Empire in the Andes/ Barricadefilms

The documentary takes a critical look at the strategies and effects of US foreign and economic policy in Latin America, especially in Colombia and Ecuador.

Since the introduction of Plan Colombia in 2000 and later the Andean Regional Initiative, billion dollar military aid packages with the public aims of reducing the trade in drugs and related violence, the Andean countries are becoming increasingly militarized and dangerous for local people, especially remote communities on the borders of Colombia with Ecuador and Venezuela.

The film will trace how violence, and environmental degradation caused by fumigation of drug crops, are making people poorer while cocaine and heroin cultivation and trafficking continue.



	[SYNOPSIS]	EMPIRE IN THE ANDES, THE WAR AGAINST THE POOR Barricade Films is an independent production project started in 2003 by Melissa Herman & Pablo Conde. Barricade Films was created to contribute to the effort of counterbalancing the corporate media and its news agenda.
	The documentary takes a critical look at the strategies and effects of US foreign and economic policy in Latin America, especially in Colombia and Ecuador. Since the introduction of Plan Colombia in 2000 and later the Andean Regional Initiative, billion dollar military aid packages with the public aims of reducing the trade in drugs and related violence, the Andean countries are becoming increasingly militarized and dangerous for local people, especially remote communities on the borders of Colombia with Ecuador and Venezuela. The film will trace how violence, and environmental degradation caused by fumigation of drug crops, are making people poorer while cocaine and heroin cultivation and trafficking continue.	After September 11 2001 the focus of US policy shifted from fighting the War on Drugs to fighting the War on Terror. Still, the heart of the matter is that millions live in poverty in the Andean countries, and US-sponsored policies are failing to address the real problems. Rather they are driving small farmers and peasants out of resource-rich areas, allowing multinationals to control and exploit the land and terrorizing the wider progressive community. There is growing social opposition in the Andes to the implementation of neoliberal policies, although it has barely been covered by the corporate media. Neither military aid or the planned Free Trade Area of the Americas benefit the majority of local people, who are fighting to thrive and to build a lasting peace

APPROACH //FILM DESCRIPTION //MULTIMEDIA // PROJECT SUMMARY