September 3, 2000

U.S. Aid Package Amounts to Corporate Welfare

by Garry Leech

The $1.3 billion in taxpayer money is not exactly an aid package for Colombia. It is yet another government handout to corporate America. Most of the money will not make it to Colombia, it will enter the profit columns of numerous defense contractors that lobbied hard for passage of the aid bill in Congress. These companies stand to gain from contracts for the manufacture of military hardware. Furthermore, this military hardware will do little to stop the flow of drugs to the United States, however, it will help safeguard the economic interests of other U.S. corporations that do business in Colombia.

At a time when politicians, under the banner of welfare reform, are instituting drastic cuts in welfare payments to individuals in need, Washington is still generously forking over huge amounts of taxpayer dollars to highly profitable corporations.

Among the companies that will profit from the aid package are: United Technologies, $234 million for 18 Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters; Textron of Texas, $84 million to upgrade Vietnam-era Huey helicopters; and Lockheed Martin, $68 million for early warning radar systems. DynCorp, a Washington D.C. area firm that hires U.S. veterans to provide training for foreign military personnel, also stands to benefit from the aid package.

The U.S. State Department currently has a contract with DynCorp that provides for some 80 DynCorp personnel stationed in Colombia to train Colombian military pilots and to maintain aircraft (see, U.S. Mercenaries in Colombia). The huge increase in aid will undoubtedly result in a continuation of the DynCorp contract and, now that Congress has authorized the contracting of up to 300 "civilians," may well lead to additional revenue for the company.

Other U.S. companies doing business in Colombia will also benefit from this massive subsidization of corporate America. Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum's Cano Limon pipeline was bombed 76 times last year by guerrillas and three weeks ago the company temporarily shut down production following the latest guerrilla attacks against its installations.

The helicopters, radar systems, as well as other weaponry and the training of Colombian troops by U.S. Special Forces will all be used against the guerrillas in the hope of providing a more favorable environment for U.S. corporations. The foundations of such an economic environment are currently being laid through the implementation of the neoliberal policies imposed on Colombia by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in return for a $2.7 billion loan (see, Colombians Protest IMF-imposed Austerity Measures). The privatization of state-owned businesses and the lowering of tariffs called for under the terms of the loan agreement have multinationals lining up behind the aid package (see list of U.S. business leaders below).

Many of these companies are very well connected in Washington. Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticutt was a staunch supporter of the aid package and it just so happens that the 18 Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters will be built in his home state.

Vice-President Al Gore owns some $1 million in Occidental stock and his father was Oxy's vice-president and a board member for decades. Furthermore, Oxy chairman Ray Irani donated $100,000 to the Democratic National Committee in 1996 just two days after he slept in the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House. Occidental is currently embroiled in a violent dispute with the U'wa Indians of northern Colombia over drilling rights on what the U'wa consider to be their traditional lands. The Colombian Army has attacked and killed several U'was in its heavy-handed attempts to protect Oxy's interests. Meanwhile, the tribe has threatened to commit mass suicide if Oxy is allowed to begin drilling (see, The Case of the U'wa).

Many U.S. corporations stand to benefit from the substantial military portion of the U.S. aid package (see, Plan Colombia: A Closer Look). As a result, much of the $1.3 billion in taxpayer money will wind up in the coffers of these corporations while the military hardware they manufacture will be shipped to the Colombian Army in order to safeguard the economic interests of other U.S. companies. The aid package is yet another example of how welfare reform only applies to those citizens in need and not those that can afford to purchase personal representation in Washington through the offering of stocks and six-figure campaign contributions.

U.S. Business Leaders in Colombia with Clinton

An illustration of U.S. corporate interest in Plan Colombia and the U.S. aid package was the fact that a virtual who's who of U.S. business executives met with representatives of the Colombian Government in Cartagena the same day President Clinton visited Colombia's Caribbean resort city. Colombia's Foreign Minister, Guillermo Fernandez de Soto, recently held a press conference during which, according to the government news agency (ANCOL), "he underlined that the visit by the United States President and by important U.S. businessmen inaugurates a new era in the relations between the two countries in terms of trade and investment."

ANCOL went on to say that, "[Fernandez de Soto] also stressed that the CEOs of companies such as America On Line, James V. Kimsey; Liz Clairborne, Paul Charron; and Bell South, Duane Ackerman; among others, form part of the important group that wants to establish business relations with Colombia."

It is clear that Clinton waived the aid bill's human rights conditions, not for U.S. national security interests, but for U.S. business interests. On August 29, ANCOL published a list of U.S. corporate executives that would meet in Cartagena the following day during Clinton's visit:

Joseph E. Robert, Jr., J.E. Company's CEO, an enterprise that specializes in information technology.
James V. Kimsey, the founder of the informational technology company America Online.
Frank J. Caufield, founder of the law firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Dennis Bakke, AES Corporation's President.
Gary Drummond, CEO of Drummond, a coal company.
Jack Rosen, CEO of Kuala Healthcare, a company that specializes in medical services.
Duane Ackerman, Bell South Corporation's CEO, a telecommunications multinational.
Robert Hefner, CEO of the Seven Seas oil company.
Ted McNamara, President of the Council of the Americas, entity that groups U.S. business leaders.
Juan García, Vice-president of Global Crossing, a telecommunications enterprise.
Mike Kappaz, CEO of KMR Power, a company in the energy sector.

Other businessmen that will participate in meetings with the Government's economic team, in talks with Colombian businessmen, and in a luncheon with United States government and Congress officials are:

Jorge Fernandez, Delta Airlines' Latin American Director.
Paul Charron, Liz Clairborne's CEO.
Larry Martin, President of the manufacturing firm American Apparel Manufactures.
Sam Schabw, General Manager of Schaw Company, a clothing enterprise.
Mariella Nahao, Vice-president of Enron, an oil company.
George Muñoz, President of Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
Charles Andreas, Andreas, Vick & Asociates's Executive Director in charge of business relations in Colombia.
Martha Bejar, President of Nortel Nertworks for Latin America.
Jhon Gulla from the clothing chain The Limited.

This article originally appeared in Colombia Report, an online journal that was published by the Information Network of the Americas (INOTA).

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