Press conference in Colombia by Barry McCaffrey, director, White House Office of National Drug Control policy, November 19, 2000

Press conference in Colombia by Barry McCaffrey, director, White House Office of National Drug Control policy, November 19, 2000
PRESS CONFERENCE
ONDCP DIRECTOR BARRY McCAFFREY
EL DORADO AIRPORT

BOGOTA, NOVEMBER 19, 2000

Opening Statement, Director McCaffrey:

With your permission I will begin with a few words in Spanish.

(In Spanish): Good afternoon. It's a pleasure for me to be here in Colombia again. Under Secretary [of State Thomas] Pickering and I are here to emphasize our strong support for Plan Colombia. During this visit we will meet with President Pastrana and his cabinet on important aspects of our support, including the Colombian economy, rural development and programs that address the criminal activity of the illicit drug trade.

With your permission I will continue in English.

(In English): Let me begin by thanking Ambassador Anne Patterson for her leadership and support for this visit. And let me also take note that our delegation which will arrive by separate transportation here today will include Under Secretary Tom Pickering; General Peter Pace, our four-star joint commander to support the southern region; NSC Principal Deputy Fred Rosa; my Principal Deputy for International Cooperation Bob Brown; Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Liaison activities, Randy Beers; and Deputy Director Hattie Babbit of USAID, as well as Assistant Secretary Koh for human rights issues.

We are here to listen. We are here to gain the viewpoints of senior officials of the Colombian government. We are here to ensure that the United States' policy is to remain committed inextricably to support Colombia during the coming years.

We look forward to a meeting with President Pastrana, in particular, and hearing his own views on how we can better support his efforts on both the peace process as well as the anti-drug efforts.

I am very grateful to Foreign Minister Guillermo Fernandez de Soto for allowing me the chance to talk to the Diplomatic Academy as well as representatives from several communities here in Colombia. That presentation tomorrow will be open to the press and I'll try to respond fully to questions.

I look forward to being able to listen again to the ideas of director María Ines Restrepo of Plante. She bears, of course, a huge responsibility for these massive funds we are bringing to bear on alternative economic programs.

We look forward to being able to listen to the ideas of Minister of Defense Ramirez, General Tapias and other senior officers of the Armed Forces.

I will have a chance again to meet and listen to the ideas of Plan Colombia Coordinator Gonzalo de Francisco, whose leadership has been so crucial in pulling together all aspects of this re-establishment of Colombian sovereignty in the south.

And I appreciate Ambassador Patterson arranging for me to have an opportunity to talk to the European Union ambassadors here in Colombia. I want to thank them for their attention during the Madrid conference in July of 2000 in which twenty-six countries and seven international institutions listened to how they can better support Colombia's future.

We are grateful that they pledged $871 million dollars to Colombia and there was an additional $88 million dollars pledged from the European Commission in October. It is clear that Colombia must not stand alone. This is not Colombia's problem. Or the United States' problem. Or Peru's. It is one affecting both the regional community and the global community.

I thank you for being allowed to make these opening remarks and I would be glad to respond to your interests.

Q: Bibiana Mercado, El Tiempo.

Good afternoon, Director McCaffrey. The question is the following: the U.S. delegation comes at a moment when the peace process with the FARC is stalled basically for two reasons -- one, because there is a national and international strategy to recognize the paramilitaries; and two, because they (the FARC) consider that U.S. involvement in the war is imminent, referring to Plan Colombia. General McCaffrey, you have just said that the U.S. will support Colombia's peace process. At this moment, however, Plan Colombia is interfering directly in the peace dialogue. Isn't this a contradiction? Isn't the U.S. interfering directly in the Colombian peace process?

DIRECTOR McCAFFREY: The problem is the money. Maybe it's five hundred million dollars, maybe it's 1.2 billion dollars. That's how much money goes from cocaine and heroin production into the FARC, the AUC and other criminal elements. These people recognize that bank robberies and kidnapping and extortion don't bring enough money. But 520 metric tons of cocaine and 8 metric tons of heroin does. It also brings the destruction of addiction to Colombian children and families, and corruption and violence directed at democratic institutions.

Plan Colombia hopefully will separate the drug money from these organizations. I think President Pastrana has been absolutely dedicated to peace. He has extended his hand to these people. I think that all of us who are friends of Colombia hope that they will soon choose to talk, not fight. Thank you for that question.

Q: Luis Guillermo Sanchez, Caracol Radio.

General McCaffrey, the Commander of the Colombia Army, General Jorge Mora Rangel, has said that the U.S. government is discriminating against Colombia Army officials. He says that the U.S. Embassy is making problems for Colombian Army officers when they request U.S. visas. The commander states that this is because NGOs are saying that they have violated human rights. Is this the reason, General McCaffrey, that members of the Colombian military are not granted U.S. visas?

DIRECTOR McCAFFREY: To specific visa problems I don't have an answer.

But let me say that first of all, General Mora is a soldier of great integrity and courage and Colombia is fortunate to have him in this position. The last time I saw him I told him that, on Colombian TV when there is a crisis, I see General Mora out with his soldiers. It's also my personal judgment, having watched the Colombian Armed Forces for many years, that they are committed to building an institution free of corruption and in support of human rights. And I think that commitment starts at the top.

Clearly, there are still problems. All of us must remain open to the inquiry of the international human rights community. All of us must remain open to the inquiry of the international media. But when I look at the record of allegations of human rights abuses, they are overwhelmingly the FARC, the ELN and the AUC. It's my own impression that the Colombian people have enormous confidence in the courage and integrity of the Colombian Armed Forces. Thank you for that question.

Q: Juan Luis Martinez, NTC Noticias.

General, good afternoon. John Jairo Velasquez Vasquez, known as "Popeye," who was one of the chiefs of Pablo Escobar's hit squad, has been in jail for the past ten years after surrendering to the Colombian justice. However, in a joint operation between the Colombian DAS and the DEA, it's been proven that he is continuing to send cocaine to Europe and the U.S. Because he has continued to commit crimes from jail, with a new group of drug traffickers, would the U.S. be interested in requesting his extradition to the U.S. in the next few days?

DIRECTOR McCAFFREY: All these questions of specific extradition should be a matter for the two Attorney Generals. It's not a theory, it's a case of an individual and Colombian and international law. So with your permission let me defer this legal question to the proper authorities. At the same time let me pay tribute to Colombian authorities who, it seems to me, have shown enormous moral courage on the matter of extradition. All of us are bound by the 1988 Vienna Convention on Illegal Drugs and I think Colombia should be proud of their record, under considerable duress from these criminal organizations, having re-instituted the rule of international law. Extradition is working. Thank you.

Q: Wilmer Corream, Agencia de Noticias.

General, good afternoon. What do you think of President Fujimori's resignation?

DIRECTOR McCAFFREY: I just learned of this on arrival here. I have been in the past a great admirer of what President Fujimori did for Peru. They accomplished miracles in the reduction of coca production in Peru, down more than 65 percent in four years; in the reduction of this terrible violence from the insanity of Sendero Luminoso, the MRTA, and other organizations. And I think President Fujimori bears great responsibility for those successes.

At the same time, the most precious aspect of a nation is its rule of law. It's the preservation of democracy -- something that this man, Montesinos, did such damage to. I hope in the coming months we'll see Peru return to the full exercise of its democratic rights. And I'm confident that will happen.

Thanks for the opportunity to share these ideas with you. And perhaps I'll see some of you tomorrow. Buenos dias.

As of November 21, 2000, this document was also available online at http://usinfo.state.gov/admin/011/lef101.htm