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U.S Policy Regarding Narcotics Control in Colombia Hearing Caucus on International Narcotics Control United States Senate

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U.S Policy Regarding Narcotics Control in Colombia Hearing Caucus on International Narcotics Control United States Senate S. HRG. 108–236 U.S POLICY REGARDING NARCOTICS CONTROL IN COLOMBIA HEARING BEFORE THE CAUCUS ON INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION JUNE 3, 2003 Printed for the use of the Committee on Narcotics ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 87–649 PDF WASHINGTON : 2004 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 03-FEB-2003 11:09 Jan 14, 2004 Jkt 087649 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 D:\NARC\87649.TXT SSC2 PsN: SSC2 SENATE CAUCUS ON INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL IN COLOMBIA ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION Charles E. Grassley, Iowa, Chairman Joseph R. Biden, Delaware, Co-Chair JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama BOB GRAHAM, Florida MIKE DeWINE, Ohio DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California NORM COLEMAN, Minnesota ERIC J. AKERS, Staff Director MARCIA LEE, Minority Staff Director (II) VerDate 03-FEB-2003 11:09 Jan 14, 2004 Jkt 087649 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 D:\NARC\87649.TXT SSC2 PsN: SSC2 C O N T E N T S Page Hearing held on June 3, 2003 ................................................................................. 1 STATEMENTS Grassley, Hon. Charles E., U.S. Senator from Iowa ............................................. 1 Biden, Hon. Joseph R., U.S. Senator from Delaware, prepared statement ........ 1 DeWine, Hon. Mike, U.S. Senator from Ohio ........................................................ 3 Sessions, Hon. Jeff, U.S. Senator from Alabama .................................................. 43 WITNESSES Santos-Calderon, Hon. Francisco, Vice President, Republic of Colombia, Bogota´, Colombia .................................................................................................. 4 Prepared sattement .......................................................................................... 14 Simons, Paul E., Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau for International Nar- cotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC. and J. Curtis Struble, Acting Assistant Secretary for Western Hemi- sphere Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC. ........................... 19 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 21 Struble, J. Curtis, Acting Assistant Secretary of State, Western Hemisphere Affairs, prepared statement ................................................................................ 27 Hill, James T., Commander, U.S. Army, Miami, Florida; accompanied by Marshall Billingslea, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, U.S. Depart- ment of Defense, Washington, DC. ..................................................................... 28 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 29 Ford, Jess T., Director, International Affairs and Trade, U.S. General Ac- counting Office, Washington, DC. ....................................................................... 53 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 55 McLean, Phillip, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director, The Americas Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC. .................. 65 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 67 SUBMITTED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Responses by J. Curtis Struble and Paul Simons to Questions Submitted by: .......................................................................................................................... Hon. Joseph Biden ............................................................................................ 73 Hon. Charles Grassley ..................................................................................... 78 Colombia Hearing Questions Submitted (Classified Answers Retained in Com- mittee files) to: ..................................................................................................... DoD .................................................................................................................... 82 Jess Ford, GAO ................................................................................................. 83 Phillip McLean, CSIS ....................................................................................... 83 General Hill from Senator Biden .................................................................... 83 State Department ............................................................................................. 84 (III) VerDate 03-FEB-2003 11:09 Jan 14, 2004 Jkt 087649 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 D:\NARC\87649.TXT SSC2 PsN: SSC2 VerDate 03-FEB-2003 11:09 Jan 14, 2004 Jkt 087649 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 D:\NARC\87649.TXT SSC2 PsN: SSC2 U.S. POLICY REGARDING NARCOTICS CONTROL IN COLOMBIA TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 2003 U.S. SENATE, CAUCUS ON INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL, Washington, DC. The Caucus met, pursuant to notice, at 9:32 a.m., in room SD– 215, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Charles E. Grassley, Chairman of the Caucus, presiding. Present: Senators Grassley, DeWine, and Sessions. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, U.S. SENATOR FROM IOWA Chairman GRASSLEY. I thank everybody for their patience, al- though everybody is here on time and we are able to get started. I particularly want to acknowledge a lot of people who have come a long distance, obviously, the leadership of our friend, the country of Colombia, coming so far, as well as our people here in the United States who are so integrally involved coming from Florida and else- where. Just in case our ranking minority member, Mr. Biden, is not able to be here, he asked that I would put a statement in the record for him and we will do that. But if he is able to come and he wants some time for his opening, I will obviously be very happy to give it to him. [The prepared statement of Senator Biden follows:] PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., U.S. SENATOR FROM DELAWARE Mr. Chairman, thank you for calling this hearing today to examine U.S. policy in Colombia. We are honored to be joined by Vice President Francisco Santos. The Vice Presi- dent knows all too well the price that Colombia has paid in its three-front war against drug traffickers, left-wing guerrillas, and right-wing paramilitaries. He was held hostage for nearly 8 months by the Medillı´n cartel in 1990—and he has re- ceived numerous death threats from the FARC. The people of Colombia live with a level of violence that Americans cannot com- prehend; the bravery that Vice President Santos and his colleagues in government have demonstrated in the face of that danger is inspiring. Three years ago, we renewed our commitment to the Andean region, providing funding for Plan Colombia, as well as for counter-narcotics programs in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela and Brazil. Since then, we have provided over two billion dollars in assistance to Colombia to combat the drug trade and restore the rule of law. We have a duty to help in this effort because it is America’s seemingly insatiable demand for narcotics that has helped fuel the drug trade. We are beginning to see some results. Last year, there was a 15 percent decrease in coca cultivation and a 25 percent decrease in opium poppy cultivation. This re- (1) VerDate 03-FEB-2003 11:09 Jan 14, 2004 Jkt 087649 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 D:\NARC\87649.TXT SSC2 PsN: SSC2 2 duced supply has led to a modest decrease in purity of both cocaine and heroin on the streets of the United States. There is still a long way to go, but this progress is encouraging. Unfortunately, we had a setback elsewhere in the Andean region, with coca cul- tivation increasing by 8 percent in Peru and 23 percent in Bolivia in 2002. We must do more to help Colombia’s neighbors guard against the so-called ‘‘balloon effect’’. And to successfully counter the drug trade in the entire region, we must have a three-pronged strategy: eradication, interdiction, and alternative economic opportu- nities. Several other elements of our policy in Colombia bear emphasis. First, human rights. According to the most recent State Department report, in 2002: ‘‘The [Colombian] Government’s human rights record remained poor . A small percentage of total human rights abuses reported were attributed to State security forces; however, some members of the government security forces con- tinued to commit serious abuses, including unlawful and extrajudicial killings. Some members of the security forces collaborated with paramilitary groups that committed serious abuses. Impunity remained at the core of the country’s human rights problems.’’ I know that the Vice President, and President Uribe are committed to improving human rights. But the message is still not getting through to all levels of the mili- tary. We need to see more improvements. Second, last year Congress changed the law to allow Colombia to use equipment we have provided for other than counter-narcotics purposes. This recognizes the re- ality that Colombia’s illegal groups are all involved in the drug trade. But we must be sure that this change in authority does result in a major change in focus: our priority must continue to be fighting the drug trade. Finally, we must make sure that our other commitments abroad do not distract us from our promise to help Colombia
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