*EPF108 03/01/2004
"Remarkable Progress" Against Drug Trafficking in 2003, Report Says
(Successes in Western Hemisphere, problems in Afghanistan) (820)

By Charlene Porter
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- U.S. counter-narcotics programs made "remarkable progress" in 2003, according to an annual assessment released by the U.S. State Department March 1. The International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) says efforts to restrain the activities of global drug trafficking and money laundering operations gained ground, even in the face of war, corruption, insurgency and economic disruption.

"Together with our allies we limited drug crop expansion, strengthened interdiction efforts, destroyed processing facilities, and weakened major trafficking organizations," says the INCSR introduction. "We furnished our partners critical training assistance to strengthen their law enforcement and judicial systems, while helping them reduce drug consumption in their own countries."

The State Department prepares the report for Congress, directed by law to mark the status of counter-trafficking activities each year. In briefing the press about the report, Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Robert Charles took a more sweeping view of U.S. efforts to quash the drug trade in the Western Hemisphere, concluding that many nations have reached a point where they are well on the way to creating the stability and rule of law that will bring on a serious decline in drug trafficking organizations.

"We have great opportunities right now all across the hemisphere, " said Charles. "I'm really much more optimistic than I think anybody would have been five years ago."

Charles particularly stressed the progress made in Colombia as he outlined the highlights of the 1,000-page report, summarizing counter-trafficking activities in 195 nations. The Colombia police destroyed more than 124,000 hectares of coca crops in 2003, Charles said, a third record year for eradication. At the same time, the Colombian government, with U.S. support, has put in place more than 600 programs to strengthen social infrastructure and help provide alternative economic opportunities for former coca growers.

"Genuine political will to support both economic incentives and comprehensive law enforcement programs has brought Colombia to what I believe now is a true tipping point in its 30 year struggle against the drug trade," Charles said. He also noted an increase in stability and security in Colombia resulting in fewer massacres, kidnappings and attacks on civilians.

Though data has not been fully compiled yet, Charles predicted that a final tally will show that 2003 was another "good year" for coca crop reduction in Colombia, Bolivia and Peru. In 2002, efforts by the three nations in crop reduction resulted in an 8 percent reduction in the global supply of the raw material from which cocaine is produced.

INCSR does not offer such a positive report on the status of drug cultivation in Afghanistan. The source of an estimated 75 percent of the world's opium poppy from which heroin is made, Afghanistan produced a larger poppy crop in 2003 than ever before, according to INCSR. Just under 31,000 hectares of land were cultivated with poppy in 2002 and that was up to 61,000 in 2003, according to the report. Persistent insecurity, instability and economic stagnation are cited as factors that make counter-trafficking efforts and crop eradication activity very difficult.

Despite the increased size of the Afghan crop and the lack of short-term progress in eradication, Charles said he is hopeful the nation is headed for a stronger counter-trafficking program.

"I was just there, and I can tell you I was gratified and greatly heartened by the conviction of both President (Hamid) Karzai and his ministry of the interior." Charles said. The assistant secretary characterized poppy cultivation as a means of bare survival for farmers struggling to eke a living from a land ravaged by drought and war. He predicted that counter-trafficking efforts in the year ahead may yield a 10 to 15 percent reduction in the amount of land planted in opium poppies in Afghanistan. Charles said the State Department will work with the Afghan government and other international partners to reduce narcotics production in the central Asian nation with "increased vigor" because the long-term future of the country depends on it.

"You can not erect a lasting democracy on a heroin economy; it simply will not survive over the long haul," Charles said. On a positive note, Charles emphasized that a vast majority of Afghan agricultural land is planted in grain.

INCSR was released one day after the resignation of Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide, amidst ongoing instability in the Caribbean nation. Charles said, "We do know that elements of that government were corrupt and shot through with drug money."

As the nation struggles to achieve greater stability now, Charles said one objective must be to banish drug money from the economy. "It brings with it so many devastating consequences: health, economic, societal," he said.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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