The Bush administration has announced that it will give an additional $98 million in military aid to the Colombian government to train and equip a rapid-response brigade to patrol the pipeline. The White House proposal marks a public shift from its stated policy that the military aid to the Colombian government is for fighting drug trafficking, revealing more clearly the reasons for Washington's military buildup in the region.

The military package would pay for the purchase of communications equipment and at least 12 additional transport helicopters, as well as the training of a 2,000- to 4,000-member "Critical Infrastructure Brigade" of the Colombian army to protect the 480-mile pipeline and other facilities.

"Everything else up to now has been justified in terms of fighting drugs," said Michael Shifter, with the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington. "This is a different purpose. I think that is a departure."

Patrick Leahy, head of the congressional foreign operations subcommittee, said, "For the first time, the administration is proposing to cross the line from counternarcotics to counterinsurgency. This is no longer about stopping drugs. It's about fighting the guerrillas."

Many opponents of Washington's military aid to the Colombian regime have pointed out that the operation, begun under the Clinton administration, has been aimed at the rebel forces and working people from the beginning.  
 
Big exporter to United States
Occidental uses the pipeline to transport crude oil from the Caño Limón fields in the northeastern region of Arauca to the Coveñas Port in the Caribbean Sea through the pipeline. The Caño Limón oil reserve is the second largest in the country, producing nearly 25 percent of Colombia's oil exports. It is operated by the Los Angeles–based Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Ecopetrol, Colombia's state-owned oil company.

Last year, according to officials from the oil company, production was cut by 58 percent, or by 19 billion barrels, because of attacks on the pipeline and other facilities by the country's two guerrilla groups, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN). The pipeline was bombed 170 times, resulting in the loss of $500 million, according to Ecopetrol.

The February 7 Wall Street Journal said that the cost of extracting oil in Colombia is still relatively inexpensive despite increases in operating costs due to guerrilla attacks.

Oil production dominates Colombia's economy. It is the third largest supplier in Latin America to the United States after Mexico and Venezuela. Last year, companies produced an average of 604,000 barrels a day and exports exceeded $3 billion.

Meanwhile, foreign capitalists have sought to expand their investments in Colombia's oil industry. In the last two years Colombia has signed 60 contracts with firms for the exploration of new oil reserves. At the beginning of February Ecopetrol announced the finding of two new oil fields as part of a joint venture with three companies.  
 
Additional $1 billion in military aid
The Colombian government welcomed the Bush administration's decision to extend the scope of the military aid. In 2000 the U.S. Congress approved Plan Colombia, part of an expansion of U.S. military intervention in South America.

The $1.3 billion package included funds for a fleet of combat helicopters and military advisors, including U.S. special forces, to The Bush administration is now seeking congressional approval for another $1 billion for military training and equipment.

U.S. government officials say the new pipeline brigades will eventually be extended to protect other vital infrastructure. "Security is the biggest constraint to American foreign investment in Colombia," said Anne Patterson, U.S. ambassador to Colombia. Patterson told newspapers in Colombian that after September 11 the security of oil resources has become a priority for the U.S. government.

Washington plans to use Army Special Forces from the 7th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, for the training of the new army brigade and has claimed it will keep the U.S. "advisors" out of combat.  
 
 
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