21 September 1999
Text: Pentagon Official Brian Sheridan Testifies on Colombia
(DoD assistance to maintain "sole focus" on anti-drug efforts) (2560)
Pentagon assistance to Colombia will maintain its "sole focus" on
counterdrug support and "under no circumstances will U.S. military
personnel participate or accompany Colombian forces engaged in
operations of any sort," Department of Defense (DoD) official Brian
Sheridan told members of the U.S. Senate September 21.
Sheridan, the DoD Coordinator for Drug Enforcement Policy, told the
Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control that the Pentagon
applauds and supports the "Plan Colombia" developed by the government
of President Andres Pastrana, but stressed that the plan is an
"independent initiative" and that the United States will be playing a
"supporting role."
He also stressed that U.S. support will continue to be contingent upon
the human rights monitoring overseen by the State Department -- "an
area on which the Colombian military has been placing greater emphasis
and achieving significant results."
Following is the text of Sheridan's testimony as prepared for
delivery:
(begin text)
Honorable Brian E. Sheridan, Department of Defense Coordinator for
Drug Enforcement Policy and Support United States Senate Caucus on
International Narcotics Control,
21 September 1999
Statement for the record
Senator Grassley, as always it is an honor to appear before this
caucus to discuss the Department of Defense's role in United States
counterdrug activities as well as how these national activities
support our national security interests. I particularly welcome the
opportunity to address these issues in conjunction with General
Wilhelm and Mr. Rand Beers from the State Department. I also want to
thank the members of the caucus for their support and interest in the
Department's counterdrug program. Congressional support is critical to
ensuring progress is made in our struggle against illicit narcotics,
especially cocaine. Colombia continues to be the world's leading
producer and distributor of cocaine, and over the past two years has
seen an explosive growth in cultivation. The importance of the
connection between Colombia, cocaine, and the U.S. drug problem cannot
be dismissed easily from our minds. The sad fact is that Americans
spend thirty-eight billion dollars each year on cocaine. Yet, the
threat posed by narco-traffickers in Colombia extends not only to
American lives but also to the national security of the U.S. Congress
recognized this threat when it passed legislation in 1989 directing
the Department of Defense to aid in the war against drugs. In this
light, the Department has actively pursued a strategy that not only
addresses the on-going drug threat, but in fact has taken steps to
address the changing drug trafficking patterns.
Evolution of the Threat
The drug trafficking threat from Colombia has changed significantly
from the early 1990s to today. In the early 1990s, Colombian labs
processed most of the world's cocaine HCL. Peru on the other hand was
the major coca cultivator. For example, in 1993, Peru produced
approximately 450 metric tons, that is, more than sixty percent of the
world's coca. Since aircraft are the most efficient way to move tons
of HCL, the coca base was moved from Peru to Colombia for processing
by approximately 1,000 aircraft flights per year. After, processing in
southeast Colombia, the traffickers would then fly the cocaine from
southeastern Colombia to Colombia's north and west coasts for
transshipment to the U.S.
Today the picture is different. Colombian labs continue to process
most of the world's cocaine HCL and the airbridge from the interior of
the country to the northern and western coasts is still in use.
However, thanks to Peru's aggressive air-interdiction operations,
combined with an efficient coca eradication program, coca cultivation
in Peru has declined by fifty-six percent since 1995, to under 250
metric tons in FY98.
On the other hand, Colombian coca growth is surging. It is estimated
that more than 200 metric tons will be produced in Colombia this year,
doubling over the past few years. This recent explosion in coca
production in Colombia can be attributed to the successful air-bridge
interdiction efforts in Peru, which hampered the traffickers' ability
to move large quantities of coca base into Colombia. Consequently,
Colombian cocaine producers spurred farmers to develop new fields,
primarily in the southwestern region of Putumayo, and plant higher
yield coca crops. Despite an aggressive U.S./Colombia aerial coca
eradication program, coca cultivation continues to increase.
The threat in Colombia is further amplified by the growing
relationship between the narcotraffickers and guerilla/para-military
units. These anti-government forces have leveraged their way into the
illegal drug trade to finance their violent and inhuman actions which
wreak havoc on the general population, hampering further democratic
and economic development of the country as a whole. A strong Colombian
counternarcotics effort, which significantly diminishes the financial
base of the guerilla and para-military units, would help to provide
the firm foundation for further democratic and economic growth
throughout Colombia.
The government of Colombia, under the leadership of President
Pastrana, is actively developing a comprehensive strategy to
coordinate the conternarcotics activities of its combined forces. We
applaud this independent initiative and look forward to playing a
supporting role in order to assist further the Government of Colombia
in reaching its strategic goals. However, it should be clearly
understood, that Department assistance will maintain its sole focus on
counterdrug support, and that any new initiatives will retain that
focus. U.S. military personnel will continue to serve, as they have
for many years, as trainers in Colombia. Under no circumstances will
U.S. military personnel participate or accompany Colombian forces
engaged in operations of any sort. This is very much a continuation of
current Department policy....there are no changes here. Furthermore,
U.S. support will continue to be contingent upon the human rights
vetting process overseen by the State Department -- an area on which
the Colombian military has been placing greater emphasis and achieving
significant results.
DoD's Role in Counterdrug Activities in Colombia
For six years, counterdrug operations in the cocaine producing regions
in South America have served as the focus of this administration's
supply reduction programs. The dramatic success of the Peru air
interdiction program serves as an example of the merit of this
approach. Consistent with this source zone focus, the Department of
Defense developed a Colombian strategy designed to attack the
Colombian portion of the cocaine threat. The Departments integrated
Colombian strategy consists of four strategic efforts. These efforts
form a responsive, flexible and integrated interagency campaign that
engages the narco-trafficker across the whole spectrum of the illegal
narcotics trade. Let me briefly describe the Department's integrated
Colombian strategy, General Wilhelm will more fully develop the
operational perspective.
Air
The Department's air interdiction effort recognizes that the air
movement of cocaine within Colombia is key to the cocaine trade and is
vulnerable. Consequently, the administration is focusing on means to
deny air transportation from the production regions in the south and
east to debarkation points along the Caribbean and Pacific coasts.
While there are several elements to developing a productive
counterdrug aerial interdiction program, the Puerto Rico Relocatable
Over the Horizon Radar (ROTHR) and the modernization of the Colombian
Air Forces' A-37 aircraft are key. The Puerto Rico ROTHR will provide
the critical air surveillance and cueing necessary for the
interception of illegal flights. The Department of Defense, along with
the State Department, has embarked on a in multi-year initiative to
up-grade Colombian A-37s, which will enhance their air intercept
capability and improve overall readiness. In FY99, the Department will
spend slightly over five million dollars upgrading Colombian aerial
platforms used for interdiction and an additional two million dollars
on A-37 training for Colombian pilots.
Riverine
The second strategic effort, riverine interdiction, resulted from the
congressionally authorized program to acquire equipment needed to
develop and support counterdrug riverine operations in Colombia, with
a parallel initiative in Peru. This counterdrug program became
necessary due to the concern that drug traffickers would react to the
successful Peruvian air interdiction efforts by shifting to smuggling
routes that utilized the vast Amazon River network. Furthermore, the
rivers provide vital thoroughfares for the movement of essential
processing chemicals. Colombia currently fields 18 counterdrug
Riverine Combat Elements (RCEs) made up of four boats each. The
eventual goal is to deploy a total of 45 RCEs. In FY99, the Department
will spend almost five million dollars on boats and equipment for the
counterdrug riverine program and an addition two and one-half million
dollars for riverine infrastructure development. The Department will
also provide riverine training to select units of the Colombian navy,
at a cost of two million dollars in FY99.
Ground
U.S. Southern Command's support of the formation of the Colombian
counterdrug battalion constitutes the Department's primary element in
the ground interdiction effort. U.S. Southern Command is currently
training and providing non-lethal equipment for the battalion, which
will be stationed at Tres Esquinas. The training of professional
Colombian soldiers began in April 1999 and field exercises are
scheduled to be completed in December of this year. All of the select
soldiers in the counterdrug battalion have been screened for human
rights compliance, in accordance with section 8130 of the Department
of Defense Appropriation Act for FY99. This battalion will participate
in joint military/Colombian National Police (CNP) counterdrug
interdiction and endgame operations in the drug producing regions of
Colombia. Approximately seven million dollars will be expanded in FY99
and FYOO in support of the counterdrug battalion.
To further enhance counterdrug interdiction operations, the Department
is supporting an interagency effort to establish a Colombian Joint
Intelligence Center (JIC) which will be collocated with the
counterdrug battalion at Tres Esquinas. This center is ideally located
in close proximity to one of the major coca growing regions in
southern Colombia. The Colombian JIC personnel will be trained and all
of the selected soldiers will be screened for human rights compliance,
in accordance with section 8130 of the Department of Defense
Appropriation Act for FY99. Information disseminated from the JIC will
focus joint interdiction operations executed by' the CNP and
supporting elements of the Colombian military.
Maritime
The fourth strategic effort, maritime interdiction, is designed to
increase support to the Colombian maritime forces that combat
traffickers who move their drugs via boats and fishing vessels through
the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific transit zones. U.S. Navy ships and
aircraft, in conjunction with U.S Coast Guard and U.S. Customs Service
assets, patrol the region, passing valuable information to Colombian
end-game forces positioned along the coast. These efforts are
coordinated through the Joint Interagency Task Force in Key West,
Florida.
Regional Systems and Programs
These four strategic efforts are supported by numerous Department
systems and programs that provide cueing information for follow-on
ground, aerial and maritime interdiction efforts in Colombia and
throughout the source nation region. Critical counterdrug systems
include ground based radar systems; Re-locatable Over The Horizon
Radar (ROTHR) systems; P-3 Maritime Patrol Aircraft, including the
Counter Drug Unit (CDU) variant; and airborne early warning aircraft
such as AWACS and the E-2 that support the interagency's air
interdiction effort, fulfilling the Department's Detection and
Monitoring (D&M) mission. The U.S. Army's Airborne Reconnaissance Low
aircraft and Tactical Analysis Teams programs play pivotal roles in
the effort to collect, analyze, and distribute critical intelligence
information to CNP and military units engaged in counterdrug
operations in the field. These supporting systems and related programs
are part of a total Department source nation effort of approximately
two-hundred and forty seven million dollars in FY99, much of which has
been directed towards the Colombian drug threat.
The final element that is instrumental to the success of the
Department's overall assistance program is the full establishment of
the planned Forward Operating Locations (FOL). These FOLs support
counterdrug operations that had previously staged out of Howard Air
Force Base in Panama. The importance of the Department's counterdrug
support operations and the need for a forward-staged U.S. presence to
sustain them led Southern Command to develop the current FOL concept.
The FOL concept seeks to take advantage of existing airport facilities
owned and operated by host nations that are made available under
bilateral agreements. Indeed, the concept has already proven its value
as U.S. aircraft have continued their detection and monitoring
missions on an interim basis from the newly established FOLs in
Curacao/Aruba and from Ecuador. The value of U.S. military presence
options afforded by FOLs for this mission, specifically the additional
location at Manta, Ecuador which is geographically ideal to support
D&M missions in southern Colombia, cannot be overstated. We need your
support to develop these FOLs fully in order to execute the
Department's congressionally directed D&M mission in the Southern
Hemisphere.
DoD's Role in non-Operational Activities in Colombia
The first U.S.-Colombia Defense Bilateral Working Group (BWG) meeting
took place in March of this year in Bogota, Colombia. This BWG proved
to be an important milestone in our bilateral relationship as we
broadened our discussion to include several topics, including human
rights, military justice reform, and military institutional reform as
well as counternarcotics issues. The Colombians were pleased with
their interaction with the broad range of Department representatives
at the BWG. Both the General Policy and Modernization/Proliferation
subworking groups addressed such areas as military justice reform and
disaster relief, on which we will work cooperatively over the next few
months. The Counternarcotics Working Group also identified several
areas for further exploration. Finally, the Defense Ministry,
recognizing that its military may not be optimally structured to
address the current threat, is studying far-reaching reforms that
would streamline the military command structure and improve
inter-service coordination.
With respect to human rights, there have been measurable Colombian
improvements across the board. According to the State Department's
Human Rights Reports for the last several years, military involvement
in human rights violations has dropped dramatically, from half the
total in 1993 to less than three percent last. year. The Colombian
Army has begun to take steps to discipline officers accused of links
to the paramilitary groups. These paramilitary groups are credited
with the largest percentage of human rights violations in Colombia.
The Colombian Congress has also passed a military justice reform bill.
This new law will require military personnel accused of human rights
violations to stand trial in civilian courts, and it is expected to be
signed into law by President Pastrana shortly.
Conclusion
We face a difficult challenge in Colombia. As in the past, the
Department will continue to focus on supporting a coordinated
interdiction capability that impacts the entire drug cultivation,
production and transportation on process. The establishment of the
Colombian Joint Intelligence Center and the fielding of the
Counterdrug battalion will allow engagement of the critical Putumayo
coca growing area and cocaine producing laboratories. The riverine
program will furnish Colombia with the capability to engage river
smuggling activity effectively. Further, U.S. programs are in place
for effective air interdiction. Support of north coast maritime
operations will ensure that go-fast boats used for drug smuggling are
impeded in their routes. Lastly, the newly formed military bilateral
exchange provides a mechanism for potent U.S.-Colombian cooperation
and program development. Even with these initiatives, there is,
however, no near-term solution. Success will be achieved as a result
of the coordinated, flexible and sustained strategic efforts directed
against all facets of the drug trade in Colombia -- cultivation,
production, and transit. With congressional support I am confident
that the Department will continue to play an appropriate supporting
role in the U.S. counterdrug effort in Colombia.
(end text)
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