Statement by Rep. Porter Goss (R-Florida), July 8, 2003

Statement by Rep. Porter Goss (R-Florida), July 8, 2003

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to contribute to this evening's Special Order commemorating the third anniversary of Plan Colombia.

As Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, I wanted to discuss the significant and measurable progress that has been made in the past 3 years in Colombia on a variety of fronts as a product of improved coordination and bilateral cooperation between the governments of Colombia and the United States.

Four years ago, the security situation within Colombia was extremely unstable--some were saying than that Colombia was unraveling into a failed state where the national government exercised control of less than 50 percent of its territory. Leftist guerrillas from the FARC and the ELN and rightist paramilitary groups were growing rapidly and expanding their reach throughout much of Colombia. These terrorist groups were financed by the surge in cocaine and heroin production in the unsecured areas of Colombia as well as by other widespread criminal activities, such as mass kidnappings, extortion, murder for hire, and money laundering. The rule of law in much of Colombia during that time was uncertain at best; judges, public defenders, prosecutors, and police were being terrorized and killed at unprecedented rates. The political, economic and security future of Colombia was clearly and increasingly at stake.

Given Colombia's economic and political importance as a major democratic ally within our Hemisphere, it was critical that Colombia and its friends jointly develop and fund an effort to enhance Colombia's security, strengthen the

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rule of law, interdict and eradicate narcotic crops, and grow its economy. During the past 3 years, the Plan Colombia initiative has provided a comprehensive strategy to reassert government control of Colombia's territory as well as to restore public confidence in the viability of Colombia's democratic institutions. Since the inauguration of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe in August 2002, the Colombian Government has stepped up its implementation of a wide variety of Plan Colombia programs affecting narcotics eradication and interdiction, enhanced law enforcement and other security-related measures, and alternative development efforts.
A recent United Nations study estimates that Colombian coca production has been reduced by 40 percent since Plan Colombia was begun. With the strong support of President Uribe and improved mobility and capacity of Colombia's military and police forces, there is an excellent opportunity in 2003 for our bi-national coca eradication program to eradicate 100 percent of Colombia's coca production zones, an area that encompasses over 150,000 hectares. While this is very good news in the short term, our two

governments will have to pursue this nationwide eradication and interdiction strategy for at least the next several years as coca growers are forced out of their illegal business and the Colombian Government is able to establish a stable and effective security presence in numerous coca production zones across Colombia.

While the coca eradication trends show promise, I am concerned that insufficient attention has been given to developing and implementing an effective strategy to locate and eradicate Colombia's opium poppy crop. Our latest U.S. Government poppy crop data estimates that Colombia produced 14.2 metric tons of export quality heroin in 2002; virtually all of this Colombian heroin was exported to the United States and represented the large majority of all heroin consumed by Americans in 2002.

Despite the clear statutory direction and funding guidance in both Plan Colombia and in related Congressional authorizations and appropriations measures during the past 5 years, our bilateral effort against Colombian heroin has been so far insufficient. Given the lethal effects of the heroin trade on both our countries, this key element of Plan Colombia demands senior-level attention by both governments, appropriate resources, and the application of a new, more effective mix of eradication and interdiction technologies to locate and kill the opium poppy on the 12,000-15,000 hectares where it has been grown in Colombia's high Andes mountains.

Plan Colombia has registered some notable successes in the past 3 years. We need to stay committed to this important fight with our Colombian allies--not just for our national security, but for the safety of countless Americans who are threatened by the linkages between narco-trafficking and international terrorism. We need to redouble our efforts to stem the production and export of heroin and coca from Colombia, which harm and kill thousands of Colombians and Americans every year.

I commend the leadership of Speaker HASTERT in this important national security initiative. It was his foresight and concerted effort that has brought us this far. I look forward to working with the Speaker on this effort, and continuing to build upon the success of Plan Colombia as it enters its fourth year.

As of July 9, 2003, this document was also available online at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/B?r108:@FIELD(FLD003+h)+@FIELD(DDATE+20030708)