Testimony
of Paul E. Simons, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for International
Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Hearing of the Senate International
Narcotics Caucus, June 3, 2003
PAUL E.
SIMONS
ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE
INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS
HEARING BEFORE
SENATE DRUG CAUCUS
JUNE 3,
2003
U.S. NARCOTICS
CONTROL INITIATIVES IN COLOMBIA
9:30 A.M.,
215 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING
Good morning,
Mr. Chairman, Senator Biden, and members of the Caucus. Thank you for
the opportunity to speak to you about the current narcotics situation
in Colombia, and the Department of State's response to that situation.
Because of the importance of our efforts in Colombia, I am especially
pleased to meet with this Caucus, which is a key stake-holder in this
process.
I. OVERVIEW
Situation
in Colombia
Colombia
is of great importance to the United States. It is a vibrant democracy
and a country with extraordinary promise, facing an extraordinary threat.
Colombia has four times the land area of California and a population
of over 40 million. Its gross domestic product is more than $90 billion
a year. Colombia has important reserves of petroleum, natural gas and
coal.
Unfortunately,
Colombia is also a center of the illicit narcotics industry. In recent
years, Colombia has been responsible for over 70 percent of the world's
coca cultivation. Ninety percent of the cocaine entering the United
States is either produced in or passes through Colombia. Colombia is
also a significant source of heroin for the U.S. market.
The drug
trade has a terrible impact on the United States. There are 50,000 drug-related
deaths yearly in the United States -- with 19,000 directly attributable
to drugs. This is six times the loss of life on September 11, and it
happens every year. The drug trade also has devastating consequences
in Colombia. Not only is that society rife with drug-related violence,
its unique eco-system and environment are increasingly threatened by
the slash-and-burn cutting of tropical forest for coca cultivation and
the indiscriminate dumping of toxic chemicals used in drug processing.
Directly
linked to the illicit drug trade is the scourge of terrorism that plagues
Colombia. Colombia is home to three of the four U.S.-designated foreign
terrorist organizations (FTOs) in this hemisphere, and has suffered
a four-decade cycle of violence and conflict. Terrorism in Colombia
both supports and draws resources from the narcotics industry. Nefarious
narco-terrorist organizations also rely on kidnapping and extortion
-- including threats to U.S. citizens and economic interests -- to support
themselves. Colombia's terrorist groups have kidnapped 138 American
citizens since 1980, and killed 11. Since February, three DOD contractors
have been held hostage by the FARO and one of their colleagues was assassinated
upon capture.
The country's
40-year-old internal conflict -- among government forces, several leftist
guerrilla groups, and a right-wing paramilitary movement -- intensified
during 2002. The internal armed conflict, and the narcotics trafficking
that both fueled it and prospered from it, were the central causes of
violations of international humanitarian law. In a 2001 report, the
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights noted that all sides in the
conflict failed to respect the principles of humanitarian law. The Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the paramilitaries are the principal
perpetrators of these human rights violations. The Colombian Army is
charged with committing very few of the human rights violations alleged
in 2002.
Violence
by the three FTOs -- the FARC, the National Liberation Army (ELN), and
the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) -- caused the deaths
of thousands of civilians in 2002, including combat casualties, political
killings, and forced disappearances.
Kidnapping
continues to be a major source of revenue for both the FARC and ELN.
The FARC continued to kidnap persons in accordance with its so-called
"Law 002," announced in March 2000, which requires persons
with more than the equivalent of $1 million in assets to volunteer payments
to the FARC or risk detention. The Free Country Foundation, a Colombian
NGO, reported that guerrillas committed 75 percent of the 2,986 kidnappings
reported during the year in which a perpetrator was identified. The
Foundation reported that the FARC kidnapped 936 persons and the ELN
776. In addition, the FARO often purchased victims kidnapped by common
criminals and then negotiated ransom payments with the families.
Additionally,
the ongoing terrorist offensive against democratic institutions and
civil society has had tragic costs for Colombia. Each year the AUC,
ELN and FARC kill more than 3,000 persons. Their victims have included
judges and prosecutors, journalists, labor union leaders and human rights
workers, soldiers, police, and ordinary citizens. Even clerics and Red
Cross workers are not exempt from the violence.
The narco-terrorist
threat is among the greatest the United States and Colombia face, and
success against the drug trade and terrorism in Colombia will improve
security in both countries, and in the Andean region as a whole. The
ongoing internal strife that Colombia has suffered has hampered its
economic progress, severely strained both military and civil institutions,
and wreaked havoc on the civilian population who must live with the
constant threat of terrorist violence. It has also resulted in a flood
of illicit drugs into the United States.
What is
occurring in Colombia matters to the United States. We stand in solidarity
with the people of Colombia who, like us, know first-hand the scourge
of terrorism. Although Afghanistan and Iraq currently receive more public
attention, our important partnership with Colombia is yet another front
in the war on terrorism, and remains a priority of this Administration.
With the support of the U.S. Congress, the Administration has devoted
considerable monetary resources and personnel to this effort.
Commitment
of President Uribe
The recent
visit of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, and President Bush's renewed
pledge to support him in his efforts against the narco-terrorists, underscore
the high value we place on our relationship and the importance of this
struggle.
Since taking
office, President Uribe has demonstrated unwavering commitment to countering
the narco-terrorists. In spite of at least 15 assassination attempts,
both before and after his election, he continues to implement policies
that will give Colombia back to Colombians.
During
his meetings in Washington April 30 to May 2, with the Executive Branch
and many members of this Caucus, President Uribe emphasized his commitment
to complete elimination of Colombia's coca crops by the end of his term
of office.
President
Uribe is an avid supporter of aerial eradication and alternative development
programs. During his tenure, eradication programs have reduced coca
cultivation by more than 15 percent and opium poppy production by 25
percent from 2001 levels. President Uribe is working to strengthen the
presence of the Colombian state and to ensure the primacy of the rule
of law and respect for human rights throughout Colombian territory.
He is also making the tough fiscal decisions that will allow him to
fund these policies and reforms. He has increased government security
expenditures for military and police activities from 3.50 of GDP in
2001 to a goal of 5.80 of GDP by the end of his term.
President
Uribe's national security strategy includes commitments to respect human
rights, to dedicate more resources to the Colombian Armed Forces, and
to reform the conscription laws to make military service universal and
fairer. He is eager to ensure the effectiveness of joint efforts with
the United States government to achieve our common goals in combating
narcotics trafficking and terrorism, and has proven an effective partner
in the war on terrorism. Since the lifting of the ban against extraditing
nationals in December 1997, Colombia has extradited more than 100 of
its nationals charged with high-level narcotics trafficking, drug-related
money laundering, hostage taking, and the murder of a retired New York
City policeman. We have no better extradition partner.
United
States Policy Toward Colombia
Beyond
the struggle against the narco-terrorists, there are broad and important
U.S. national interests in Colombia that include stability in the Andean
region, trade, immigration, human rights, humanitarian assistance, and
protection of the environment.
U.S. policy
toward Colombia supports the Colombian government's efforts to strengthen
its democratic institutions, promote respect for human rights and the
rule of law, intensify counter-narcotics efforts, foster socio-economic
development, address immediate humanitarian needs, and end the threats
to democracy posed by narcotics trafficking and terrorism. Our support
reinforces, but does not substitute for, the broader efforts of Colombian
government and society.
In implementing
these programs, the Administration and Congress increasingly came to
understand that the terrorist and narcotics problems in Colombia are
intertwined and must be dealt with as a whole. Working with Congress,
the Administration sought and Congress enacted new authorities in the
2002 Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 107-206) that would help
address this combined threat. These provisions were renewed in the FY
2003 Omnibus Appropriations Act (P.L. 108-7).
Since 2000,
the United States has provided Colombia with over $1.7 billion in economic,
humanitarian and security assistance to support these efforts, with
another $600 million appropriated for FY 2003.
The U.S.
counter-drug objective in Colombia is to reduce illegal drug production
and trafficking. We use both eradication and interdiction programs in
this effort. Through programs to eradicate coca leaf and opium poppy
and to interdict their movement and that of precursor supplies, cash
or final products, we expect to reduce the amount of cocaine and heroin
entering the United States. Maintaining effective demand reduction programs
will also be key.
Additional
pressure can be brought against the illegal drug industry by more effectively
controlling transportation corridors across the Andes that are used
to import chemicals, supplies and cash into the growing areas, or to
move illegal drug products out. If the drug-producing areas are isolated
from markets and necessary supplies, the costs and risks of moving narcotics
products will increase.
Interdiction
of cocaine and heroin at sea and in the air is another important element
of drug-market disruption. With U.S. assistance, technology, intelligence
support, and law-enforcement training, the Government of Colombia should
be able to increase pressure on drug warehousing sites and go-fast boat
movements, and increase seizures of cocaine and heroin.
Importantly,
as a result of the ongoing Colombian criminal justice reform, including
United States training of specialized task force units as well as prosecutors
and police, and the bilateral cases developed with U.S. law enforcement,
more and more seizures and arrests are leading to convictions and dismantling
of narco-terrorist organizations.
II. FY
2003 BUDGET
In 2003,
Congress funded $700 million of a requested $731 million for the Andean
Counterdrug Initiative account. Of that amount, more than $433 million
will go to Colombia, with $284 million for eradication/interdiction
support and $149.2 million for alternative development, support for
the rule of law, and institution building. Programs include the following:
The $284
million for eradication/interdiction will go towards support for the
Colombian military (pending the Secretary of State's certification that
the conditions in section 564(3) of the FY 2003 Foreign Operations Appropriations,
Act (P.L. 108-7) have been met), including its Army Counter Drug Brigade
(CD BDE) and Army Aviation. These funds will also support a renewed
Air Bridge Denial Program (after necessary legal steps and inter-agency
coordination are completed), coastal interdiction and continued support
for the Colombian National Police, to include aviation support and eradication
and interdiction programs.
Funding
for alternative development and institution-building ($149.2 million)
will fund programs which support the rule of law, such as the DOJ-supported
specialized task force units on Human Rights, Anti-Corruption, Money
Laundering/Asset Forfeiture and Narcotics, criminal code reform, judicial
and witness protection programs and prosecutorial and police training;
bomb squad; human rights reform and drug awareness and demand-reduction
projects; and the GOC "carabinero" program which will establish
permanent police stations and begin rural patrols in areas that have
no government presence and are under virtual control of drug-trafficking
and insurgent organizations. Funding is also targeted for USAID's "Support
for Democracy" and alternative development projects, and USAID
and PRM programs to support vulnerable groups and internally displaced
persons.
In addition,
Congress appropriated $34 million to the Andean Counterdrug Initiative
(ACI) in the FY 2003 Emergency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Act
(P.L. 108-11) for Colombia, and the Administration is allocating an
additional $37 million in FMF funding from the Supplemental. These funds
will go towards presidential security; bomb-squad support; increasing
police presence in remote areas; support for internally displaced persons;
and aerial eradication programs.
In FY 2003,
$93 million in regular FMF funding will support the infrastructure security
program for the area of the Cano-Limon pipeline and stop terrorist attacks
on this important source of revenue for Colombia. It will improve the
professionalism, technical competence and human rights performance of
the Colombian Armed Forces through a variety of military educational
training courses.
III. RETURNS
ON INVESTMENT
Our years
of effort, and the money that we have invested in Colombia, are beginning
to pay off. This year, we have turned the corner on coca and opium poppy
cultivation. Nationwide coca hectarage was down by more than 15 percent
in 2002 to 144,000 hectares, with additional declines in the first quarter
of 2003. Key southern coca cultivation (Putumayo/Caqueta) declined by
over 50 percent (82,300 to 40,550 hectares) in 2002. In the first five
months of 2003, we sprayed approximately 64,000 hectares of coca, well
on our way to meeting our goal of spraying all remaining coca this calendar
year. Opium poppy cultivation has likewise decreased, with a 25-percent
decline in 2002. The CNC estimates that there are currently 4,900 hectares
yearly (2,450 hectares counted twice to account for two distinct crops)
of opium poppy remaining. Our aim is to spray opium poppy three times
during calendar-year 2003. Through May, we have sprayed approximately
1,650 hectares of opium poppy, well on our way to meeting our target
of spraying all remaining opium poppy in 2003.
At the
same time, we have strengthened our commitment to pursuing an environmentally
sound aerial eradication program. In September 2002, the Department
switched to a more benign glyphosate formulation -- one with decreased
risk of eye irritation compared to the former mixture. We have evaluated
the toxicity of the spray mixture and have also increased environmental
training for our spray pilots, conducted toxicological reviews or medical
investigations of each health concern brought to the attention of the
Embassy, trained Colombian specialists who now conduct soil and water
analysis, and coordinated with the OAS in its long-term monitoring of
the spray program.
Beyond
the achievements in eradication, U.S. programs have helped strengthen
democratic institutions, protect human rights, assist internally displaced
persons, and foster socio-economic development. Specifically, we have
succeeded in the following areas:
-- deployment
of Colombia's first Counternarcotics Brigade which has moved aggressively
against drug labs and other illegal facilities and has expanded its
interdiction efforts beyond southern Colombia;
-- support
for the police Anti-Narcotics Directorate (DIRAN) which destroyed 61
HC1 labs and 401 coca-base labs in 2002, and seized thousands of kilos
of cocaine;
-- support
for police presence in rural areas, which has increased significantly
with the addition of permanent police units to 79 municipalities that
previously had no police presence;
-- over
22,000 families have benefited from the alternative development program;
-- 24,549
hectares of licit crops are being supported;
-- 16,673
hectares of illicit crops have been manually eradicated by alternative
development communities;
-- 31 Justice
and Coexistence Centers have been opened; these provide cost-effective
legal services to Colombians who have previously not enjoyed access
to the country's judicial system; over 1:6 million cases have been handled
by the centers;
-- USAID
programs have provided protection to 2,731 human rights activists, journalists
and union leaders;
-- USAID
has provided assistance to 774,601 Colombians displaced by violence;
-- USAID
is funding a program to rehabilitate former child soldiers, including
those captured by the army or those who have deserted from the illegal
armed groups. Some 733 children have received treatment, education and
shelter;
-- an Early
Warning System (EWS) is helping Colombia avert massacres and violations
of international humanitarian law; to date, over 194 warnings have identified
threats to communities across Colombia, and have resulted in 154 responses
by the military, police and/or relief agencies;
-- the
PRM bureau supports international and non-governmental organizations
working in Colombia that provide food, temporary shelter, basic health
and sanitation, education and other emergency humanitarian assistance
to displaced people. PRM also supports the dissemination of information
on international humanitarian law to the Colombian military and police,
local civilian authorities, and illegal armed groups;
-- DOJ-sponsored
justice-sector reform programs have helped the Government of Colombia
to reform its judicial system and strengthen local government capacity;
implement a comprehensive program to investigate and prosecute kidnapping
and extortion offenses; trained a cadre of professional prosecutors;
enhanced maritime enforcement capabilities; and improved witness and
judicial protection programs;
-- DOJ
support to the Prosecutor General's Office has helped in establishing
dedicated human rights satellite units arrayed throughout the country
to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of human rights abuses.
Additionally,
our focus on human rights is having an impact on Colombian institutions.
President Uribe is working to end collusion between the Colombian military
and the paramilitary AUC terrorist organization. Last year, 168 paramilitaries
were killed, 764 captured and 20 turned themselves in. In the past two
months, the GOC has increased its crackdown on illegal paramilitary
groups. In four major operations, Colombian security forces detained
an Army officer paramilitary collaborator, arrested a major paramilitary
leader and apprehended large groups of illegal combatants.
The Department
takes very seriously the human rights record of the Colombian military.
For example, on January 3, we suspended assistance to a Colombian Air
Force unit (CACOM-1) due to lack of responsiveness and progress on an
important human rights case. The suspension will remain effective until
the Colombian government provides a credible account of what occurred
at Santo Domingo and takes appropriate action consistent with the facts.
The State
Department carefully monitors the human rights record of the Colombian
Armed Forces. Pursuant to the "Leahy Amendment," we regularly
vet units of the security forces and do not provide assistance to units
for which there is credible evidence (as determined by the Secretary)
that they have committed gross violations of human rights.
In addition,
the Department is moving ahead toward rapid resumption of the Air Bridge
Denial program. The U.S. and Colombia have signed a bilateral agreement
which lays out the safety procedures for the program. Our goal is to
ensure that we have adequate procedures in place for the protection
of innocent life, while at the same time providing a credible deterrent
to aerial trafficking of drugs.
Recently,
a certification team visited Colombia to review whether the Colombians
would be able to discharge their responsibilities to operate the Air
Bridge Denial Program in accordance with the safety procedures agreed
upon between Colombia and the United States. If the team recommends
that Colombia's procedures meet the requirements of the bilateral agreement,
which would be a major step toward facilitating the initiation of the
program, Department officials will be on the Hill this week to seek
congressional advice. If the president signs a determination, the Air
Bridge Denial program can recommence. We are hoping this will happen
in the near future.
I would
like to note that we have achieved all this while conforming to the
limits on U.S. personnel in Colombia in connection with support of Plan
Colombia -- 400 U.S. civilian contractors and 400 U.S. military personnel
-- established by Congress.
If present
programs are sustained, then Plan Colombia's original goal of reducing
coca cultivation in Colombia by 50 percent by the end of 2006 should
be achieved. President Uribe has called for a more ambitious target:
eradication of all coca by the end of his term of office in 2006.
If these
eradication and interdiction objectives are achieved, we would expect
to see a major reduction in the amount of cocaine available for the
United States, with corresponding impacts on cocaine price and purity
in the U.S. market. Reductions in Colombian heroin availability might
not produce comparable effects because of the availability of heroin
supplies from other parts of the world.
IV. CHALLENGES
TO OUR PROGRAMS
In addition
to our success, many challenges also confront us in Colombia.
First and
foremost among these is safety of our personnel. The terrorist organizations
operating in Colombia are ruthless killers, and the aerial spray operations,
particularly of opium poppy, are perilous. This weekend, another spray
plane was destroyed when it hit a tree while spraying coca; fortunately,
the pilot survived. Recently, we lost a U.S.-citizen spray pilot during
low-level application of herbicide to opium poppy. There was no evidence
that the plane had been hit by ground fire; rather, it appears that
pilot error -- in the difficult terrain of the high Andes -- was the
cause of the crash.
This latest
tragedy brings to three the number of U.S.-citizen civilian State Department
pilot contractors who have died in Colombia since 1998. Two perished
on July 27, 1998, in an aviation accident when their T-65 aircraft crashed
during a training flight.
Colombia
is a high-risk assignment and the U.S. military personnel, U.S. civilian
contractors and the permanent and temporary U.S. government personnel
assigned to Colombia are well aware of this. Our personnel and official
facilities maintain a high state of alert, take every possible precaution,
and are very proactive in matters regarding safety. The Department continually
strives to improve the already-strong safety record of our spray program.
We are
currently instituting additional safety procedures, including improved
intelligence exchange, increased armed helicopter escorts, and joint
operations that employ Counter Drug Brigade ground troops on interdiction
operations in areas where increased hostile fire is expected.
V. THE
ROAD AHEAD
Full realization
of U.S. policy goals will require a concerted Colombian strategy and
effort -- backed by sustained U.S. assistance -- to establish control
over its national territory, eliminate narcotics cultivation and distribution,
end terrorism, and promote human rights and the rule of law. We urge
Members to support full funding of our 2004 budget request of $731 million,
of which $463 million is for Colombia.
This budget
reflects our continued support of the Uribe Administration's courageous
anti-narcotics and anti-terror agenda. The progress described earlier
needs to be cemented if we are to achieve our long-term goals of improvements
in all areas of Colombian life and reduction in illegal drug cultivation
and terrorism.
First,
we would stress that the Andean Counterdrug Initiative (ACI) is a regional
effort. It will require full support in Congress if it is to succeed.
Among the goals we have set for ourselves is to ensure that accomplishments
in Colombia do not reverse our gains in Bolivia or Peru. We also aim
to prevent spillover into Brazil, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela.
We are
making significant progress in our eradication efforts, but will require
continued support for eradication and alternative development in order
to eliminate remaining cultivation and replanting and to deter permanently
the coca growers from pursuing this illicit business. Our budget request
balances law enforcement with sustainable long-term development.
In Bolivia,
we need to provide the GOB with strong incentives to reinforce counter-narcotics
programs, particularly in light of increasing political pressure to
stop eradication and increase licit coca cultivation. In Peru, the democratic
government is experiencing unprecedented unrest and resistance in hardcore
coca-cultivation regions. We should not turn our backs on these partners
when they most need our political and financial support to cement earlier
eradication gains.
Specifically,
our 2004 ACI programs are intended to do the following:
-- Combat
illicit drugs and terrorism, defend human rights, promote economic,
social and alternative development initiatives, reform and strengthen
the administration of justice, and assist the internally displaced;
-- Enhance
counter-terrorism capability by providing advice, assistance, training
and equipment, and intelligence support to the Colombian Armed Forces
and the Colombian National Police through ongoing programs as well as
by implementing the new authorities and the pipeline protection program;
-- Promote
economic growth and development through support for market-based policies,
including negotiation of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA),
and implementation of the Andean Trade Preferences Act (ATPA) as amended
by the Andean Trade Program and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA);
-- Reduce
the production and trafficking of cocaine and heroin from Colombia by
strengthening counter-narcotics eradication programs; advise, train,
and assist counterdrug organizations and units; dismantle drug trafficking
organizations; disrupt the transportation of illegal drugs, precursor
and essential chemicals, trafficker supplies, and cash; address major
cultivation regions; and respond rapidly to shifts in cultivation regions;
eliminate any remaining coca and opium cultivation, to include replanting
of these crops;
-- Increase
institutional development, professionalization and enlargement of Colombian
security forces to permit the exercise of governmental authority throughout
the national territory while ensuring respect for human rights; and
-- Reform
and strengthen the criminal justice system by enhancing the capabilities
of the police investigators and prosecutors as the country moves in
transition from an inquisitorial to a more accusatorial system with
oral and open trials to increase effectiveness and build public confidence.
Along with
ACI funding, Colombia assistance will include $110 million in FMF funding,
to include maritime interdiction support -- a priority of President
Uribe and one that meshes with U.S. counter-narcotics goals.
VI. CONCLUSION
Finally,
I would like to thank you again for this opportunity to update you on
the status of our counter-narcotics policy and programs. The Administration
is committed to supporting the Uribe Administration and to working with
our other partners in the Andean region and beyond to stem the flow
of illicit narcotics into our country and to check the influence of
terrorist organizations wherever they reside.
These are
important and costly missions -- both in terms of financial and human
resources. But they are worthy missions which require the continued
support of our congressional partners. We thank you for the tremendous
support and counsel you have provided in the past, and look forward
to our continued partnership.
As of June
5, 2003, this document was also available online at http://usinfo.state.gov/admin/011/lef204.htm