cannabisnews.com: U.S. Ends Top-Level Visit To Colombia





U.S. Ends Top-Level Visit To Colombia
Posted by FoM on September 01, 2001 at 15:34:41 PT
By T. Christian Miller, Times Staff Writer
Source: Los Angeles Times
The first high-level Bush administration visit to Colombia wrapped up Friday amid the most serious crisis in the peace process here since the effort started anew nearly three years ago.U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman headed a who's who delegation of government Andean specialists for three days of meetings with top Colombian officials and a look at U.S.-backed drug-eradication efforts.
Grossman said the visit was part of an administration review of Plan Colombia, the U.S.-financed initiative to reduce by half the production of illegal drugs in two years. It also served to send a message to those who have criticized the administration for disengaging from foreign affairs: The U.S. cares. "Colombia matters to the United States," Grossman repeatedly told a news conference.Grossman said he was satisfied with the direction of the plan, though he did not rule out changes. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell will visit Colombia on Sept. 11-12 to decide whether to alter the carrot-and-stick policy of fumigating coca plants, which are used to produce cocaine, while providing development money to impoverished farmers who voluntarily rip out their illegal crops.Grossman's delegation included Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, head of the U.S. Southern Command, who has been nominated to be vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Rand Beers, assistant secretary of State for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs; and William Brownfield, deputy assistant secretary of State for Western Hemisphere affairs.Colombian and international observers have criticized U.S. policy, saying it overemphasizes military and anti-drug aid and shortchanges the peace process. The U.S. has not directly participated in peace talks in Colombia since 1999, when three Americans were killed after being kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the country's largest leftist rebel group.Grossman said the administration nevertheless strongly backs peace efforts. A senior American official said the U.S. has set aside $3 million of the $1.3-billion that is funding Plan Colombia to encourage conflict-resolution programs here. The U.S. Embassy also has arranged six conferences devoted to achieving peace."No country could support the peace process more than the United States of America," Grossman said. "Peace is crucial to the future development of Colombia, and that's why we support the peace process."That process is in need of all the support it can get right now. The biggest concern is over the fate of the Switzerland-size demilitarized zone that Colombian President Andres Pastrana ceded to the FARC nearly three years ago to encourage peace talks.Pastrana must decide by next month whether to continue the zone, whose existence has come under increasing criticism by groups as diverse as the Bush administration and Human Rights Watch.Chief among the complaints is that the FARC has used the area less for peace than war. Since its inception, the zone has served as a training ground for the FARC's 30,000 troops, an agricultural region for growing coca plants and a temporary prison for kidnap victims the FARC uses to help finance its nearly 4-decade-old insurrection, according to U.S. and Colombian officials.More recently, the FARC allegedly has used the zone for a sort of bomb college run by three suspected Irish Republican Army members, who were arrested Aug. 11 as they tried to leave Colombia. The Irishmen are awaiting trial. On Friday, a Colombian mayor was killed by unknown gunmen just outside the zone.Though few expect Pastrana to unilaterally take back the zone, he is facing searing criticism from hard-liners and his own military. The Colombian army has become increasingly confident in its ability to wage war, thanks in part to U.S. training and aid.Adding to the worry over the fate of the FARC zone is the collapse of peace talks with the National Liberation Army, Colombia's second-largest leftist rebel group. Pastrana broke off the talks Aug. 7, citing a lack of progress. Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)Author: T. Christian Miller, Times Staff WriterPublished: September 1, 2001 Copyright: 2001 Los Angeles TimesContact: letters latimes.comWebsite: http://www.latimes.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Colombia Drug War Newshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/colombia.htmU.S. Seeks Expanded Military Effort in Colombia http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10780.shtmlU.S. May Send More Aid To Colombiahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10776.shtmlPowell To Travel To Colombiahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10745.shtml 
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