This source is a press conference held by the U.S. President George W. Bush and Colombian President Andrés Pastrana to talk about their meeting in which they discussed Plan Colombia and other events in Latin America. This source was held shortly after Pastrana broke off peace talks with the FARC and at the beginning of the post 9/11 era’s war on terror. Both Bush and Pastrana appear to be in agreement that the FARC should be framed as a terrorist group. The two Presidents also talk about other elements of Latin America and their fights against movements similar to the FARC. While its never explicitly put this way, the question of countering the FARC with more military aid gets framed as a debate between those who support democracy and those who support terrorism, putting pressure on others to accept this logic..
One reason Bush points to for this is that “they’re using murder to try to achieve political ends.” This rationale seems fair on its face, but using the label of the FARC being a terrorist organization justified increased military funding for hazardous aerial fumigations and the Colombian military that was known for human rights violations. This source is useful because it shows how two political leaders shaped the conversations in ways to further their political goals.
Key Quotes:
“President Pastrana has taken on a huge task in his country. One is to defend democracy and the institutions of democracy and he’s done a great job with that. Second is to fight narco-trafficking and he’s led a valiant effort at eradicating coca fields, standing strong against the narco traffickers. And as well he fights terrorism in his country. He fights well organized well funded groups that are out to destroy democracy in Colombia.” -President George W. Bush
“At the end we are fighting a common enemy that is narco trafficking and narco terrorism. We have full support of President Bush and the government, first in trying to, as you said Mr. President, in change of authorities, the use of the military who have been sent by the United States to Colombia to be used also against narco terrorism, not only against narco trafficking.” -President Andrés Pastrana
“These are killers who use killing, intimidation to foster political means. And we want to join with Plan Colombia’s billions of dollar to not only, and to fight narco trafficking by the way, we’re fighting the funding source for these political terrorists and sometimes interchangeable and we’ve got to be strong against terror” -President George W. Bush
C-SPAN. “U.S.-Colombia Relations.” C-span.org, April 18, 2002.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?169684-1%2Fus-colombia-relations.