The End of the Beginning, or the Beginning of the End? Plan Colombia and its Prospects

Plan Colombia is billed as a comprehensive, holistic, integrated, interagency solution for Colombias multiple internal ills. Perhaps because it is so ambitious, its implementation and prospects for success have come under serious criticism since its inception. This paper discusses Plan Colombias goals, examines whether the plan will be able to meet its altruistic objectives under current circumstances, and reviews possible alternative scenarios and methods of partial implementation in a resource-constrained environment.