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| Colombia Says It Cut Coca Crop |
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Posted by FoM on March 01, 2002 at 12:01:48 PT By Christopher Marquis Source: New York Times 
The government of Colombia said today that it had significantly reduced the amount of coca under cultivation through an aggressive, American- backed eradication campaign. But Washington is delaying the release of its own estimates, which have fueled disagreement between administration policy makers and C.I.A. analysts.The annual estimates of production of coca — the raw material for cocaine — are important in determining the effectiveness of a strategy at the core of the United States' counternarcotics plan in the Andes in which Washington has invested more than $1.3 billion. This year's results are especially significant because they reflect a sustained fumigation effort under Plan Colombia, which set a goal of cutting overall cultivation in half within five years. Focused in the southern provinces of Putumayo and Caqueta, the drive has involved crop- dusters spraying herbicides, combat helicopters and American-trained counternarcotics battalions. Colombia's justice minister, Rómulo González, announced today that the total amount of coca under cultivation was about 358,000 acres as of Nov. 1, an 11 percent reduction over the previous 14-month period. The Bush administration, meanwhile, is struggling with its own estimates. Officials said there is a dispute between C.I.A. analysts who believe that coca production has stabilized or slightly increased, and administration policymakers who insist it has gone down. The State Department's counter- narcotics office, had planned to release its estimates on Colombia on Friday as part of its annual report to Congress on the narcotics fight worldwide, a spokeswoman said. But the office has not yet received final numbers from the Central Intelligence Agency, she said. The C.I.A.'s Crime and Narcotics Center uses satellite imagery and sampling techniques to determine the amount of illegal drugs under cultivation around the world. Mark Mansfield, a C.I.A. spokesman, said the analysts would present their estimate for Colombia within a few days. He declined to discuss the results. Last year, the administration reported that coca growth had surged by 11 percent in Colombia. Colombian officials today challenged the C.I.A.'s methodology and sampling techniques. "I don't think they are in a position to refute our figures, not scientifically or technically," Mr. Gonzalez told reporters. The chief United Nations counter- narcotics representative in Colombia today said he agreed with the Colombians' findings. "We are very comfortable with that figure," said the representative, Klaus Nyholm. "It's based on satellite photos, overflights and visits on the ground. It's not 100 percent, but it's as close as it gets." A State Department official said it was the first time she could recall that the department would release its worldwide report on drugs without the statistics from Colombia. She attributed the delay to technical problems, not a dispute over what the numbers would show. "We've always gotten our numbers from them," the official said. "The people who put the numbers together are analysts, not political types." Source: New York Times (NY) Related Articles & Web Site: Colombia Drug War News US, Colombia Engaged in Numbers War U.S. To Be Drawn Into Colombian War? Bush's $19 Billion Antidrug Plan Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #2 posted by mayan on March 01, 2002 at 17:25:53 PT |
| So what if they destroy all of the coca in Columbia? It will simply come from somewhere else! Duh!!! Our government wants to displace the indigenous peoples & eliminate the FARC so Occidental Petroleum will have a clear shot at their OIL!!! They are tired of rebuilding the pipeline. Also, they want to drive up the price of toot a little so our CIA's smuggled goods will be a little more valuable. Just ask Ken Bucchi! http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11185 [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #1 posted by Jose Melendez on March 01, 2002 at 17:02:15 PT:
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Study
Shows Pot's Therapeutic Benefits, Few Adverse Effects in Long-Term,
Daily Marijuana Smokers |
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