04 February 2002

President's Budget Message on Andean Counterdrug Initiative

President Bush's message to Congress regarding the proposed budget for fiscal year 2003 includes a brief outline of the Andean Counterdrug Initiative (ACI), for which the White House is requesting $731 million.

The ACI provides assistance to countries in the Andean region -- as well as to certain neighboring countries -- to disrupt the production and trafficking of illegal drugs, and to prevent these drugs from being smuggled into the United States.

Under the ACI, law enforcement programs administered by the State Department are complemented by economic and institutional development programs run by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In addition to promoting alternative crops and coca eradication in the Andes, USAID also supports the "casa de justicia" centers in Colombia, ensuring that legal services are available to Colombia's poorest citizens in remote parts of the country.

Following is an excerpt from President Bush's budget message to Congress, citing the importance of ACI activities:

Andean Counterdrug Initiative

All of the cocaine sold on America's streets comes from South America. The Andean Counterdrug Initiative (ACI) provides assistance to Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, Panama and Venezuela for drug eradication, interdiction, economic development, and development of government institutions. The president's 2003 request for ACI is $731 million. This assistance boosts the impact of U.S. domestic law enforcement and supports the Andean governments' efforts to destroy local coca crops and processing labs. Since 2000, U.S. assistance has provided 76 helicopters for the Colombian national police and army, giving the Colombians airlift and reach into areas previously inaccessible. In 2001, the Colombian army and police destroyed over 700 cocaine base labs, where the first stage of cocaine processing occurs, and 20 cocaine HC1 labs, where the final active ingredient in cocaine is extracted. Data is not yet available to determine the program's effect on overall coca cultivation and flow of cocaine into the United States.

In addition to the State Department's law enforcement programs, USAID has launched alternative crop development and voluntary coca eradication programs with the goal of eliminating about 37,000 hectares (91,000 acres) of illegal crops. USAID also has funded its 18th "casa de justicia." This program funds community-level legal services to Colombia's poorest people. In a country with significant human rights abuses and gaps in the rule of law, legal solutions are urgent everyday requirements.

In 2003, the budget will extend the reach of counter-narcotics brigades in southern Colombia while beginning training of new units to protect the country's economic lifeline, an oil pipeline. In 2001, Colombia was the source of about two percent of U.S. oil imports, creating a mutual interest in protecting this economic asset.

The United States has devoted considerable resources to reducing coca cultivation in the Andes and had achieved modest results by the end of 2000, the last year for which data is available. The State Department is expected to define clear benchmarks for evaluating the impact of U.S. assistance and the current strategy. The effectiveness of this strategy will become clearer when the State Department releases its assessment of 2001 coca cultivation in the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report in March 2002.

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