[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 16, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S571-S572]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      INTERDICTION OF DRUG SUPPLY

  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I just returned from a trip to

[[Page S572]]

Haiti and to the Bahamas. I met with the governments of each of those 
nations on a variety of topics, not the least of which was the 
interdiction of the drugs. We increasingly see drugs coming out of 
Colombia, going into Venezuela and being transported by air out of 
Venezuela--including from remote parts of southern Venezuela as well as 
northern Venezuela. They then fly to destinations where the cocaine is 
dropped and repackaged into smaller packages to be shipped, destined 
for Europe and the United States.
  The increase in the number of flights from 2003 to 2006 is 
incredible. A map showing lines that indicate the number of flights--
they are solid going from Venezuela to the Dominican Republic and to 
Haiti. The flights have increased enormously, while at the same time 
the number of drugs transported by sea has diminished. Our Coast Guard 
is out there. I was with the Coast Guard. They have been fairly 
successful in interdicting at sea. So as a result, the drug smugglers 
are using small airplanes flying from Venezuela to the island of 
Hispaniola, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where they are sending 
the drugs to be shipped on to additional destinations.
  I spoke at length with President Preval, the President of Haiti, 
about this problem. President Preval made reference to a 1998 agreement 
in which the Government of Haiti and the United States pledged to 
cooperate and, indeed, that cooperation has occurred. And it has 
occurred on those shipments coming by sea.
  But the Government of the United States cannot interdict an airplane 
unless we shoot them down, and we are not going to do that. So when 
these flights come into Haiti or the Dominican Republic they either 
land or drop their cargo of cocaine. That is where the local 
government, the local authorities, have to be able and willing to make 
the arrest. Of course this is difficult, in a country such as Haiti 
that can hardly keep its head above water, as it is trying to with a 
new government. I must say, that certainly has my support and I believe 
that President Preval is doing a good job, and is making some progress.
  In addition, I spoke at length with the Prime Minister and with the 
director general of the Haitian National Police. I am very impressed 
with Director General Andresol. He is an impressive fellow. He has set 
out a plan to vet all 7,000 members of the Haitian National Police, and 
he started the vetting process with the top person--himself. He has 
started the vetting of the police, and he is going to continue to try 
to get out the graft and corruption. If he is successful, then I 
believe you will see that the Haitian National Police have the ability 
to make the arrest when drugs are dropped or transshipped through 
Haiti. I hope the same thing is going to be done in the Dominican 
Republic.
  Now, in the midst of all this, further to the north, as you get into 
the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos, we have been enormously 
successful since the late 1980s in the interdiction of the drugs. The 
DEA, working with other law enforcement agencies, working with the 
Coast Guard, working with the Defense Department, and working with the 
governments of the countries--and the one that I particularly 
concentrated on this time after Haiti was the Bahamas--they have been 
very successful. They have helicopters stationed in the area, the Coast 
Guard at Andros Island in the Bahamas. The Army stationed helicopters 
at Greater Exuma Island, next to the town of Georgetown in the middle 
of the Bahamas, and at the southern end of the Bahamas where a the 
Coast Guard has another station with helicopters.
  Well, the Army, being strapped for helicopters, announced the plan 
that it was going to remove the helicopters. So we went to work. Our 
Ambassador to the Bahamas, John Rood, brought it to my attention. 
Several other Members of Congress got involved, and as a result of this 
an interagency meeting occurred in which it was agreed that although 
the Army would pull the helicopters out probably by this October, they 
would still pay for the station for the next 5 years. And we worked it 
out to get new helicopters that would be transferred to DEA--the Drug 
Enforcement Administration. Therefore all of that area of the Bahamas 
in the middle, between Andros to the north and to the west, the island 
of Exuma in the middle, and further south the to the Coast Guard 
helicopters--all of that area in the middle would not be blind.
  On Sunday I went out there and flew with both the Army and the Coast 
Guard to see their operation and to be briefed on the details. I was 
briefed on a live chase that occurred at the time, as well as visiting 
some of our troops. And I will just tell you what patriotic Americans 
these are. They are down there for 4 months without their families. 
They had just gotten home after a year's deployment in Iraq. They are 
going to be able to go back home in another month and be at home for 2, 
3 months, and then they are going back to Iraq. This is the kind of 
dedication that we have in our Armed Forces.
  Well, fortunately, it looks as if we are going to be able to retain 
new helicopters for this operation so that we will not be blind. But it 
is going to mean the continued cooperation between the Government of 
the Bahamas and the United States, building on a history of 
considerable cooperation. It also means that we need continued, 
increased progress with President Preval of Haiti and President 
Fernandez of the Dominican Republic.
  Haiti has so many needs. Haiti has desperate needs in health care, 
desperate needs in infrastructure, desperate needs in education. One 
little thing we did in a step in the right direction--and many Senators 
here cosponsored the bill--I along with them--is called the HOPE 
legislation. It will allow textiles from outside to be brought into 
Haiti, where then value is added by making them into garments. It is 
estimated that 30,000 jobs will be provided. That is out of hundreds of 
thousands of people who do not have jobs. But it is a step in the right 
direction.
  I want to give credit to former Senator Mike DeWine of Ohio, who was 
the sponsor of a bill called HERO and also the sponsor of the 
legislation that passed called HOPE. He has a heart for Haiti and has 
been there many times. So the fruits of his long labors and the fruits 
of the labors of others of us in this Chamber have finally come to 
fruition to give them another ray of hope.
  I am impressed with President Preval. I do believe that he is honest 
and on the right course. I am also a realist and recognize that there 
is corruption all around him in his Government. That is one of the main 
chores that he has in rooting out corruption, so that he can get that 
Government on the right path, so that they can start restoring some of 
the services to a people in desperate need. The Haitian people are 
remarkable. They are so ingenious and industrious and entrepreneurial, 
with a positive, optimistic outlook. They have just been shackled under 
years of exceptional poverty.
  So, finally, the United States stepped forward with the HOPE 
legislation. Finally, the United States is getting increased 
cooperation from the now Government of Haiti, and it is exceptionally 
important in the future that cooperation continues. It is so important 
not only because of Haiti, but it is important because it is our 
children who are on the receiving end of all of the drugs coming out of 
South America.

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