Text: McCaffrey on Increased U.S. Funding for Colombia, Andean Region

(ONDCP director cites importance of more aid to region)  (1230)

Following is the text of a January 11 statement by Barry McCaffrey,
director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, on
the Clinton Administration's proposal for increased funding to support
Colombia and other countries of the Andean Region:

(begin text)

Statement of Director Barry R. McCaffrey
Announcement of Emergency and Increase Funding Proposal for
Colombia and the Andean Region

January 11, 2000

The Administration proposal for increased funding to support Colombia
and the other countries in the Andean Region is one of the most
important counterdrug initiatives ever proposed by our government.
Rapidly expanding cocaine and heroin production in Colombia constitute
a threat to U.S. national security and the well-being of our citizens.
Eighty percent of the cocaine entering the United States either
originates in or passes through Colombia. Increasing amounts of highly
pure Colombian heroin are being shipped to the streets of the United
States as well. Drug trafficking and the violence and corruption it
generates also undermine Colombian democracy and regional stability.

This proposal is a balanced, comprehensive package that will cost $1.3
billion over two, years supporting counterdrug activities, alternative
economic development, rule of law, human rights, good governance, and
the resettlement of internally displaced persons. The Administration
has already begun consultations with members of Congress. In asking
for Congressional support we are squarely placing before the
legislative branch the question of U.S. commitment to reducing drug
supply and aiding democratic allies in a region where stability,
democracy, and rule of law are challenged. This proposal addresses a
matter of critical importance to U.S. interests and deserves
bipartisan support.

Drug production in Colombia has been increasing dramatically. In spite
of an aggressive aerial eradication campaign, Colombian cultivation of
coca, the raw material for cocaine, has nearly tripled since 1992. New
information about the potency of Colombian coca, the time required for
crop maturity, and efficiency in the cocaine conversion process
indicates that Colombian potential cocaine production could be as much
as two to three times higher than previous estimates. The massive
increases in drug production and trafficking in Colombia will reverse
gains achieved over the last four years in Peru and Bolivia, and
continued expansion of drug production in Colombia will likely result
in more drugs being shipped to the United States. Immediate and
significant action is necessary if we are to prevent significantly
greater quantities of cocaine and heroin from flowing into the United
States.

The problems in Colombia affect the lives of Americans at home and
abroad. Illegal drugs cost our society nearly $110 billion dollars
each year due to health costs, accidents, and lost productivity. The
United States has been successful in reducing demand for cocaine by
over 70 percent since its peak in 1985. If left unchecked, the rapid
expansion of drug production in Colombia threatens to significantly
increase the global supply of cocaine and heroin. Without effective
supply reduction programs, cheap and easily-obtainable drugs can
undercut the effectiveness of our successful demand reduction programs
and increase the drug threat to our communities. In Colombia,
narco-funded terrorists kidnap and murder U.S. citizens, and attack
and extort U.S. companies doing business there.

The drug production problem in the Andean Region has changed
dramatically over the last decade, in large part due to successful
counterdrug programs in Peru and Bolivia. Until recently, most coca
was grown in Peru and Bolivia, and coca base was shipped to Colombia
for processing and distribution. Aggressive drug crop eradication and
interdiction operations in combination with alternative economic
development programs in Peru and Bolivia have reduced coca cultivation
in those countries 66 percent and 55 percent, respectively, since
1995. Unfortunately, the traffickers found favorable conditions to
move production into Colombia, converting it into the world's largest
producer, of coca. Control of Colombia's vast coca growing regions by
guerrilla or paramilitary groups, another relatively recent
phenomenon, has greatly handicapped Colombian President Pastrana's
ability to reduce drug production or enforce Colombian national law.
These new circumstances require a change in strategy, policy, and
resources if we intend to protect our nation from becoming the target
of dramatically increased amounts of cocaine and heroin and avert
possible increases in drug addiction, violence and crime.

The immense amounts of money generated by the drug trade are also
fueling violence, lawlessness, and Colombia's long internal conflict.
Colombia lacks the resources to dislodge the organized terrorists and
private armies that provide a safe haven for a drug-based economy.
These illegal armed groups have a dominant presence in about half of
Colombia's national territory and are the source of more than 90% of
the human rights violations committed in Colombia. High levels of
violence and insecurity are displacing large numbers of rural
inhabitants and discouraging both Colombian and foreign investment,
exacerbating Colombia's worst economic recession since the 1930s.
Narco-financing of the guerrilla groups has produced a paradoxical
situation in which the guerrillas are militarily strong and
politically weak. All of these factors are hindering the Colombian
governments good faith efforts to negotiate peace and bring an end to
the decades of violence.

The Pastrana Government drafted a strategy, "Plan Colombia," that
recognizes that solving Colombia's inter-related problems will require
significant action on a variety of fronts. The plan articulates a set
of far-reaching, interlocking policies designed to promote peace,
strengthen democracy, combat drug trafficking, improve the human
rights climate, and revive the economy. The Government of Colombia
estimates that implementing Plan Colombia will cost about $7.5 billion
over the next three years, and Colombia intends to spend $4 billion of
its own resources and international financial institution loans to
execute the plan. The Pastrana Government is asking the international
community to provide the remaining $3.5 billion in bilateral foreign
assistance. The Administration proposal is responsive to the
requirements identified in Plan Colombia.

Timing could not be better for a major effort to support the
counterdrug efforts of the governments in the Andean Region. There is
strong political will in Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia to attack the
drug trade, root out corruption, end violence, and establish peace and
security within the framework of democracy and respect for human
rights. There is also strong will in the governments of Ecuador,
Venezuela, and Brazil to ensure that successful counterdrug efforts in
the current drug source countries do not displace the drug trade into
their nations.

While Colombia has become the center of illegal drug production in our
hemisphere, the commitment of the Government of Colombia to attacking
drug production and trafficking is indisputable. The Government of
Colombia is now conducting a robust counterdrug effort including
eradication of drug crops; lab destruction; alternative development;
attacking drug mafias; and air, maritime, riverine, and land
interdiction operations to seize and destroy drugs and chemicals.
Hundreds of Colombian police and military personnel, judges,
prosecutors, government officials, and innocent civilians have lost
their lives to guerrilla, paramilitary, and drug trafficker violence.
Just as we share with Colombia the threat to national security and
social well-being posed by illegal drugs, we share the responsibility
to act against them. It is imperative that the United States
Government do its fair share to fight drug production and trafficking
in Colombia and the region and support our democratic allies.

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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State)