[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 131 (Friday, September 26, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1871-E1872]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HEROES KNOW HEROES

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 26, 1997

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, on August 5, 1997, in Bogota, Colombia, our 
outstanding

[[Page E1872]]

DEA Administrator, Tom Constantine, a fellow New Yorker, attended a 
memorial service for the officers of the Colombian National Police 
[CNP], who have given their lives in the struggle against illicit 
drugs.
  Our own courageous and outstanding DEA has also suffered loses in 
this dangerous battle, although not nearly as many as the thousands of 
men and women of CNP. These men and women in law enforcement, whether 
here or in Latin America, died for the sake of our kids, our future 
generations, our democratic institutions, and way of life.
  Not long ago in Peru, five dedicated young DEA agents gave their 
lives in a plane crash in the mountains of Peru during pursuit of a 
drug trafficker. For those officers and those of the CNP the war on 
drugs was no cliche.
  Administrator Constantine had important words last month to say to 
the men and women of CNP, who are led by outstanding men like Gen. Jose 
Serrano, and the chief of their elite antidrug unit, the DANTI, Col. 
Leonardo Gallego, both of whom visited with Members of the House here 
in the Capitol just last week.
  A few excerpts from Mr. Constantine's remarks underscore the heroes 
we have in our own DEA, recognize other heroes when they see and work 
with them. Mr. Constantine said: ``We gather today to praise an 
organization of heroes--the Colombian National Police--men and women 
whose courage and sacrifice have contributed so much to Colombia--and 
to the rest of the world. * * * You are a beacon of hope to the law 
enforcement agencies around the world faced with the danger and 
destruction caused by ruthless drug-trafficking syndicates.''
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that the full text of our DEA Administrator's 
remarks at the CNP police memorial follow in the Record. The powerful 
statement will help my colleagues appreciate the human dimension in the 
struggle against illicit drugs, and especially the impact it has on the 
men and women we put on the front lines to wage this war. In many ways, 
only those who have carried a badge and gun can know the real meaning 
of loyalty and devotion that fellow police officers have to each 
other--whether here or abroad--in our war on drugs, which is real for 
them, each and every day.

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