Sen. Mike Dewine (R-Ohio), press release, October 20, 1999

Sen. Mike Dewine (R-Ohio), press release, October 20, 1999

UNITED STATES SENATOR -- OHIO Mike DeWine

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 20, 1999

CONTACT: Charles Boesel Amy Ricketts (202) 224-2315

DEWINE/COVERDELL INTRODUCE ANTI-DRUG LEGISLATION TO PROMOTE PEACE AND STABILITY IN COLOMBIA

U.S. Senators Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Paul Coverdell (R-GA) today introduced their comprehensive, strategic package to address the violence and instability in Colombia. The Anti-Drug Alliance with Colombia and the Andean Region of 1999 is designed to promote peace and stability in Colombia and the Latin American region. The comprehensive $1.6 billion package would support anti-drug efforts, economic development, and human rights and 'rule of law' programs. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) is an original co-sponsor of the legislation.

"A guiding principle in American foreign policy this century has been that peace and stability within our own hemisphere is a primary concern," stated Senator DeWine. "More than a decade ago, the biggest threat to stability from within our hemisphere was Communism. Today, the Communists have been replaced by drug traffickers and the thugs they hire to protect their lucrative industry. The result is violence, regional instability, and the crumbling of democracy. To prevent this volatile situation in our own backyard from escalating any further, Senator Coverdell and I have designed a comprehensive, strategic plan to counter the increasing drug threat and encourage government accountability in the areas of human rights and judicial reform."

The Anti-Drug Alliance with Colombia and the Andean Region of 1999 would authorize up to $1.6 billion in spending in Fiscal Years 2000-2002 to support alternative crop and economic development, drug interdiction programs, human rights and 'rule of law' programs, and military and police counter-narcotics operations. Crop alternative development programs and counter-narcotics assistance would also be provided for other Latin American countries, including Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.

-- $540 million to support urgent new programs of the Colombian government to attack the new cultivation and illicit coca and opium poppy in southern Colombia. This would include funds for helicopters, additional eradication aircraft, communications gear, and intelligence and communications training and equipment.

-- $200 million to increase nationwide air interdiction programs. Additional airborne and ground-based radar capacity would enhance Colombian capability to detect suspicious aircraft; while new aerial refueling aircraft, remote airfield construction, and fuel supplies would enhance Colombian ability to intercept illicit flights.

-- $205 million to enhance nationwide law enforcement capabilities to counter drug activities. This funding would provide for updated equipment, parts, and aircraft for the Colombian National Police and the Colombian Navy in their efforts to combat drug trafficking.

-- $100 million to bolster human rights and 'rule of law' programs in Colombia, focusing on judicial assistance reform, such as the training of Colombian prosecutors, judges and other judicial officials, and the strengthening of existing human rights monitors within the ranks of the military; monitoring assistance, providing that a certain percentage of total U.S. military assistance to the Colombian military under this act be used for monitoring purposes; displaced population aid, providing humanitarian assistance, such as temporary resettlement, food, and non-food aid, to the forcibly displaced population of Colombia; and support for the Colombian Attorney General's Office in their efforts to investigate and prosecute members of Colombian Security Forces and irregular forces involved in drug trafficking or human rights violations.

-- $505 million to enhance regional drug interdiction programs, including $320 million for additional U.S. agency costs, $60 million for the Drug Enforcement Administration, $40 million for regional intelligence, and $85 million to improve interdiction programs in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Panama. The Act recognizes that the narco-guerrilla threat in Colombia could cause dangerous instability in neighboring countries.

-- $180 million for alternative development programs. Colombia would receive $50 million, Bolivia $90 million, and Peru $40 million. The Act recognizes that eradication and law enforcement efforts must be complemented by programs to provide the desperate poor with other means for survival than drug-trafficking.

"This is a cooperative effort to help Colombia begin to help itself," said Senator DeWine. "It is in our national interest to support Colombia in its effort to restore peace and stability. Without a strong Colombia, narco-traffickers will flourish, an abundant and steady flow of illicit drugs will head for the United States, one of our largest export markets in the Western Hemisphere will continue to falter, and a neighboring democratic government will further erode. This comprehensive package is a way for our two countries to work together to eliminate drugs from our hemisphere and to begin to restore democracy and the 'rule of law' in Colombia."

As of March 13, 2000, this document is also available at http://www.usia.gov/regional/ar/colombia/dewine.htm