[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 13 (Wednesday, January 31, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H155-H158]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE WAR AGAINST DRUGS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 3, 2001, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I will not take the entire
hour, but I did want to rise and summarize a trip that I took last week
to Colombia and Ecuador to inform our colleagues and our constituents
about the progress being made in the war against drugs.
To be honest, Mr. Speaker, last year I was concerned when the
President and the administration requested $1.3 billion to be used in
the war against drugs in Colombia and South America. I was concerned
because I was not sure that it was the right approach for us to be
taking; that perhaps it would send the wrong signals, and that perhaps
this should not be an issue in which the American military is involved.
Mr. Speaker, I went to Ecuador and Colombia to see firsthand what is
happening with those dollars, what is happening with our effort to
interact with the leadership of Ecuador and Colombia to see what role
we are playing and what role they are playing in solving this problem.
I came back, Mr. Speaker, convinced that we made the right decision.
I come to the floor this afternoon to encourage our colleagues to get
more information about what is happening in Latin America, to better
understand the type of threat that exists there, to understand the
importance of what we are doing in Latin America in the war against
drugs, and to understand that there will be additional requests for
dollars this year in the President's budget and the requests coming to
this Congress to continue this fight for at least a 5-year period.
{time} 1545
Mr. Speaker, I started my trip in Ecuador in Quito, the capitol,
where I met with and had a briefing with our Ambassador, Ambassador
Gwen Clare, and with her in-country team, including the military. I had
a full briefing on the impact in Ecuador of the activities involved
with Plan Colombia. I heard from the Ecuadoran leadership that while
Ecuador did receive some support from this program, approximately $20
million, there is simply a greater need, both in terms of supporting
their military efforts and the economic efforts, particularly along the
northern rim of Ecuador, in dealing with the overflow of the drug
cartels in Colombia.
I also discussed with the Ecuadoran leaders, the issue of the
Galapagos and the Environmental Damage being caused by the ship, that
just a few days earlier, had crashed off of the coast of the Galapagos,
and what we in America could do to assist Ecuador.
In fact, in coming away from that trip, I was convinced that Ecuador,
being the key ally that it has been with America is, in fact, a country
that we should renew our focus on. In meetings both before my trip and
today, I met with the Ecuadoran ambassador to the United States, and I
can tell you that she appreciates the effort that America has put
forward and is willing to work with us on additional initiatives to
cause further integration with the efforts of Ecuador in solving the
drug problem and America in solving the drug problem.
In Colombia, Mr. Speaker, I met again where our in-country team,
including our Ambassador, Ann Patterson, a very capable lady under very
difficult circumstances. I met with our leadership, military
leadership. I met with our CINC, our commanding officer for that
region. I met with our military leaders from all the services.
I spent an hour meeting with the Defense Minister from Colombia, the
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the senior leaders of their
military.
I also met with the general in charge of their police force that
comes under the military, and then they flew me out to one of the base
camps about an hour from Bogota near the FARC demilitarized zone, and I
spent a half a day observing the training being provided by our troops
to the Colombian military.
Let me give you some impressions, Mr. Speaker, for our colleagues.
First of all, American troops are not being used in any combat mission
whatsoever. As you know, Mr. Speaker, we imposed a limitation of 500
American troops in Latin America, in Colombia for the specifics of
carrying out this plan, not one of our military is involved in any type
of hostile action.
They are not involved in any kind of overt action against Colombia.
They are simply there providing training. They are doing training for
the Colombian military in terms of going out and running exploratory
patrols of how to take apart these precursor labs. They are running
training in how to guard the helicopters and the planes that are
spraying the coca fields.
I can tell my colleagues, I was overwhelmingly impressed with our
military. They are doing, as they always
[[Page H156]]
do, an outstanding job. All of our special forces and our military
personnel there speak fluent Spanish. And I can tell my colleagues the
relationship they have established at the one base I visited in
Larandia was absolutely exemplary.
The training that was going on was a reality training and the kinds
of successes that the Colombian military is having, I think, is
directly responsive to the efforts of the American military officers
and enlisted personnel who are on the scene throughout Colombia.
We have a dangerous situation, Mr. Speaker, in that part of the
world. Our focus in Washington from an national security standpoint has
traditionally been on the former Soviet Union and the 15 republics of
that nation, China, the Middle East, and the threats posed by countries
like Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya and North Korea. But, Mr. Speaker, I came
away from my trip and my meetings convinced that one of the most
troublesome threats that we faced right now in America is the huge
amount of cocaine coming into our country, primarily from Colombia.
It is estimated that between 60 percent and 80 percent of all the
cocaine used in America is produced in Colombia. On hundreds of
thousands of acres of farmland that used to grow crops, used to grow
coffee, used to grow the kinds of fruits and vegetables that Colombia
and Latin America are famous for. When the FARC began its operations
and the terrorists revolutionaries began their operations, they began
to acquire a large area in Colombia, specifically, do grow initially
marijuana, and then poppies, and now they are into coca, which is
converted in local labs into cocaine, which is then sent back here to
the States.
Mr. Speaker, it is now a multibillion dollar industry in Colombia. In
fact, the estimates are the FARC is receiving perhaps as much as $6
billion to $7 billion a year in income, which has allowed the FARC,
which has its own zone inside of Colombia that is absolutely isolated
from the rest of the country. It has allowed the FARC to produce a
military that has in excess of $20,000 armed troops.
This military is well-trained. They have the latest in terms of
communication systems, and they have an elaborate network in place to
send that cocaine through whatever means possible to America, and they
are doing that.
In fact, just a few weeks before I arrived in Colombia, we were able
to confiscate, or the Colombians were able to confiscate a submarine
that had been built with the assistance of Russian scientists that the
FARC was going to use to move cocaine from Colombia to America.
Mr. Speaker, the FARC has become a major force that provides a threat
to America's homeland defense. Now, I have worked for the 14 years I
have been in Congress on issues involving the security threats coming
from Russia. I was a member of the Cox committee that investigated the
transfer of technology to China.
I was on the speaker's advisory group on North Korea. I have spent
hours and hours focusing on the threats coming from those nations
providing technology to unstable nations and to unstable groups. But I
can tell you, Mr. Speaker, I am now convinced that one of the greatest
threats that we face in the 21st century is the threat to our society
from the continued growth of the cocaine industry in America,
especially when this cocaine industry is supporting a major military
establishment in Latin America, a destabilizing military establishment.
In fact, Mr. Speaker, the FARC and the revolutionary groups are
creating serious instability in the areas in Colombia where they, in
fact, are secure. And they are now spilling over into north Ecuador, as
well as having an impact in other Latin American countries.
The day before I arrived at the base camp at Larandia, there was
intelligence that a FARC exploratory group was going to move into a
small town, which is a typical operation for them. When they moved into
that small town, they would burn the local police station, and they
would hunt out the police officers and either intimidate them until
they complied with the FARC or until they killed them.
Mr. Speaker, 3,000 individuals per year on average are kidnapped in
Colombia. Many of them are police officers at the local level trying to
provide protection for the people of the towns. The FARC and the
revolutionaries have been going into small towns and villages wrecking
havoc on the quality of life in those communities.
They have been taking peaceful farmers and forcing them to stop
growing legitimate crops and instead produce the coca that the FARC
then buys and uses at their precursor labs to produce cocaine, which is
then shipped to America. And if the local farmers do not cooperate,
they, too, are harassed.
Their buildings are burned. Their vehicles are trashed and burned,
and in the end, the people themselves are tortured. But the FARC is
doing far worse than that, Mr. Speaker, and so is the result of the
narcotrafficking trade in Colombia.
The day before I arrived at Larandia, there was a confrontation. The
military units of the Colombian base where I lived, Larandia, were sent
out, because they had intelligence that indicated the FARC was going to
raid a local community and take over its police department.
The Colombian military met the FARC unit on a small road outside the
village. A firefight ensued. The FARC was equipped with AK47s, the
latest weapons available for a military anyplace in the world today,
bought with those billions of dollars of money, most of it coming from
wealthy Americans wanting to have their coke, at the same time they are
proclaiming that somehow they are concerned about the drug problem in
America.
Mr. Speaker, the confrontation that ensued resulted in the death of 3
FARC uniform personnel. One of the uniform personnel, Mr. Speaker, was
a 12-year-old girl. The second FARC soldier that was killed was a 14-
year-old boy, and the third FARC military person that was killed was a
17-year-old boy. And the mode of operation was the same as it always is
with the FARC.
When they get into a confrontation with the Colombian military, which
may occur, 100 yards or 200 yards away so the soldiers cannot see who
they are up against, the FARC pushes young kids in uniform out in the
front so they are the first to be killed. They are the first to die.
Mr. Speaker, this has happened time and time again throughout
Colombia. In fact, with all of our concerns about the crimes of Saddam
Hussein and Slobodan Milosevic, it is amazing to me that there is not
an outcry in this country for a war crimes tribunal against the gross
human atrocities being caused by the FARC and the revolutionary groups
in Colombia and Latin America.
Because what is occurring there? The hundreds of deaths, the
slaughtering of young children, the slaughtering of families, the
forcing of farmers to grow these illegal crops and the devastation of
local villages, is a gross kind of human rights abuse that I do not
think we have seen the likes of since Saddam Hussein was in his prime
back in Iraq before the invasion.
Mr. Speaker, we have no choice but to support the Colombians in this
struggle and they are winning. They are making progress. The training
is working.
Mr. Speaker, I insert for the Record a summary of counternarcotics
operations in Putumayo, which is the hot bed of this activity in
Colombia. This was prepared at my request by our Ambassador. I submit
this for the Record for all of our colleagues to review and for all
Americans to understand the success that is occurring in Colombia as we
begin to eradicate hopefully 100 percent of the coca production in that
country which has led to the huge proliferation of cocaine into
America.
Summary of Counternarcotics Operations in Putumayo, December 19, 2000-
January 28, 2001
(Prepared for Representative Curt Weldon)
I. Introduction
The first six weeks of counternarcotics operations in
Putumayo Department in southern Colombia (the initial
geographical focus under Plan Colombia) have seen many
positive results. Two social pacts supported by the U.S.
Agency for International Development, which provide for
voluntary manual eradication and alternative crop
development, have been signed by over 1400 families in Puerto
Asis municipality, and six more are expected to be signed
before the end of March. Aerial coca eradication and ground
interdiction activities have taken place in south-central and
southwestern Putumayo. As of January 28, 2001, over 24,000
hectares
[[Page H157]]
have been sprayed in Putumayo, the most densely cultivated
area in the world. There has been an unprecedented level of
cooperation between the Colombian Army Counterdrug Brigade
and the Antinarcotics Directorate of the Colombian National
Police. The operations have proceeded with relatively few
incidents of armed clashes or ground fire directed at spray
aircraft.
II. Aerial Eradication
Although estimates vary, coca cultivation in Putumayo could
be as high as 90,000 hectares (about 225,000 acres). The most
dense areas of cultivation are located in southwestern
Putumayo. Aerial eradication in Putumayo began in that area
on December 22, 2000. As of January 28, 2001, a total of
24,123 hectares has been sprayed--22,332 hectares in
southwestern Putumayo (mostly in paramilitary-dominated
zones) and 1,791 hectares in south-central Putumayo. Spraying
is currently taking place in southwestern Putumayo. There
have been eight spray planes and/or escort helicopters hit by
hostile ground fire (in six incidents) since commencement of
spraying in Putumayo--fewer than expected, given the high
presence of illegal armed groups operating in Putumayo. None
resulted in any injury or serious damage to aircraft.
III. Colombian Military Operations
As of January 28, 2001 there are approximately 3,000
Colombian Army troops deployed in Putumayo, including troops
from the First and Second Counterdrug Battalions of the
Counterdrug Brigade. The ground troops support aerial
eradication activities and conduct lab interdictions. Since
the start of operations in mid-December 2000, Colombian
military forces have attacked 40 targets in Putumayo,
including coca base labs, cocaine hydrochloride labs, and
weapons storage facilities.
There have been five incidents of armed clashes between
Colombian military forces and illegal groups since the start
of Putumayo operations, one involving paramiltaries and three
involving FARC. These clashes resulted in the deaths of two
12th Brigade soldiers, 11 FARC, and one paramilitary. The
fifth incident was the firing (by unknown persons) of a
rocket-propelled grenade at an embassy-contracted fuel plane
(carrying Colombian National Police officers) departing Tres
Esquinas.
The level of cooperation between Colombian military forces
and antinarcotics police during the Putumayo operation has
been unprecedented, given the historic rivalries between the
various armed forces and police. The forces have shared USG-
supplied helicopters to move troops and police in and out of
the spray/interdiction areas. The Deputy Commander of the
Counterdrug Brigade now attends the daily briefings for the
spray pilots, hence is better able to deploy his troops into
the most effective areas and to alert the pilots to suspected
locations of hostile elements.
iv. u.s.-supported alternative development/manual eradication
A key aspect of the multifaceted Plan Colombia projects
targeted for Putumayo (and, later, other parts of the
country) is to encourage small coca growers to sign
agreements to voluntarily eliminate their illicit crops in
exchange for government assistance with alternative crop
development The U.S. Agency for International Development is
working closely with the Government of Colombia's National
Plan for Alternative Development (PLANTE), to put such
agreements into place. Two agreements have been signed to
date by a total of 1453 families in Puerto Asis municipality,
providing for the voluntary elimination of nearly 3000
hectares of coca. Six more agreements are expected to be
signed before the end of March 2001. The target is to enter
agreements with a total of 5500 families for the elimination
of approximately 10,500 hectares of coca. The signing of even
two elimination agreements has had a positive effect, in that
many more families are interested in signing them now that
they are perceived as a reality. The signings appear to have
lessened some local officials' opposition to aerial
eradication as well. While in the past they often complained
that government efforts were focused on the ``stick'' of
spraying but not the ``carrot'' of alternative development,
at least one Putumayo mayor has stated that the government
now apparently intends to keep its word to combine the two
efforts.
v. human rights
Since the first Counterdrug Battalion was formed in April
1999, we have had no human rights complaints against the
Counterdrug Brigade, nor have we received any since joint
operations were launched in December 2000. There has been
minimal displacement, with some 20-30 people displaced since
spray operations began in mid-December. In contrast,
thousands of people were displaced in the area between
September-December 2000 as a result of the FARC's armed seige
of Putumayo.
As required under the Leahy amendment, the Embassy vets all
military and police units which receive USG assistance by
reviewing the unit's human rights record and regular reports
from the Colombian Ministry of Defense on any units or
members of units which are undergoing formal investigation
for human rights violations. The 24th Brigade, a member of
the Joint Task Force-South under General Mario Montoya's
command, is currently the only element of the Joint Task
Force-South which is not approved to receive USG assistance.
vi. conclusion
While the government of Colombia has achieved significant
success in the first phase of U.S.-supported counternarcotics
operations in Putumayo, much more remains to be done. Embassy
is encouraging the Colombian Army and Antinarcotics Police to
pursue more joint operations, and is encouraging the
Colombian Presidency to explain Plan Colombia more clearly to
its citizens. The Government of Colombia has shown the
political will to maintain its commitment to the aerial
eradication and interdiction aspects of Plan Colombia, even
if violence escalates (as is likely to be the case). Public
support for antinarcotics aid is strong, but continued close
engagement at all levels will be required to maintain the
GOC's resolve.
Mr. Speaker, in this two-page summary, our colleagues will find a
detailed assessment of the successes that we are achieving, of the
cooperation of the Colombian military, of the brave efforts being put
forth by military leaders and police leaders who everyday are being
intimidated and whose families are being threatened by the FARC and the
terrorist groups throughout Colombia.
Mr. Speaker, I want to also assure my colleagues one of the major
concerns we have in any country is that there not be human rights
abuses by the military or the police of that country. In the training
that I witnessed at the Larandia operation, a major part of our
training program for the Colombian military deals with human rights,
showing the soldiers on the ground in Colombia that while they are
there, to weed out the corrupt narcoterrorists activity.
They must adhere to strict human rights concerns that we have. They
must comply with international norms. They must not abuse innocent
people. And while there are still incidents as there are even in our
own military, from time to time, of concerns relative to human rights.
I can assure our colleagues that the Colombian military, the Colombian
police department have made overwhelming positive strides in stopping
human rights abuses from those who are enforcing the laws and from
those who are going after the narcotics traffickers.
Mr. Speaker, our military again is rising to the occasion and doing
an outstanding job. The Colombian soldier on the ground understands the
importance of maintaining human rights and dignity, even when they are
dealing with thugs involved, with growing and selling off cocaine
eventually for America's soil.
This summary gives a glimpse of the kind of successes that we are
having in each of these areas; the efforts at cleaning up the drug
labs, the efforts at spraying the crops, the efforts at protecting the
human rights, the efforts at helping to rebuild the economy of these
areas that have been devastated by drug trafficking.
{time} 1600
The role of America is not just training. We are also providing
resources. Of the $1.3 million that we are placing into Plan Colombia,
only a small portion is actually going to our military. Significant
parts of the money are going into nonmilitary activities, such as the
Department of State. Other parts are going into activities involving
economic readjustment.
In fact, Mr. Speaker, I have a series of charts that I will be
providing for every Member of the House that give an assessment as to
where the $1.3 million is going, the kinds of equipment that we are
buying, helicopters to do spraying, and helicopters to accompany the
helicopters and the planes that are doing the spraying of the crops.
So the effort in Plan Colombia is not just about helping the
military. It is about providing a broad strategy. It is about building
democratic institutions. It is about helping local mayors and local
councils have better control over their communities. It is involving
ourselves through Colombia in creating additional economic activities
for farmers who no longer are going to produce these drugs.
Mr. Speaker, I am convinced that we must stay the course in Latin
America. One of the concerns that I had when I traveled to Ecuador and
Colombia was that we in America do not know enough about our southern
partners. I am very pleased that our new President has made statements
that he wants to reach south. He has already reached out to Mexico. I
know that he
[[Page H158]]
wants to reach out to Central and South America.
I am convinced, Mr. Speaker, that many of us, including myself, have
not paid attention to our closest neighbors. We have not taken the
opportunity to reach out to them as equal partners in terms of economic
development, environmental cooperation, cooperation in health and human
services, and also dealing with problems like the oil spill off the
Galapagos or the drug problem in Colombia.
That is why, Mr. Speaker, I had discussions in both countries and I
am now suggesting to my colleagues, especially those on the Committee
on International Relations chaired by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr.
Hyde), that we look at the putting together an initiative, kind of a
mini-Marshall Plan that would bring a special focus on the seven
contiguous countries around Colombia, to let these countries know that
Americans up north are not just in Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and
Panama, that we are not just there because of the drug problem, that we
want to establish a new relationship, one that encourages more economic
investment and encourages real environmental cooperation, one that
shows that we will assist them in improving their quality of life in
health care and education; and in the end, a strong component that will
support the rule of law and support the continued effort to help the
Colombian people and the other nations rid themselves of this terrible
narcotrafficking and production that has been occurring there over the
past several years.
I would hope that one of our objectives in this session of Congress
would be to establish this mini-Marshall Plan to show our friends in
South America that America wants to be true and close partners of
theirs. Ecuador has been one of the closest allies to our country for
years. It is time to let the people of Ecuador know that we appreciate
that support and that we want to engage with Ecuador in a more
aggressive way.
I would hope that our colleagues on the Committee of International
Relations led by such great people as the gentleman from North Carolina
(Mr. Ballenger), who has traveled to that part of the world more than
any of our colleagues, who along with his wife has a better grasp of
the situation in Central and South America than many of our people who
serve in State Department positions, that we reach out and work with
the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Ballenger) and his subcommittee
and work to shape a new policy, a proactive policy that has a military
component but also shows the people of South America that we want to be
their true friends and trading partners.
I came away also, Mr. Speaker, from my trip with one additional piece
of information dealing with a very controversial subject that will
again be taken up by this Congress this year, and that is the School of
the Americas. Every year, Mr. Speaker, when we bring up the defense
authorization bill on the floor, there are several Members of Congress
who offer an amendment to basically do away with the School of the
Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia; and they use the argument that some
of the graduates of that school have committed atrocities and have been
involved in gross human rights abuses, particularly in Central and
South America.
Mr. Speaker, I am not challenging the fact that out of the thousands
of people that have gone through the School of the Americas there have
been some bad apples, just as I would acknowledge that you can take
Harvard University or Yale or Princeton and find one or two graduates
who have ended up in jail because of white collar crimes or because of
things that they have done that are against our society.
But I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, when I ask the question of the
Colombians and the Ecuadorians and our leaders and our two ambassadors
in those countries how important is the School of the Americas to your
success, the answer was unanimous. The answer was unanimous from
everyone I talked to, that the School of the Americas played an
absolutely essential role in teaching South and Central American
leaders that the military responds to the civilian part of society,
that human rights is a part of what a military leader must consider
every day he or she is doing their job, that the School of the Americas
has trained young military leaders to understand the same types of
leadership skills that our military has that are so frequently brought
to their attention in serving in our services.
So an additional point that our colleagues need to ask as they travel
and deal with the situation in Latin America is how important is this
institution to the continued success that we are having in cooperating
with the militaries of the South American countries. Are they perfect?
The answer is, no. Is our military perfect? The answer is, no. But we
are both moving in the same direction, addressing the concerns of human
rights and dignity as we enforce laws and as we deal with tyrants and
dictators and thugs such as those involved with the FARC and the
revolutionary groups that currently are running rampant in Colombia and
other parts of South America.
Mr. Speaker, in closing, the news is good. The success is documented,
and I rise as someone who was not a big fan of this initiative 6 months
ago.
I was a skeptic. I am now convinced we are doing the right thing. Our
colleagues, Mr. Speaker, are going to be asked this year to provide a
second sum of money to continue this operation. Our colleagues need to
get the facts. Our colleagues need to travel to Latin America.
To this end, Mr. Speaker, I will again be organizing a delegation
sometime in the mid to latter part of 2001. I have already received a
commitment that Members of Congress will be able to stay overnight in a
base camp so they can see firsthand and observe themselves the kind of
training, the kind of interaction, can talk to the villagers, and can
talk to people who are in the Colombian military to see the success
firsthand that we are having.
In Ecuador, we will meet with the leadership. We will also talk about
environmental cooperation with pristine areas like the Galapagos. In
Colombia and the other countries we visit, we will begin to focus on
the success that we are having.
I encourage our colleagues, Mr. Speaker, prior to the vote on these
additional funds, to travel to that part of the world. The gentleman
from North Carolina (Chairman Ballenger) takes trips to Central and
South America on a regular basis. If our colleagues cannot join the
delegation that I organize, they can contact the gentleman from North
Carolina (Chairman Ballenger), and I am sure he will organize an
appropriate visit as well this year.
I think in the year 2001, under the leadership of our new President,
George Bush, Latin America is the key area of focus; that we must renew
old friendships. We must show these people in Central and South America
that we are not the ugly gringos of the north, that we want to be their
friends. We want to be their trading partners. We want to help them
solve their environmental problems. We want to help them in their
effort to weed out corruption, to deal with human rights abuses, and to
help them provide a solid well-trained military and police force to
maintain the basic elements of democracy.
In doing all of that, Mr. Speaker, I am convinced America will be
better, our homeland defense will be more secure, and we will have a
better relationship with those people who inhabit both Central and
South America.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the remaining time and thank the Speaker
and the staff for sticking through this Special Order.
____________________