"This is not Vietnam, neither is it Yankee Imperialism." President Clinton spoke these words while in Colombia recently to deliver $862 million in aid to that country, most of which will be used to train, advise and supply its military forces. In response, students and trade unionists there torched U.S. flags. And throughout the United States—from New York City to Helena, Montana—hundreds protested the aid package. One organizer called the demonstrations "the first step toward building a national anti-war movement against U.S. intervention in Colombia."
She wasn't overstating things. As this NACLA Report makes clear, the United States is treating Colombia like Vietnam in ways that risk deepening the country's 40-year civil war and aggravating its reputation as one of the world's most violent nations and worst human rights violators.