Iraq isn’t the only place in the world where US troops are engaging in war. While all eyes are on the Middle East, some troops and private security contractors are shipping south to Colombia, in an increasing militarization of the country’s 40-year civil war. More than 300 US troops are already in Colombia to train the country’s military, with more on the way. To the Bush administration, it’s another front on the war on terrorism — with the stated goal of wiping out guerrilla groups (known by the acronyms ELN and FARC) who have been battling Colombian armed forces.

But a coalition of activist groups says American motives have more to do with protecting the interests of US companies and ensuring an alternative source of oil. " We have terrorists on all sides in Colombia, " says Sean Donahue, co-director of New Hampshire Peace Action. " Certainly we oppose the terrorism of FARC and the ELN, but we have also seen tremendous violence visited on the civilian population by the military and paramilitary groups. "

This weekend, activists will stage a nationwide "Mobilization on Colombia" at the headquarters of four US corporations that they say profit from the violence, including Hartford-based United Technologies Inc. (UTC), the parent company of Sikorsky Aircraft, which constructed 30 Black Hawk helicopters sold to the Colombian military for a profit of $221.5 million. On Sunday, March 23, activists from around New England will gather in Hartford for a teach-in at the Charter Oak Cultural Center from 1 to 9 p.m. On Monday, March 24 at 8 a.m., they will descend on the front gates of United Technologies, where acts of civil disobedience are planned.

The Black Hawks made in Connecticut fly shotgun to the planes that spray toxic chemicals indiscriminately on cropland in an attempt to eradicate coca plants, which fund the guerrillas. The fumigation has had little effect on coca production, but it has caused severe health problems, river poisonings, and widespread displacement of the rural population, according to Witness for Peace, which has sent activist delegations to Colombia. Testimony in a Colombian military tribunal also alleged that a Black Hawk flown by a US security firm contracted by Occidental Petroleum spotted for a paramilitary helicopter that dropped a bomb killing 18 civilians.

This won’t be the first protest at UTC. Activists have held vigils and conducted civil disobedience in Hartford and at the Sikorsky plant in Bridgeport for the past 18 months. More than 15 people have been arrested in two separate incidents, including one New Haven man who served 45 days in jail for trying to deliver a letter to the company’s CEO. " Of course we recognize their right to express their views, " says UTC spokesman Paul Jackson, " even though we don’t agree with them. "

Other corporations targeted in the nationwide protest include Los Angeles–based Occidental Petroleum, which is constructing an oil pipeline guarded by 70 US special-forces troops; Atlanta-based Coca-Cola, which has been implicated in the murder of union organizers by paramilitary groups; and St. Louis–based Monsanto, which makes Roundup Ultra, the primary chemical used in the fumigation campaign.

Although some groups involved in the protest have dropped out due to events in Iraq, the core is still dedicated. " At the moment, attention is focused on Iraq, and Colombia is being lost in the frenzy, " says Stephen Kobasa of Colombia Action/Connecticut. " Our action is intended to bring this back into the public’s consciousness. "