Article: U.S. Hails Progress in Eliminating Illicit Drugs in Colombia

03 January 2001

Article: U.S. Hails Progress in Eliminating Illicit Drugs in Colombia

Congressional leader Gilman calls results "welcome news"

By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- A U.S.-supported program to eliminate illegal drugs in Colombia made significant gains in 2000, say the chairman of the House International Relations Committee, Rep. Benjamin Gilman (Republican of New York), and the U.S. State Department.

The State Department confirmed figures issued by Gilman indicating that in the year 2000, about 56,000 hectares of coca and 9,000 hectares of opium were destroyed by the aerial eradication program of the Colombian National Police (CNP). The United States supports the program with technical advice, fuel, spray aircraft, and a limited number of escort helicopters. In 1999, 42,445 hectares of coca and 8,106 hectares of heroin in Colombia were eradicated under the program, the State Department said.

A Department official said the program, begun in the early 1990s, ranks 1998 and 2000 in first and second place in terms of eliminating coca in Colombia, while 2000 set a record for eliminating opium.

The official said he expected the figures for eradicating illegal crops in Colombia to climb further, now that the aerial eradication program has expanded into the coca-growing region of Putumayo Department.

Gilman said in a January 3 statement that the results are "welcome news, both for Colombia and the young people of our nation," and noted: "All of this was accomplished without one allegation of human rights abuse the entire year against the CNP anti-drug unit from any of the peasants or farmers in Colombia."

He added: "It is gratifying that this record level of eradication of illicit drugs for the first time has not resulted in the loss of one Colombian police officer's life in these dangerous aerial eradication operations. I am proud that the modern Black Hawk and Huey II utility helicopters and GAU 19 defensive weapons we helped provide to the CNP have made possible these excellent results. At the same time, they also helped save the lives of these courageous police officers that in the past would have been lost fighting ours and their fight against illicit drugs."

The news in Colombia follows U.S. praise for Bolivia for that country's continued successful efforts to eradicate illegal coca crops.

The State Department said in December that Bolivia had eliminated all significant coca in the Chapare, which was that country's principal coca-growing region. The Department said that with U.S. government support, a full range of counter-narcotics alternative development projects, coca elimination programs and law enforcement interdiction programs can be started early in 2001 in Bolivia.