25 November 2003
White House Hails Drop in Coca Cultivation in Bolivia, Peru
ONDCP warns that drug traffickers are looking for new markets
By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- New figures released by the U.S. government that show an overall drop in coca cultivation in Bolivia and Peru since 2002, combined with a drop in Colombian coca cultivation during the same period, demonstrate that "substantial progress" is being made within the Andean region to stop production of the crop used to make cocaine, says the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).
ONDCP said the new estimates show a net decrease of roughly 1,400 hectares of coca cultivation in Bolivia and Peru since 2002. The agency said that analysis of satellite imagery indicates that as of June 2003, Peru's coca cultivation encompassed 31,150 hectares -- 5,450 less than the 2002 level. Peru, according to the separate United Nations' "Global Illicit Drug Trends 2003" report, has achieved a reduction of about 60 percent in coca cultivation since 1995.
Bolivia's coca cultivation since 2002 covered 28,450 hectares, an increase of 4,050 hectares. The increase in Bolivia results from new cultivation in that country's Yungas region, said ONDCP.
On the matter of cocaine manufacture, as opposed to coca cultivation, the U.N. report said that "Of the three countries which supply the world's illicit cocaine [Bolivia, Peru and Colombia], Bolivia has now become an almost marginal source (less than one-tenth of world cocaine production)."
Because of Colombia's "extraordinary success in eradicating coca in the past year, cocaine traffickers are desperate for new havens for coca," said ONDCP Director John Walters. "They must not be allowed to exploit Peru or Bolivia, which have greatly reduced illicit cultivation in recent years."
Drug trafficking "inevitably brings crime, corruption, and political terror," Walters added. "Once the drug business takes over an area, no legitimate business can compete. Violence and lawlessness prevail until the drug business is driven away."
The U.S. State Department also has hailed the overall drop in coca production in the Andean region. But in a November 18 statement, the Department said that "eradication is only part" of the U.S. bilateral counter-drug strategy in Peru and Bolivia.
"Together, we are making major progress in both the interdiction of drugs and providing effective alternative development," the State Department said. "We will continue to work with the governments of Bolivia and Peru on the continued challenges" in order "to fight the production and flow of drugs."
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2003&m=November&x=20031125171408neerge0.6559107&t=usinfo/wf-latest.html
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