Speech by Rep. Sonny Callahan (R-Alabama), July 24, 2001

Speech by Rep. Sonny Callahan (R-Alabama), July 24, 2001
Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

I rise, Mr. Chairman, to enter into a colloquy with the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. KOLBE), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations of the Committee on Appropriations.

Specifically, I would like to discuss with him the excellent effort Bolivia has made on the war on drugs. We have heard a lot of talk about the nonsuccesses with some of our drug programs in South America and Central America, but the success story in Bolivia is unparalleled.

As the distinguished chairman knows, as a part of a cooperative effort with the United States and other nations of the Andean region, in 1997, Bolivia instituted its 5-year antidrug plan, the so-called ``Dignity Plan.'' When the plan was initiated, Bolivia was the second major producer of coca in the world. There were 45,800 hectares of coca plants in Bolivia. But in the 3 years the plan has been in existence, the Bolivian government has conducted more than 16,900 drug interdiction operations. It has destroyed more than 4,000 cocaine labs; it has arrested some 14,400 individuals implicated in narco-trafficking; it has seized more than 50,000 kilos of cocaine. From 1997 to August 2000, 43 tons of drugs have been seized in Bolivia, including 1.4 million tons of liquid substances and 1 ton of solid chemical substances.

In short, Bolivia has been a full partner to the United States in its war on drugs. It has focused both on eradication and interdiction, even though the effort has caused severe problems for the Bolivian economy and for the Bolivian people. Therefore, I hope the chairman will do all he can to see that Bolivia is fully funded in fiscal year 2002. It is critical that Bolivia be provided the necessary resources to sustain its progress and not to become a victim of its success. It must have the ability to make the necessary investments to enable its economy to handle the effects of illegal drug traffic.

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