News: Colombia's Peace and Venezuela's War

Peace in Colombia, was there what? At the first meeting between Colombia's President Santos and Donald Trump on 18 May, the end of the Civil War is not the end, but the crisis in Venezuela.

From the Peace Maker to the Crisis Managers: When Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos arrives in Washington this evening, South America returns to the political agenda. But peace in Colombia has been pushed into the background. The White House is currently afraid of the consequences of the crisis in Venezuela.

 "The US government and Congress are very concerned about the situation in Venezuela," says Jason Marczak of the Latin American Center at the US "Atlantic Council" think tank. "The crisis in the country can lead to the destabilization of the whole region, triggering a wave of refugees and an energy crisis."

In Washington, President Juan Manuel Santos hopes to defuse the situation. "Santos will sell itself as a gatekeeper for the region", predicts Oliver Stuenkel, Professor of International Relations at the University Fundação Getúlio Vargas in São Paulo. "He is one of the few who can still talk to the Venezuelan government." 

Santos as a bridge builder

Reasons for the open dialogue between Bogotá and Caracas are the successful peace talks with the Colombian Revolutionary Forces, FARC, which began in Cuba in 2012 and ended in 2016 with a historic agreement that ended the civil war in Colombia after more than 50 years. Venezuela was one of the five guarantee powers.

According to expert Stuenkel, Venezuela will be "the big issue for the coming years". Some 500,000 Venezuelans have fled to Colombia. In addition, thousands of Colombians, who have worked in Venezuela for decades, are now returning to their homeland due to the financial crisis and governmental reprisals in Caracas.

Money from Washington

Actually, Santos wanted to talk with US President Trump primarily about the peace process in Colombia. His most important concern is financial support for the implementation of the agreement and the adoption of the "Peace Colombia" plan by the US Congress. For the current financial year, 391 million US dollars have already been provided.

"Peace Colombia" is to replace the previous  "Plan Colombia" . In the past 17 years, the US has been supporting the fight against drugs and guerrilla with about ten billion dollars. But the end of the civil war has not led to a decline in cocaine cultivation and drug trafficking in the country - on the contrary.

Cocaine swine in USA 

According to the US drug surveillance authority ONDCP, the production of cocaine in Colombia increased from 235 tons to 710 tons between 2013 and 2016. The seized quantities also reached record heights. In 2016, the Colombian police ensured 421 tons of fabric, 2017 it was 115 tons in the first five months alone.

Reason for the boom are, paradoxically, the exit programs under the Peace Treaty. Bogotá has announced that Colombian families moving from cocoa to cocoa, coffee or banana will be able to support around 12,000 dollars for a period of two years - a lot of money for small farmers in remote regions.

The well-intentioned exit aid has led to a boom in the cultivation of coconuts and overproduction. "The leaves of the coconut trees are rotting, and the prices of cocaine are in free fall," I said, "the Colombian Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas told the Washington Post, drawing a surprising conclusion:" Peace with the FARC Has made the fight against drugs harder, not easier. " 

Crisis heart Venezuela

In the face of this difficult confrontation, Santos's visit to the White House is a diplomatic balancing act. In contrast to US President Trump, Santos rejects a further military combating of drug cultivation . His political rival and official predecessor Alvaro Uribe, who was already discussing the matter with Trump, was already discussing this issue. The "private meeting" of Uribe and Trump in Florida sparked a certain diplomatic 

Over 300 pages long: President Juan Manuel Santos presents the peace agreement with the FARC

The trip to Washington is a great test for Santos," says Latin American expert Stuenkel. But for the US too much is at stake."Colombia is America's most important partner in Latin America, and if there is a break between the two countries, this would have negative consequences for the US across South America," he says.

Jason Marczak also believes that there is no alternative to the "Peace Colombia" plan. The financial support for the peace agreement is Washington's strategic interest, according to the "Roadmap for US involvement in Colombia", prepared by the Atlantic Council, and on Wednesday evening in Washington with dinner with President Santos and US Vice Mike Pence is presented.

"If the implementation of the peace treaty in Colombia is unsuccessful, this would lead to the spread of organized crime, violence and instability," Our Sources Roadmap states. "Such a scenario would harm US national security interests."