The Consequences of the Colombia-United States Military Agreement of 2009

What is it about?

Colombia’s internal conflicts and its drug-related problems have affected that country’s image since the 1950s. This has also limited bilateral relations and has facilitated the prioritization of U.S. military and social aid (via Plan Colombia) toward the defeat of the insurgency—and even more so after the 9/11 attacks, which resulted in the two countries growing closer due to the mutual sympathy between Presidents Uribe and Bush.

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Why is it important?

Beyond the failure of the agreement, there has become much speculation in the Andean region that the support given by the United States to Colombia resulted in an escalation of the purchase of arms in the region. The hypothesis of some experts is that Colombia's neighbors, and other actors such as Brazil, have increased their purchases of arms with the goal of dissuading any attempt at interference by the United States and to prevent the emergence of an unfavorable asymmetry with Colombia in terms of military power. However, data and trends confirm char arms purchases to date have been aimed more at updating and modernizing equipment, and are consistent with a larger trend in world military expenditures from 2000 to 2009.

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