Persuasive Essay On Colombia

In Colombia, left-wing guerrilla groups, such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), have fought the government for years. These groups claim to be fighting for the rights of the poor and to provide social justice through communism. However, guerilla groups have also been involved in Colombia’s drug trade, offering protection to coca growers and dealers in return for a percentage of the profits. The United States has taken interest in the conflict, creating Plan Colombia in 2000, a foreign aid initiative to reduce drug production and combat left-wing insurgency. Then, in 2015, as a result of the peace talks between the Colombian government and the FARC, the US and Colombia developed a new program called "Peace Colombia,” seeking to provide Colombia with more aid. Yet, unbeknownst to some, US help has been generally ineffective. America should no longer assist the Colombian government. …show more content…
The White House reported that aerial fumigation of Colombian coca fields alone cut cultivation by 20 percent.
Yet there was little impact on the streets of U.S. cities. Recent figures from the Rand Corporation show the price of street cocaine in the US has fallen by 31 percent since Plan Colombia was established in 2000. The price of cocaine decreasing leads to it becoming a more accessible product. Furthermore, in poor, remote areas, where farmers have no alternative way of making a living, the arrival of American spray planes has sent young peasant recruits into the war, and drove their parents to grow cocaine elsewhere. During Plan Colombia, coca cultivation spread from 12 Colombian provinces to 23. Human rights violations by guerilla groups like the FARC have also gone