In the end, it is the many U.S. defense contractors who are the only clear winners of the unrelenting war on drugs. A 2009 State Department report showed that Virginia-based DynCorp International earned $164 million for fumigation missions in Colombia in 2007—a quarter of all aid intended for Colombia’s military and police. The amount was double what DynCorp got five years earlier, in 2002, when it cited in its annual report that a “primary responsibility” of its mission would be to train Colombians to do the work themselves. Maryland-based Lockheed Martin, which subcontracted the SRS missions that Stansell, Howes, and Gonsalves performed, tripled its share over the same four years to eighty million dollars, even as Plan Colombia failed to return its promised results.
In summer 2009, changes were under way in the U.S. government’s military relationship with Colombia. In August, Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa expelled U.S. antinarcotics personnel from the Manta military base on Ecuador’s Pacific coast, making good on a campaign promise to end ten years of “subordination.” The fifteen American troops at Manta were transferred to Colombia, where deals were in the works between the Obama and Uribe administrations to give the U.S. military long-term access to seven Colombian bases. The move created an immediate backlash from several South American leaders. “You are not going to be able to control the Americans,” Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa warned Álvaro Uribe during a special summit in Argentina on August 28, calling the act a “grave danger for peace in Latin America.” Bolivian president Evo Morales and Argentinean president Cristina Kirchner were also harshly critical. Even the Brazilian and Chilean governments—normally on friendly terms with the United States—called upon Barack Obama to better explain his administration’s objectives. The response was predictably hostile from Hugo Chávez, who called the action a “step toward war.” The following month, the Venezuelan president returned from a shopping trip to Moscow, where he purchased (with a $2.2 billion loan from the Russian government) the advanced S-300 missile defense system, Smerch missiles, and ninety-two T72-S tanks. A gleeful Chávez pored over diagrams and charts on his television show, Aló Presidente, showing off his purchases and addressing the United States and Colombia with a provocative call: “We’re ready for you.” The U.S. government said that the new arrangement was only to support Colombia’s fight against drug traffickers and guerrillas involved in the illegal trade. President Obama (whose administration officially ended the use of the term war on drugs in May 2009) accused the detractors of “trying to play up [the use of the bases] as part of a traditional anti-Yankee rhetoric” and assured them that his government had “no intent in establishing a U.S. military base in Colombia.” Uribe was under immense pressure at home, including from many of his political allies in Congress, who argued that such a deal needed congressional approval. Uribe staunchly defended the plan: “Securing agreements with countries like the United States, in order for them to help us in the battle against terrorism and drug trafficking, is the best thing for this country.”
Throughout the first decade of the twenty-first century, the war on drugs has continued to ignite fervor among its supporters. Billions of dollars have been spent, thousands of people have been killed, and the protagonists, buoyed by the ideal of right versus wrong and ignoring the evidence of failure, continue to push on in search of the absurd: a utopia where drugs no longer exist. The business of illegal drugs continues its course—as it has for decades—stimulated by the law of supply and demand. Like the war on terror, the war on drugs is abstract, difficult to define, and constantly morphing into another form or taking a new path. The battlefield is now global and the possibilities are limitless. And for those who profit from the war on drugs, it has become the perfect war—a war against an enemy that has no ability to surrender.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The creation of this book was an eight-year journey that began in 2002 and would not have come to fruition without the help of many people. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our agent, Peter McGuigan, at Foundry Literary + Media, who, along with his assistant, Hannah Brown Gordon, read through many drafts of our proposal, offered essential guidance, encouraged us to keep the project alive year after year, and patiently waited for us to come back to him when it was finally ready. We couldn’t have done it without you, Peter. Hannah, thank you for dealing with the many details of a book with three authors, for tirelessly answering our questions, and for giving us feedback on many fronts. We also appreciate Foundry’s wonderful foreign rights director, Stéphanie Abou. Thank you, Stéphanie, for your invaluable expertise in the international market. To our editor, Edward Kastenmeier, at Knopf: We greatly appreciate that you found the value in this complicated story, even when we all had no idea what the ending would be. Your insight, thoroughness, and probing questions challenged us to dig deeper, to create a work of narrative nonfiction that we are very proud of. You are an incredible editor, and we are honored and fortunate to have worked with you.
Thanks to Tim O’Connell, associate editor, for helping us navigate the complex details of putting this book together over many months. And thank you to Maria Massey, production editor, and Carol Edwards, our copy editor, for your work in assembling our book, for making sure we’ve dotted all of our i’s and crossed all of our t’s, and much, much more.
When we initially began to cover the world of hostages in Colombia, César Pinzón, our cameraman on the documentary film The Kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt, introduced us to Jorge Enrique Botero. For that, we owe César a debt of gratitude. This book would have been impossible without Botero’s years of travel to the jungle and his coverage of Colombia’s civil war. Thank you to our colleagues in Colombia: Mayra Rodríguez, Mauricio Mesa, Humberto Pinzón, Freddy Cusgüen, Efraín Bahamón, and Angela Botero. An additional thanks to Efraín and Angela for your kindness in hosting us on many occasions, and for the hours spent on transcriptions and translations for this book. Many people in the United States shared our desire to raise public awareness about the tragic hostage situation from the outset. Thank you, Richard Pleppler, Sheila Nevins, Geof Bartz, Lisa Heller, and Sara Bernstein at HBO; Diana Holtzberg, Jan Rofekamp, and John Nadai at Films Transit International, Inc.; CBS 60 Minutes II; the History Channel; the History Channel en Español; the Sundance Channel; and Justin Loeber at Mouth Public Relations. We are grateful to you all for working with us to bring the situation further to light.
To all of the people we interviewed for this book, including those whose names we cannot reveal: We are ever grateful for your time, and for the stories, insights, and knowledge you shared with us. An especially generous thanks to Gary Noesner, who not only agreed to be interviewed numerous times for the book but who organized our initial meeting with the FBI, Northrop Grumman executives, and the State Department when we presented them with the proof-of-life video footage of the three American hostages. Your guidance throughout was indispensable.
To Jo Rosano, the first family member to go public about the situation of the American hostages, who continued to reach out to the media throughout the five-and-a-half-year ordeal: Your trust in us to record that first special interview began a journey for us all. We greatly admire your courage, strong will, and unwavering strength.
To Adam Isacson and Sanho Tree, who have worked on Colombian issues for years: Thank you for sharing your expertise with us. Both of you have been invaluable resources. And thank you, Sanho, for working with us at the outset so we could speak to U.S. Congress members about the hostage situation.
Barbara Bruce, thank you for your willingness to read and edit our drafts again and again. Your attention to detail helped us when our eyes were too tired to see the mistakes. Barbara Gray and Lisa Tradup, we thank you not only for being supportive friends but also for your willingness to help us find buried pieces of research, and for your immediate attention to our frantic last-minute requests. Juliana, Alejandro, and Primavera, what would we have done without your help? Thank you for the hours spent on transcriptions, photo research, and
general assistance (including reminding your dad to return our calls).
Carlos Villalón and Karl Penhaul, we thank you for your insights, journalistic guidance, and comforting presence in Bogotá. And to Carlos, as well as to Scott Dalton, Claudia Rubio, Felipe Caicedo, and Salud Hernández-Mora: We are honored to be able to include some of your outstanding photographs in our book. Heather Powell Crowder, thank you for your time and generosity in creating our terrific author photos. Hugo de Coloumme, we can’t thank you enough for your incredible agility at cutting through red tape, for your language expertise, and for the numerous connections you helped us make. In you we have found a true friend. Tereaz, we greatly appreciate your love and support, which helped us with some of the most difficult challenges in this project.
Thank you, Paul and Alex, for being so understanding of our last-minute travels, trips that extended from days into weeks, and of our unannounced guests, who lived with us for indeterminate periods of time. Your love, support, trusted advice, and encouragement keep us going. To our families, whose love and willingness to lend a hand means more than we can express: Joe and Barb, Paula and Roger, Tim (thank you for all of the flights), Uncle Jim, Evelyn, and Catalina. And to our friends, thank you for standing by us through the many twists and turns of this long journey, for always inquiring about the current state of the hostages, and for asking if there was anything you could do to help. We love you all.
Words cannot fully express how grateful we are that the long years of captivity are finally over for those who have been rescued or who have escaped. To all of those who are still being held hostage in Colombia, we anxiously await news of your freedom.
SOURCES AND REFERENCES
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Alsema, Adriaan. “Paramilitary Links to Be Judged as Crime Against Humanity.” Colombiareports.com, September 22, 2009.
“American hostages Rescued with Betancourt.” LiveLeak.com, July 2, 2008. Originally broadcast on Caracol TV/CNN.
Americas Research Group. “Chronology of Peace Process in Colombia 1998–2001.” Reliefweb.int, February 28, 2001.
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Amnesty International USA. “Colombia: Extradition of Paramilitary Leaders Must Not Lead to Closure of Investigations into Human Rights Violations” (press release). Amnestyusa.org, May 13, 2008.
Apuzzo, Matt. “Judge Declares Mistrial in Drug Case Against Colombian Rebel.” Associated Press, April 22, 2008.
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Bedoya Lima, Jineth. En las trincheras del Plan Patriota. Bogotá: Intermedio Editores, 2008.
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Betancourt, Ingrid. Until Death Do Us Part: My Struggle to Reclaim Colombia. Translated by Steven Rendall. New York: HarperCollins, 2002.
Betancourt, Ingrid; Lorenzo Delloye-Betancourt; and Mélanie Delloye-Betancourt. Letters to My Mother: A Message of Love, a Plea for Freedom. Danbury: Harry N. Abrams, 2008.
“Betancourt’s Running Mate and Fellow Hostage Breaks with Candidate.” Laht.com, January 29, 2009.
Boadle, Anthony. “Obama Denies US Creating Military Bases in Colombia.” Reuters.com, August 7, 2009.
Botero, Jorge Enrique. Simón Trinidad, el hombre de hierro. Bogotá: Random House Mondadori, 2008.
________. Últimas noticias de la guerra. Bogotá: Random House Mondadori, 2006.
Bowman, Tom. “U.S. Role Seen in Colombia Hostage Rescue.” NPR.org, July 3, 2008.
Brice, Arthur, and Mariano Castillo. “17 Patients Killed in Shooting at Mexican Drug Rehab Center.” CNN.com, September 3, 2009.
Bridges, Tyler. “Despite Setbacks, FARC Far from Out.” Miami Herald, March 9, 2008.
“Bush Sends 150 Soldiers to Search for U.S. Hostages.” USAToday.com, February 22, 2003.
“Can Colombia Win the War?” CNN.com, September 30, 2009. Backstory sat down with CNN en Español correspondent and Colombian citizen Luis Velez after an embed with the Colombian military.
Cancel, Daniel. “Chávez Agrees to $2.2 Billion Russia Arms Credit Line (Update 1).” Bloomberg.com, September 14, 2009.
“Captured Colombia Rebel Sent Home.” BBC News, January 4, 2004.
Cardona, Libardo. “Colombian Rebel Turncoat Claims Betrayal.” SignonSanDiego.com, February 20, 2009.
Cardoso, Fernando Henrique; César Gaviria; and Ernesto Zedillo. “The War on Drugs Is a Failure.” Wall Street Journal, February 23, 2009.
Carlin, John. “Revealed: Chávez Role in Cocaine Trail to Europe.” Guardian.co.uk, February 3, 2008.
Carlsen, Laura. “A Primer on Plan Mexico.” Americas.irc-online.org, May 5, 2008.
Ceaser, Mike. “Colombia’s Efforts Have Rebels ‘Falling Apart.’” San Francisco Chronicle, April 18, 2008.
Central Intelligence Agency. “Colombian Counterinsurgency: Steps in the Right Direction.” Office of African and Latin American Analysis, intelligence memorandum, January 26, 1994; available at www.gwu.edu/∼nsarchiv.
________. “The World Factbook: Colombia.” Cia.gov, April 23, 2009.
Charles, Robert B. “State Department’s Air Wing and Plan Colombia.” On-the-record briefing, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C., October 29, 2003; available at www.state.gov and at docs.google.com.
“Chávez’s Hostage Mission Collapses.” Msnbc.com, December 31, 2007.
Chrisafis, Angelique. “FARC Defector Starts New Life in France After Asylum Deal.” Guardian.co.uk, December 11, 2008.
“Clara Rojas y su versión del cautiverio.” ElPaís.com, January 23, 2009.
“Coca Cultivation in Andean Countries on the Rise, UN Survey Shows.” UN News Center, June 18, 2008; available at www.un.org.
“Cocaine Prices in the U.S.A.” Narcoticnews.com, October 2, 2009.
Cockes, Douglas C., and Paul C. Hooper. “Concerns Over the Need to Protect Our Professional Credentials and Reputations,” letter to Kent Kresa, December 5, 2002.
________. Northrop Grumman Corporation/California Microwave Systems SOUTHCOM Reconnaissance System Program, Bogotá, Colombia, Safety of Flight Issues Rebuttal Letter to: ‘Documentation of Written Warning’ letter to Douglas Cockes, Employee #5966—October 24, 2002 [and] ‘Documentation of Written Warning’ letter to Paul Hooper, Employee #5964—October 24, 2002,” letter to James G. Cassady, Roslyn Smith, cc: Dougla
s L. Tait, November 14, 2002.
“Colin L. Powell Holds News Briefing.” Colin L. Powell, U.S. secretary of state, Santiago, Chile, June 9, 2003. FDCH Political Transcripts. Available at lexisnexis.com.
“Colombia: Pastrana Ends Peace Talks, Orders Army to Attack the FARC.” STRATFOR Global Intelligence. February 21, 2002.
“Colombia to Pay Ex-Rebel Reward.” BBC News, March 14, 2008.
“Colombia Transfers Imprisoned Leftist Rebels Ahead of Mass Release.” International Herald Tribune, June 1, 2007.
“Colombian Hostage Crisis Ends Bloodlessly.” New Zealand Herald, July 5, 2008.
“Colombian Rebel Taken to Top Jail.” BBC News, January 10, 2004.
“Colombia’s Leader Defends Presence of G.I.’s.” New York Times, February 10, 1994.
“A Compendium of Drug-War Statistics.” Cipcol.org, April 14, 2009.
“Conmovedor testimonio de Íngrid: ‘Duerme uno en cualquier hueco, tendido en cualquier sitio, como cualquier animal.’” Semana.com, November 30, 2007.
“Countering the Lies Concerning the Escape of the 15 Prisoners of War.” machetera.wordpress.com, July 11, 2008.
Daniel, Frank Jack. “Weapons Put Provocateur Chávez Back in U.S. Spotlight.” Reuters.com, September 16, 2009.
Davis, Jack. “The Bogotazo.” Cia.gov, May 8, 2007. From the CIA’s Studies in Intelligence 13, no. 4 (1969).
De Córdoba, José, and Jay Solomon. “Chávez Aided Colombia Rebels, Captured Computer Files Show.” WSJ.com, May 9, 2008.
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