In the shadowy war on drug traffickers and leftist guerillas in Colombia, the United States has increasingly employed the services of private sector military contractors rather than its own armed forces.
Three employees of subsidiaries of Northrop Grumman have been held hostage for over a year now after a plane crash that left them in the hands of the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC.
Families and critics of the practice maintain that this outsourcing erases accountability and has left the three men as unrecognized POWs.
Click the “Listen” link to hear about private sector POWs and America’s war on drug lords and leftist guerillas in Colombia.
Guests:
Karin Hayes and Victoria Bruce, co-producers of the documentary film “Held Hostage in Colombia”
Sanho Tree, director of the Drug Policy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC.
Sharon Schmidt, wife of Tommy Schmidt, who was killed while flying a mission for a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman, a global defense company
Mayla Phillips, fiance of hostage Keith Stansell.
