocaine
smugglers is that we have remote jungle regions that permit traffickers
to set up large processing plants.
The second greatest factor is the development in Colombia of a
transport system to move the drugs, especially skilled pilots, who run
the risk of transporting the coke on American aircraft, through American
defenses, and largely to benefit the accounts of American interests. The
cocaine traffic requires a very complex infrastructure from one end to
the other and a very powerful network of support.
Ultimately, the final beneficiaries of the cocaine trade are the
great bankers of the U.S. Some Colombian economists like Salman
Kalmanowitz state that only 15% of the money earned goes to Colombia,
while 85% goes to the income of the American, Japanese and European
financial network.
Of Colombia's drug cartels, those based in the cities of Medellin and
Cali are the largest. Medellin is the most bloody--that is the one the
notorious Gacha used to belong to. He was a demented person. He acquired
a million hectares of land. He was a killer of members of the UP,
including two of our senators. He bragged about being anti-communist. He
was captured by the Colombian armed forces and killed last December.
The Cali cartel is more "civilized." It is made of high-class
businessmen. There is a saying in Colombia--that the CIA works with
Medellin, and the DEA works with Cali!
Q: From the perspective of Latin America, how do you view the
involvement of the U.S. government in the drug wars?
Montana: When the Cold War ended with an pact with Gorbachev, the U.S.
military and its friends needed something to keep themselves in
business. Now with the excuse of combating drugs they are arming the
contras--all the contras in this world.
At this moment in Latin America, U.S. militarism is seeking to maintain
the struggle that once existed between East and West. Except now it is
being redirected into a conflict between North and South. The essence of
U.S. foreign policy is to have the counter-revolution first, before the
revolution even gets a chance to get off the ground. They do this by
setting up counter-insurgency programs.
This is the "National Security Doctrine" developed by the Pentagon. It
sees the security threat to be faced by the armed forces of a given
country as coming, not from abroad, but from the people of the country
itself. The armies in Latin America have been trained in and structured
around this doctrine.
For example, the Colombian government, under pressure from the left
and other forces, is struggling against the drug traffickers. The U.S.
government stepped in and offered planes and helicopters. However, those
weapons are not that useful against drug traffickers, but they are
effective against peasants. The U.S. government is seeking to impose its
military force on the people of Colombia.
The Colombian government refused to accept the intervention of U.S.
troops. President Bush's response was to mobilize air craft carriers to
watch the Colombian coast and to do overflights. The massive opposition
of the people forced the Colombian government to stand up and reject the
U.S. coercion.
Q: You're suggesting that the U.S. aircraft offered to Colombia is
really intended for use against popular rural movements. Could you give
us some perspective on those struggles?
Montana: The guerrilla movement, which has existed for 40 years,
arose because of the repression of peasants in their struggle for land.
The peasants who took up arms had been forced to move from developed
areas to peripheral areas through what was really a form of armed
colonization. The most distant areas where the government's influence
never reached--like near the Amazon--is where these "new colonies" were
established.
In 1985 these guerrillas made a truce with the government. The
government agreed to broaden democracy and the rebels agreed to end the
armed struggle. The Patriotic Union was then born. The UP sought to
allow the incorporation of these forces into legal activities. So, in
1986 we took part in the elections. We received great support in rural
areas and elected 15 congressmen, hundreds of municipal council members
and some 60 mayors. It was quite a historical victory.
Then began the war of extermination against us. The Senator and the
Representative from the State of Meta were both murdered. The
Representative of Magdalena Medio, an oil producing zone, was murdered.
Mayors and city officials in Uraba, a banana producing area were
murdered.
These selective exterminations had the goal of preventing a movement
that had momentum and support from becoming a majority movement. They
were eliminating a possibility.
In the beginning, the extermination was limited to leaders. Then came
the attacks on the masses. By 1988 there were genocides of entire towns
who were only suspected UP sympathizers. Or they were banana workers
dancing at a fiesta or an Easter celebration. Since 1985, 1044 members
of our organization have been killed.
Q: By whom--the drug traffickers?
Montana: In Colombia, the struggle against land reform has been
reinforced by organizing the property-owners into regional groups. Using
the pretext of guerrilla activities and kidnappings, the landowners
organize militarily. The army gave them arms and training. They then
formed paramilitary groups.
The drug traffickers, who launder funds by buying large tracts of
land, import mercenaries from Australia and Great Britain who teach them
how to kill efficiently. There are schools for the hitmen. The
exterminations benefit the counterrevolutionaries, drug-traffickers and
landlords.
Q: How do you propose to deal with the drug issue?
Montana: There are really two problems; one we can do something about,
the other we can't. The demand for drugs is a world problem that must be
solved by the United States and the other consumer countries.
Narco-terrorism, on the other hand, is a problem that can be solved in
Colombia. The government has approached the trafficking problem. There
is a sector of the armed forces that has been fighting against
traffickers. But there are two groups in the armed forces--one against
and one supporting the Medellin cartel. There is a network of informers
and none of the big crimes are under investigation.
Q: There have been a number of summits on a range of issues throughout
Latin America in the past couple of years. The most recent was the
Anti-Drug Summit in Cartagena de las Indias, Colombia, a few months ago.
Was anything accomplished?
Montana: Something important was happening in Cartagena. Not for
Bush--he was just there to campaign for himself. But Barco, Alan Garcia
[of Peru] and Zamora [Bolivia] were very together on a number of
important points. For one, they agreed that the problem of drug
production can't be resolved without substituting an alternative crop.
The production of coca, as opposed to refined cocaine, is ancient in
Peru and Bolivia. Chewing the coca leaf wards off hunger and altitude
sickness. This is how people could walk long distances in the times of
the Incas. It's an old custom.
For the people native to these regions, it used to be that there was
corn growing next to the coca leaf. But there wasn't much of an external
market. Now along come some Americans in planes and the people have a
some of money. This is the first time they've really had enough to eat,
to live decently. That's why, if we are going to take away the cocaine,
we need a profitable replacement. We need to invest in land research and
infrastructure reform, so we can develop and plant other products.
Generally, the Third World needs a new world economic order. The
United Nations agreed on that in 1974. But it has not been fulfilled in
reality. Take for example, foreign debt: development based on dependence
equals foreign debt. Look at a rich country like Brazil. Look at a
technologically developed country like Argentina. All have the same
"drainage" problem.
The non-payment of the foreign debt is the beginning of the movement
toward independence--which is what Latin America needs.
The structure of the loans has systematically forced the countries of
Latin America to export our capital for the development of the highly
developed countries! In the last ten years Latin American countries sent
out more than double the loans they had received. It's not ethical.
The continued paying of debt will hold back the social development of
the Latin American peoples. The non-payment of the debt is central to
the economic, political and social integration of Latin America.
Q: If Americans could do anything to help, what would it be?
Montana: U.S. public opinion is very important. A large part of the
ruling class listens to the dominant opinion in the U.S. It is
imperative that the American people understand that we are more than an
appendage of the U.S.
We would ask that you help prevent the U.S. shipment of the chemicals
that are used to process drugs to Colombia. This would prevent the
processing of drugs in Colombia. We would ask that the U.S. government
please patrol and control its own coast instead of worrying about the
departure of drugs from Colombia. The attempt to dominate our coastal
waters is not acceptable to us. We need you to understand that the
military aid to Colombia is simply not to hunt drug traffickers. They
are not being used to hunt Escobar [of the Medellin Cartel]. The attack
helicopters are being used to attack our peasant movements.
What is most important is that the U.S. people see that the drug
problem is determined mostly by consumption. Drug addiction is a product
of U.S. society of the advanced capitalist consumer society. The
struggle against this aspect of the drug business cannot be resolved in
Colombia. I know that here in the U.S. the drug situation weighs heavily
on the poor. That struggle is as much in the interests of the Colombians
as it the people of the U.S.
Q: And what will happen now in Colombia?
Montana: Colombia is one of the oldest democracies in Latin American.
In Colombia the President and Congress are elected. There is a
separation of powers and freedom of the press. Why is it that with so
much "democracy" the popular majority is not in power? Because the
formal "democracy" is a lie. This is reflected in the fact that of 17
million voters, only 4 million--therefore a minority--elects the power
structure.
We feel that there is a political solution to our problems. Peace is a
necessity for the Colombian people. We must broaden our movement. We
must go beyond the left and all the democratic sectors must work
together. When I return to Colombia I will attend a convention that will
initiate a call for all the left and democratic forces to come together
for peace and democracy. We will not have a candidate in the May 25
presidential elections [the UP's presidential candidate was assassinated
March 22] but will support a plebiscite that will call for a
constitutional assembly made up of political parties and social forces.
The coalition that is forming now will call for housing reform, urban
and rural reform and a human rights policy.
The Colombian struggle is for democracy--as is the case with Nicaragua,
El Salvador, Cuba and elsewhere. Justice in Colombia has been destroyed.
We will reconstruct it. We are determined to have a home with justice.
Q: What does the U.S. think of your plan for a political convention?
Montana: They do not like the plan. Even though they don't say it, they
are very interested in maintaining things as they are. They still
manipulate the government through the army.
-----
The day after this interview Carlos Pizarro, the presidential
candidate of the April 19th Movement (M-19) was assassinated on an
airplane in Colombia in spite of the 14 body guards who accompanied him
on the plane. M-19 had recently turned in their weapons and agreed to
participate in the democratic process. Montana returned to Colombia amid
heavy security.
The convention of which he spoke was held and resulted in the
formation of the Democratic Alliance and was attended by 267 groups
including the Patriotic Union, the Popular Front, M-19, the Trade Union
Confederation (CUT), the peasant unions, intellectuals, regional and
civic movements, religious leaders and individual members of other
groups including In Struggle, the Communist Party, the Social
Conservative party, and the Liberal Party. Diego Montana was elected one
of the top leaders of the Democratic Alliance. The plebiscite will be on
the May 25 ballot.
Source: PeaceNet - cdp:nfd.ifeatures