cannabisnews.com: Colombia Seeks U.S. Financial Backing 





Colombia Seeks U.S. Financial Backing 
Posted by FoM on September 04, 2000 at 16:06:10 PT
By Javier Baena, Associated Press
Source: Boston Globe
Colombia's finance minister traveled to Washington on Monday to seek U.S. support for a $1.2 billion bond offering needed to cover government expenses. The trip follows a request during President Clinton's visit last week for U.S. tariff exemptions on Colombian textiles and clothing as a complement to a $1.3 billion U.S. anti-narcotics aid package. Colombia has argued it needs economic help in addition to military aid to successfully combat drug trafficking the top U.S. policy priority in the South American country that produces 90 percent of the world's cocaine. 
Finance Minister Juan Manuel Santos was scheduled to meet Tuesday with Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers and request his help in convincing lenders including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to back the planned bond sale. A U.S. nod of approval will help ''dispel doubts in international markets about Colombia's ability to pay its future debts,'' Santos told the local Caracol radio station. The trip aims to ''restore confidence'' among international organizations in the Colombian economy, said a statement released Monday by Santos' office. A severe recession in Colombia has cut into tax revenues, and some analysts believe the government will be unable to pay some of its estimated 800,000 workers by the end of the year without new funding. The opposition-led congress, however, opposes tax increases, public pension cuts and state-owned enterprise selloffs proposed by President Andres Pastrana, claiming these would unfairly punish the poor. Amid escalating violence in a 36-year guerrilla conflict, Colombia has seen its currency sharply devalued during the past year, foreign investment shrink and the country's debt ratings downgraded. U.S. political support was critical to Colombia obtaining $6.9 billion in credits a year ago from the IMF, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. During Clinton's one-day visit, Pastrana said U.S. tariff exemptions on Colombian products would create thousands of jobs for workers who might otherwise find employment in the drug trade. Bogota, Colombia (AP)Published: September 4, 2000© Copyright 2000 Boston Globe Electronic Publishing, Inc. Related Articles:The Gringos Land in Colombia http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6930.shtmlColombia: Back To The Vietnam Quagmire http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6928.shtmlWar on Drugs 1, Human Rights 0http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6847.shtmlColombia Drug War - CannabisNews & MapInc.http://homepages.go.com/~marthag1/marqbn.htm 
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #3 posted by Strictly Suave on April 08, 2001 at 14:48:36 PT
Getup Stand Up
Columbia produces 90% of cocaine in the world, huh, this is in fact not shocking why the U.S has never tried to abolish the country's major trafficers. The trafficers have nothing to fear because there is to much cash in the hands of governments because of Columbias killer export. Nobody will ever stop these Noriega and Escobar clones because they hail at the top of the food chain. Columbia never expedited Pablo escobar when Escobar told Columbia he would pay off their national debt. The U.S does not see the picture, these men are so powerfull they can't be moved, deported, expedited for trial, you can't even wake these men while they are peacefully asleep without war. Oil is one thing but cocaine is another and I know that many more people would rather have cocaine than oil, so good luck.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by dddd on September 05, 2000 at 03:42:39 PT
hush money
 Here's what's gonna happen;,,,our crooked government,will sneak about,and cough up all the cash,or whatever else the self proclaimed "government" of Colombia asks for,and it will be done as quietly as possible. We can only imagine the atrocities that have,and will continue to occur,and we can further imagine the depth and scope of our covert ,and diabolical involvement.I'll betchya there are numerous Colombian "government officials",who could drop a dime,and expose things that would make Reagans' Central American escapade look kinda innocent,and trivial. Drugs are just being used as a puppet excuse to cover up for the real global big dogs,who have formulated this complex scheme to begin raping the oil reserves as soon as possible....Think about how ideal it will be to start drilling after the US backed,and funded military slaughters anything human,and secures a perimeter,,,and then builds new roads to the oil-rich zones,,saying that they are doing it to improve the "infrastructure",or some such crap.... This will not be a war that is "won",by any of the citizens of Colombia,who will die by the thousands,and the "winners",will be the global bogart oil interests,who have already used the world as their ashtray.,,and the champagne will flow,and the stock market will glow,as the powers that be celebrate their successful,scandalous scheme,to make the American tax payers finance this brutal intrusion,and excusing it as a drug war. Eventually,,history will record this,(I hope),as one of the biggest,world class scandals ever..... The more I think about it,the more obvious it becomes.Does anyone seriously believe this is about drugs?There's money in drugs,but it is dwarfed by the money in oil....Think about it,,when was the last time we got out the big guns?...Desert storm...big oil interests. In todays world,nothing gets in the way of MONEY,,with perhaps two exceptions;They are Love,and Death.JAH shine on you all.................dddd
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #1 posted by Puritan on September 04, 2000 at 16:39:33 PT
ah ha
Now the truth...Columbia is going to drain us (USA) dry. How much will our honorable representatives spend on this? Wars are expensive and wasteful.
[ Post Comment ]

Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: