ABSTRACT
The aid package, requested by the Colombian government of Andres Pastrana and pushed through Congress with the help of Pastrana’s close ally, President Bill Clinton called for 1.3 billion dollars in mostly military aid to the South American Andean nation. Plan Colombia, which as of this writing in late 2017 has pushed more than 10 billion dollars in aid and material to Colombia, allowed the Colombian military to push hard against the insurgents, especially during the administration of Alvaro Uribe Velez. The “Plan” engaged the influential Colombian narcotics industry, especially after the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—beginning in the 1990s—began deriving income through “protection” of and collaboration with narco-traffickers. The Trump Administration has been less sanguine with regard to Merida compared to the two preceding American presidents. Mr. Donald Trump opened his presidential campaign with a string of anti-Mexican comments that have set-back the relationship between two nations that have a long, difficult history dating to the 1846 Mexican–American War.
