Report: Colombia drug war failing

[nabraxas]

this is not really news to anyone accept the White House :mad:

"BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- A new White House report showed that a massive aerial spraying offensive last year failed to dent the area of coca under cultivation in Colombia.

But President Alvaro Uribe vowed on Friday to press ahead with U.S.-financed fumigation of cocaine-producing crops.

The war on drugs in Colombia, the world's main cocaine-producing country and a major supplier of heroin, has cost more than $3 billion in U.S. aid here since 2000. Critics of Washington's effort say the report indicates the Colombia and U.S. governments are losing the war.

"The U.S. government's own data provides stark evidence that the drug war is failing to achieve its most basic objectives," said John Walsh, of the Washington Office on Latin America, a think tank critical of U.S. drug policies in Colombia.

The report by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy said that despite a record-setting aerial eradication offensive, 281,694 acres of coca remained in Colombia at the end of 2004 -- an increase from the 281,323 acres left over after spraying the year earlier.

Walsh also pointed out that prices of cocaine and heroin have been steadily dropping over the years on U.S. streets, indicating availability of the drugs has not diminished.

Peasant farmers in Colombia grow most of the coca, the bushy green plant that provides the main ingredient of cocaine; convert it to coca paste and sell it to Colombian rebels, paramilitaries or other drug-trafficking groups, which then purify it into cocaine and export it.

'Hard-core cultivators'

Adam Isacson, a Colombia expert with the Center for International Policy in Washington, said the White House report released March 25 demonstrates that the peasants -- most of whom live in poverty and who have few alternate means of employment -- are constantly replanting coca after their crops are sprayed by the crop dusters.

"The inescapable conclusion we can draw from this data is that our fumigation program is not discouraging Colombian peasants from growing coca," Isacson said.

The Associated Press reported last month that large-scale coca production was moving for the first time into the extensive jungles of Choco state, in northwest Colombia, with peasant farmers felling chunks of virgin rainforest in order to plant millions of coca seedlings.

David Murray, a top official in the White House drug office, insisted there were positive signs, pointing out that coca cultivation peaked in 2001 at 419,575 acres, up from 1999 levels of 302,697 acres.

"What you have now is hard-core cultivators...who are faced with extinction of their business. And what they are doing is, they're staying put and replanting as rapidly as they can. And we're coming back and hitting them with eradication," Murray said in a telephone interview. "How long can they dodge, how long can they hold out? Well, that's a tough fight. It's a 15-rounder."

Uribe, in an interview with local RCN radio, said he was undeterred by the report that coca cultivation remained at 2003 levels, even though a record 337,427 acres were fumigated last year.

"Our will is to continue seizing the drugs and to continue with the fumigation," Uribe said.

The White House drug office said that while the area under coca cultivation remained "statistically unchanged" over the previous year, the fumigation diminished the potential production of cocaine by 7 percent in 2004 to 430 metric tons, because newly planted fields produce less cocaine than mature coca.

Uribe added that he was waiting for the United Nations to release its own report on coca production in coming months.

Sometimes the reports, using different systems to estimate the area under cultivation, contradict each other. For example, the U.N. drug agency said that in 2003, 212,506 acres were used to grow coca in Colombia, while the White House drug office's estimate was 281,323 acres."

story on CNN

[gerbil]

Really, I can't get over how sad this is. I wonder how many people and animals are actually being hit by the aerial spraying, and then eating/drinking contaminated food/water.

It happens where peasants live and hardly anyone gives a shit. If a crop duster dumped over a westerners house while they were tending to their garden shit would hit the fan. What makes people think that they can get away with inhumane practices on people, animals and the rainforest who have little way to defend themselves. They can hardly afford food, yet the US doesn't think twice about destroying their crops, really where is the fucking sense there? Are people using there brains at all?

Hey and the article said growing millions of seedlings?

I'm a little rusty on coca crops, I always thought they did massive cutting runs to establish their crops?

[Gwydion]

Actually, it's not news to the White House either. The whole point of their intervention in Colombia has never been drugs, but rather the Counter Insurgency activities which they fund and train amongst the Colombian military and paramilitaries to target FARC and ELN guerrillas, unionists, and anyone that wants anything resembling democracy. The "reasons" have changed, from 'communism' to 'drugs', to 'narco-terrorists', but the motivation remains the same.

check out www.narconews.com for a basic intro, then try balancing US expenditure with where it's going (guns, CI training, fumigation of whole communities, etc)

[Jesus On Peyote]

gerbil

Most westeners dont have million doller crops of coca in their backyards.

[nabraxas]

troller---but if you live in Tasmania you'll get dusted if you have a million dollar forestry commission near you.

& Gunns is the only australian company that is totally protected from the freedom ov information act; so if you did get sprayed & got sick there's no way you could even begin to find out what they'd sprayed you with.

read this

[gerbil]

Jesus On Peyote:

gerbil

Most westeners dont have million doller crops of coca in their backyards.

Worth alot of money somewhere along the way, not at all to the farmers benefit. And anyway, if the farmer was raking it in, which they aren't, does that excuse it?

Are we forgetting, this is a traditional food source?? Whether or not a specific field will be used for further processing, doesn't mean people have the right to dump poison on the lot, even if half of the fields are being used for food and sacrament, you can't go through and wipe out a cultural crop just because people in your country are abusing substances.

Really I don't know what you expect me to say, how about you add to the discussion instead of one liners all the time? I vaguely know your view on the US from some posts you've done, so discussion probably won't get us anywhere yeah?

[Jesus On Peyote]

its a well know fact that most of it is not for food but is owned by the druglords to make and ship cocain.

i dont love the US or anything i just get sick of people always just dissing them on every move they make.

[nabraxas]

i just get sick of people always just dissing them on every move they make & with your thorough knowledge ov world events, your towering intellect & perceptive insights, you are exactly the right person to justify every move they make.

[gomaos]

Consider this, Jesus:

Well comparing the US with the countries they bombard with chemicals:

Cocaine may not be the most harmless drug, but the US has no right to tell other countries which drugs to take:

They produce and sell billions of litres of alcohol every year.

Alcohol is much more harmful and evil than cocaine, so what would the fucken US say if some country bombarded their stinking Jack daniels brewery or whatever.

the US SUCK!

THEY HAVE NO RIGHT TO DESTROY OTHER COUNTRIES COCAINE PLANTATIONS.

Not as long as they push bloody alcohol!

Bastards!

[ 05. April 2005, 07:32: Message edited by: gomaos ]

[Gwydion]

Yeah, DON'T you just hate it that you can't commit even ONE little genocide without some do-gooder liberal raising hell about it?

Can't they just let the US kill and oppress ONE country without criticism?

It may not have occurred to Jesus on Peyote, but there are ACTUAL reasons people don't like the US (ie it's government) because there are ACTUAL people who are suffering in their millions as a direct result of US actions.

The campesinos wouldn't have million dollar crops of coca in their back yard (not that they see the money) if the US-backed Colombian government, military and paramilitaries let the people of colombia develop- crops, infrastructure, democracy- all those things we think we have and take for granted. Instead, they murder, torture, spray, extort and murder some more, dominating entire communities and forcing them to grow coca, both through direct orders, and through the inability of any farmer to produce anything else once their area has been "liberated" by US-trained torturers.

(On torture, tonight's Insight on SBS is on that topic. You might just hear some more of this rant of mine there (unless they edit it out)).

In Colombia, coca has limited traditional use, unlike Bolivia or Peru, and is grown almost exclusively for cocaine production.

[2b]

quote:

---

(On torture, tonight's Insight on SBS is on that topic. You might just hear some more of this rant of mine there (unless they edit it out)).

---

How will i be able to tell who you are ?

[apothecary]

I fucking hate that Insight show. The lady pisses me off, and the people piss me off.

Also, Jesus on Peyote, why do you defend the US? If it's such a well known fact that the plants aren't for food but they are cocaine for the drug lords, how come you don't know who put the drug lords in power?

The US went out of their way to destroy the democracy in Columbia and replace it with a puppet government. How did the puppet government continue to fund their operations? Cocaine.

[2b]

Must admit i did like the episode with Alain de Boton , on his book Status Anxiety Any one else read this or catch the episode ?

[smogs]

leave out eprsonal attacks firstly. secondly its good to have someone arguing the otherside! makes you find more evidence, clarify your argument and also provides you with more information. If you just go about the view "US are crap" without the information thats the same thing as having a view "US is great".

On the topic tho there are pros and cons as always. Yes it is a really shit thing to poison people and animals... and also the farmers are DIRT poor... if their crop dies chances are they die through starvation or a drug lord killing them. I saw a doco that went through the process and at the end of it a kilo of pure cocain could be bought for $100 USD.

Think of all the processes and how as u go higher up theres a bigegr cut. Doesnt leave much profit for the farmer.

On the otehr side of the coin its obvious something has to be done about cocain in the USA. It is linked to more violent crimes than any otehr substance (im pretty sure but not certain).

They are just going about it the wrong way. They should concentrate on the people bringing it in... as stated its not columbias fault and i think its a huge breach of rights to have anotehr county in telling u what to do. If they made it so it was practically impossible to egt it into the country so that the price was insane... then the market would stop and the poor columbians would have to look to otehr means and less cocain gets produced.

But ultimately, protecting a countries border is a damn ahrd thing to do.

[gomaos]

On the otehr side of the coin its obvious something has to be done about cocain in the USA. It is linked to more violent crimes than any otehr substance (im pretty sure but not certain).

wrong.

Alcohol is crime-maker no.1.

Always has been.

And please don't say "alcohol is not a drug"

Alcohol is the worst drug.

And i'm sure the US is making more money on alcohol exports than Columbia is making on coke exports.

Alcohol kills way more people than Cocaine does.

[ 05. April 2005, 11:06: Message edited by: gomaos ]

[smogs]

yeah i wasnt sure about that one because it sounds like something from a propaganda doco (and prolly was)

is that in straight numbers or factoring in usage? because obviously more people drink than do crack.

and i agree alcohol is a bad drug and one that is easy to get addicted too as well. Korsakovs syndrome is not a good thing!

[2b]

quote:

---

(On torture, tonight's Insight on SBS is on that topic. You might just hear some more of this rant of mine there (unless they edit it out)).

---

Let me guess , front row , black tee shirt " socialist alliance" ?

[woof woof woof]

[ 06. April 2005, 13:07: Message edited by: brian ]

[Hagakure]

do they propogate via seeds or cuttings?

that many acres of crops and continuous spraying is going to put some natural selection in the mix which may lead to some resistance forming over time.

cuttings are genetically identical but can send out shoots that genetically vary or something? (cant remember exact details but some plants got some diversity happening somehow i thought)

i think at the end of the day there is a rather simple truth that these politicians are refusing to look at.

if people want it someone is going to supply it and no amount of pressure is going to stop that.