Plan Colombia’s Place in the Democratic Security Program of Alvaro Uribe Vélez

Abstract

PLAN COLOMBIA’S PLACE IN THE DEMOCRATIC SECURITY PROGRAM OF ALVARO URIBE VÉLEZ James D. Henderson Coastal Carolina University “With the help of Plan Colombia the Nation has increased control of its territory and has improved public security. Hence it has helped bring about a sense of public tranquility.” Security analyst Alfredo Rangel 1 The world was charmed on July 2, 2008, when it received word that the Colombian military had neatly plucked fifteen hostages from hands of the FARC, and had done it by duping the guerrillas. Colombians were ecstatic when they heard the news. Operation Checkmate was very much made in Colombia. Never before had the old adage “In Colombia the civilians make war and the military brings peace” been proven truer. Even the military’s U.S. allies had been kept in the dark about the daring rescue. As one Colombian put it, “the gringos knew that something was cooking in the jungle, when their spy planes reported unusual movement of hostage groups a few days before the rescue. But it was not until the day before the hostage extraction that any high U.S. official learned what was afoot. Hours before the mission Juan Manuel Santos briefed U.S. presidential candidate John McCain on the matter. McCain, on an official visit to Bogotá at the time, could only respond “My God!” “Good luck!”2 For the FARC, Operation Checkmate was the humiliating climax of a disastrous six months. The year 2008 had begun with massive marches protesting its long-term holding of hostages. Then in quick succession the guerrilla group witnessed the deaths of three members of its directorate, chief among them its founder Manuel Marulanda Vélez. These events put Colombians into an extraordinarily happy frame of mind, and no one benefited more from this than Alvaro Uribe Vélez. Elected president six years earlier, at a time when academics were labeling Colombia a failed state, and when the FARC continued to believe that it would march triumphantly into the national capital, Uribe had won election on the promise that he would make the country a safe place for the average Colombian. That by 2008 the two-term president had indeed done so drove his popularity rating to heights never before seen in the country. Following the hostage Presented at the 57th Annual Meeting of the South Eastern Council on Latin American Studies, Mexico City, April 9, 2010 C 2011 Southeastern Council on Latin American Studies and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 3 The Latin Americanist, March 2011 rescue Uribe’s approval rating reached ninety-two percent, likely a record in modern democratic politics in any country, especially for a chief executive well into his second elective term. Uribe’s popularity and level of administrative success stands unparalleled in Colombian history. All other public figures of his stature suffered slings and arrows while they were in the public eye. Simón Bolı́var died a broken, embittered man. Francisco de Paula Santander suffered exile following a failed assassination plot against Bolı́var. Rafael Núñez gave the nation a new constitution and a national anthem, but not peace. Rafael Reyes set Colombia on the path to economic modernization but was driven from the presidency and into exile . And Alfonso López Pumarejo brought important reforms to Colombia but was driven from office prematurely owing to scandals surrounding his administration and members of his immediate family. Only the slight, bespectacled, youthful-appearing Uribe, among Colombia’s leading political figures, will leave office with his popularity intact and to the accolades of his fellow citizens. In fairness to the luminaries of Colombian political history mentioned above, it must be pointed out that Alvaro Uribe took up leadership of the country with a level of popular support, and with substantial attending benefits, that no previous chief executive had ever enjoyed. As the most hard-line candidate in the 2002 presidential contest it was clear a priori that he would vigorously address the massive violence and kidnapping that afflicted Colombia at the time. Uribe had campaigned on the concept of “Democratic Security,” vowing to attack these problems. Colombians put their faith in Uribe and were gratified to see sharp...