Congress: Funding to the Abusive Colombian Armed Forces Must End Now

Stand with Martha and thousands of other victims across Colombia who demand an immediate end to U.S. military funding that supports the abusive Colombian Armed Forces. Adapt and send the following message to your members of Congress to tell them that we should not send another dollar of aid to a Colombian military that has killed thousands of civilians with impunity. Click here for more background information on this issue.

February 09, 2010 Subject: I write to you today as a constituent to ask that you support an immediate cut to all military aid to Colombia. I have followed U.S. policy toward Colombia closely and am deeply concerned by the increase in abuses committed by the Colombian Armed Forces in recent years. According to the Government Accountability Office, Congress has appropriated $4.9 billion in military and police aid to Colombia since 2000. Yet the United Nations and credible human rights organizations indicate that Colombia’s military has a “systematic practice” of committing extrajudicial executions—murdering civilians in lay terms. Colombian human rights organizations report that 1,122 civilians were murdered by the Colombian Armed Forces between July 2002 and June 2007, a 68% increase over the previous five year period. The rate of such extrajudicial executions is reportedly still on the rise. Human rights organizations report that 535 civilians were killed by the Colombian military between January 2007 and June 2008. Typical of human rights abuses in Colombia, there are astoundingly high rates of impunity for these killings. Colombian human rights groups indicate that of the 535 cases reported in the last 18 months, only 22% of these cases are either under investigation or prosecution. In 78% of these cases impunity reigns. The human rights conditions on U.S. funding to the Colombian military has clearly been ineffective in stemming these killings and bringing those responsible to justice. Therefore, all U.S. military funding must immediately be ended to prevent further support for a Colombian military implicated in such widespread and horrific killings. We have given the Colombian military eight years to improve its human rights record. Yet all reports indicate that their share of human rights abuses is actually on the rise. Therefore, the time has come to end our support for the Colombian military. Sincerely, We will add your signature from the information you provide.		First Name* Last Name* Email* Street* Street 2 City* State/Province* Select a state Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware D.C. Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virgin Islands Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Armed Forces (the) Americas Armed Forces Europe Armed Forces Pacific Alberta British Columbia Manitoba Newfoundland New Brunswick Nova Scotia Northwest Territories Nunavut Ontario Prince Edward Island Quebec Saskatchewan Yukon Territory Other Zip/Postal Code* Send an Email