The New Colombia

More than 190 people attended the conference “The New Colombia: What It Means for the Hemisphere,” held on October 18 at the Union League in Philadelphia. Speakers included former Ambassador to Colombia, Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, William Brownfield; Deputy Chief of Mission of the Colombian Embassy Alfonso Cuellar; and Eric Farnsworth, Vice President of the Council of the Americas.

Goal of the event was to analyze the implications of Colombia becoming a more secure democracy and dynamic economy in the past 10 years. Speakers concurred that these factors were instrumental in the remarkable turnaround: political will, skillful leadership, willingness to pay more taxes, change in mindset, persistence, strengthening democratic institutions, transformation of the armed forces, and American support. The success allows Colombia to provide its expertise in security matters to a number of countries in the Americas and Africa, training some 10,000 foreign personnel to perform counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism missions. Colombia’s performance has garnered it Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)membership and partnership status with NATO. The country has also taken a leadership position in the newly formed Pacific Alliance, which integrates the economies of Colombia, Peru, Chile, and Mexico. For the United States, Colombia is welcome as a security partner that can do things for its own national interests and at the same time relieve the United States of some of the burden of providing security assistance to countries in need.