US-Ecuador Security Cooperation: A New Plan Colombia?

by Anastasia Austin
1 Feb 2024

As Ecuador grapples with a security crisis, senior US military officials visited the country and signed a multimillion-dollar aid portfolio that is being compared to Plan Colombia. But does that comparison hold up?

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InSight Crime Analysis
The US-Ecuador cooperation agreement contains some elements of Plan Colombia, but it is fundamentally different in size, scope, and commitment.
The cooperation plan includes increases in military-to-military cooperation, intelligence sharing, and training missions – all key characteristics of Plan Colombia. However, there is a significant difference in monetary size. The average annual aid package provided during Plan Colombia was close to $650 million per year, while the proposed aid to Ecuador does not even reach $100 million.

Moreover, while Plan Colombia funneled 70% of its funding towards military hardware, intelligence equipment, helicopters, training exercises, and security advisors, Richardson emphasized the US commitment to long-term goals in Ecuador, including capacity building and humanitarian aid.

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Any aid package must also come with oversight, experts said, including from the United States, as well as Ecuadorian government agencies, civil society groups, and journalists.
“If you give money to corrupt officials, they can squander it,” Rosen said. “There has to be accountability, there has to be transparency … [Get it] in as many places as you can.”

More:
https://insightcrime.org/news/us-ecuador-security-cooperation-a-new-plan-colombia/