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<font size=3>U.S. DRUG REPORT: A POLITICAL WEAPON<br>
<a href="http://www.rethinkvenezuela.com/downloads/Drugs%20in%20the%20Andes.htm" eudora="autourl">
http://www.rethinkvenezuela.com/downloads/Drugs%20in%20the%20Andes.htm<br>
<br>
<br>
</a>Venezuela, Bolivia, and the Fight Against Drugs<br><br>
On September 16th 2008, less than a week after Bolivian President Evo
Morales declared US Ambassador Philip Goldberg “persona non grata” on the
grounds that he helped foment political divisions in Bolivia, the Bush
White House released its annual list of <b>Major Drug Transit or Major
Illicit Drug Producing Countries. </b>For the first time, Bolivia was
designated as having “failed demonstrably” over the past year to combat
drug trafficking. According to the so-called “Majors List,” only Bolivia,
Venezuela, and Burma failed to meet their international obligations in
the fight against drugs, with Venezuela and Bolivia cited mainly for
cocaine trafficking. <br><br>
Venezuela has been on the Majors List for the last four years, despite
having achieved the fourth largest number of cocaine seizures of any
country in the world.<a name="_ednref1"></a>[i] In early September,
INTERPOL praised Venezuela and the officials of its National Anti-Drug
Agency for their capture of an internationally wanted Colombian drug lord
and his accomplice.<a name="_ednref2"></a>[ii]<br><br>
Bolivia has also earned the praise of the international community in
recent months. The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, in its 2008
World Drug Report, notes that current coca cultivation in Bolivia remains
“well under annual totals during the early and mid
1990s.”<a name="_ednref3"></a>[iii] <i>Time Magazine</i> confirmed
Bolivia’s anti-drug success, pointing out that “coca cultivation is under
control and drug trafficking interdiction is
up.”<a name="_ednref4"></a>[iv]<br><br>
Data cited by the UN demonstrates ongoing efforts by Bolivia and
Venezuela to fight drug trafficking, and directly contradicts the claim
made by the White House that these countries failed to meet
international standards. Experts have highlighted this discrepancy.
“I’m not at all surprised because the drug certification process has been
so tainted and archly politicized,” said Larry Birns, Executive Director
of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs in Washington,
DC.<a name="_ednref5"></a>[v] <br><br>
Indeed, the decision to blacklist Bolivia and Venezuela demonstrates the
Bush administration’s patent disregard for facts in its quest to demonize
the governments of these two countries. In addition, it calls into
question the wisdom of U.S. drug policy, which sponsors failed
eradication programs abroad while doing little to reduce the huge demand
for illicit drugs within its own borders.<br><br>
HISTORICAL CONTEXT<br><br>
Analyses of the question of drugs in Latin America too often pass
over the historical context of the region. In the Andes, the cultivation
and consumption of coca leaves dates back over 4,000 years to the
pre-Columbian civilizations. Coca leaves are chewed and used in spiritual
and social settings, as well as for medicinal purposes in herbal teas and
poultices.<a name="_ednref6"></a>[vi] Communities have continued to rely
on this traditional crop to help cope with the extreme environmental
conditions in which they live, particularly the high altitudes.<br><br>
Given the legitimate uses of the coca leaf and the historical importance
of this plant in the Andean region, the use of coca-bush eradication as
the primary means to limit cocaine production is misguided and
ineffective. As part of its “War on Drugs,” the U.S. strongly promotes
coca eradication in Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia – the three countries
which produce the vast majority of the world’s cocaine.<br><br>
In 2007, global potential cocaine production reached 994 metric tons
(mt), with 600 mt, 60% of total production, coming from Colombia,
followed by 290 mt from Peru, and 104 mt from Bolivia. Colombia, the
country with the largest cocaine production in the world, saw a 27%
increase in coca cultivation between 2006 and 2007, despite full
cooperation with the DEA through Plan Colombia, a counter-narcotics
program in which the U.S. has invested nearly $5 billion over eight
years.<a name="_ednref7"></a>[vii] Meanwhile, Peru and Bolivia saw much
smaller increases in cultivation, just 4% and 5%
respectively.<a name="_ednref8"></a>[viii] Despite massive U.S. spending
on Plan Colombia, the initiative has largely failed due to its emphasis
on aerial spraying and other ineffective eradication techniques. In 2007,
coca eradication in Colombia simply led to the crop being planted in
other parts of the country.<br><br>
BOLIVIA<br><br>
President Evo Morales of Bolivia has in recent years garnered media
attention for advocating the legitimate uses of the coca leaf and the
right of farmers to grow the crop for traditional reasons. However, he
has not been the first Bolivian leader to do this. At a World Health
Organization Assembly in 1992, then President Paz Zamora noted that “coca
is an Andean tradition while cocaine is a Western
habit.”<a name="_ednref9"></a>[ix] <br><br>
In 2006, after President Morales was elected, Bolivia destroyed
significantly more coca maceration pits and coca processing laboratories
(both used to create cocaine), than in previous
years.<a name="_ednref10"></a>[x] While the Bush administration accuses
Bolivia of failing to fight drugs, the 2008 UN World Drug Report makes
clear that cocaine seizures are actually on the rise in
Bolivia.<a name="_ednref11"></a>[xi] Seizures of cocaine in Bolivia have
risen from 14 tons in 2006 to 17 tons in 2007, meanwhile, Peru and
Colombia conducted fewer seizures.<a name="_ednref12"></a>[xii] <br><br>
There has been a significant increase in targeted coca eradication in
Bolivia; between 2006 and 2007, the amount of coca crops destroyed went
from 12,528 acres to 15,491 acres.<a name="_ednref13"></a>[xiii] Still,
President Morales has promoted the industrialization of legitimate
coca-based products, such as tea, medicine, shampoo, and cookies.
<br><br>
President Morales has been successful in limiting coca crops grown for
illicit use while permitting limited cultivation for legitimate use in
small 1600-square meter plots called <i>catos</i>. This policy has been
successful in large part due to the cooperation of coca growers.
Elmerjildo Chávez, a coca grower from the Yungas region, said, “we make
sure no one is growing too much, and that our coca is being sold to
people who sell it for traditional uses and not for cocaine.” By
monitoring crop tallies and buyer licenses, coca grower unions are able
to limit how much of the plant is being produced, while making sure that
the coca leaves are sold for legitimate
purposes.<a name="_ednref14"></a>[xiv]<br><br>
VENEZUELA<br><br>
Quite different from the case of Bolivia is that of Venezuela, a country
that does not produce cocaine but is vulnerable to drug trafficking
because of its geographic positioning between the world’s largest
producer – Colombia – and its largest consumer – the U.S.<br><br>
In order to address these circumstances, Venezuela’s counter-narcotics
efforts have been aggressive, making it the country with the fourth
largest amount of cocaine seizures in the world. Meanwhile, the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Agency (DEA) has made policing more difficult for Venezuela
by blocking the sale of chemical reagents needed to detect cocaine,
heroin, and amphetamines, and instead requiring the country to produce
its own reagents for drug
enforcement.<a name="_ednref15"></a>[xv]<br><br>
The U.S. has also complicated Venezuela’s anti-drug efforts by imposing
an embargo on all military equipment containing U.S. parts. This
measure has blocked the sale of anti-narcotics vehicles including Spanish
patrol boats and Brazilian aircraft. Nonetheless, since 2005, when
Venezuela ended full cooperation with DEA agents allegedly involved in
espionage, cocaine seizures have risen from an average of 27.1 mt
annually between 2002 and 2004 to an average of 43.2 mt per year between
2005 and 2007.<a name="_ednref16"></a>[xvi] <br><br>
In order to reduce cocaine smuggling in and out of the country, the
Venezuelan armed forces have detected and destroyed 223 illicit landing
strips so far in 2008.<a name="_ednref17"></a>[xvii] Furthermore,
Venezuela is installing seven Chinese-made radar stations throughout the
country that will make it easier to detect and stop planes carrying
illicit drugs.<a name="_ednref18"></a>[xviii]<br><br>
THE UNITED STATES<br><br>
The U.S. remains the largest market for cocaine in the world. By UN
estimates, 460 metric tons – or 46% of all cocaine – was consumed in
North American markets in 2006.<a name="_ednref19"></a>[xix]
U.S.-backed coca eradication programs (namely aerial spraying) are
largely perceived by experts as ineffective, unfair. and discriminatory.
This is because they fail to reduce coca production while negatively
affecting the health and welfare of peasants, whose fields are sprayed
regardless of whether or not they are involved in the cocaine
trade.<br><br>
The State Department already recognizes that the problem begins at home;
the 2008 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report states that “the
need for demand reduction is reflected in escalating drug use that takes
a devastating toll on health, welfare, safety, security, and economic
stability of all nations.”<a name="_ednref20"></a>[xx] <br><br>
With this in mind, reducing the enormous demand for cocaine within U.S.
borders should be made a priority. Also, instead of funding ineffective
and expensive crop eradication programs with taxpayer dollars, the U.S.
could take a leadership role in anti-narcotics by funding programs to
help countries better detect drugs at their own ports, locate and destroy
drug processing facilities, and halt money laundering by drug
traffickers.<br><br>
CONCLUSION<br><br>
The decision by the White House to label Venezuela and Bolivia as
countries that “failed demonstrably” to combat drugs is a politically
motivated one that lacks factual basis. Bolivia’s success in fighting
drug trafficking has been well documented by the media as well as
international agencies. Important in this struggle, though, has been the
search to avoid dismantling the traditional practices centered around the
coca plant in Bolivia.<br><br>
Meanwhile, cocaine seizures have risen significantly in Venezuela over
the past few years and authorities in that country have demonstrated
their commitment to the fight against drug trafficking through
initiatives such as the destruction of an unprecedented number of illicit
airstrips.<br><br>
In addition to these efforts, leaders in Venezuela and Bolivia have
called for much more significant measures to be taken to diminish the
demand for cocaine abroad. Both countries recognize that there must be a
dramatic decline in the demand for cocaine in order for any permanent
reductions in supply to be achieved. Instead of dedicating resources to
ineffective and unfair drug eradication policies in other countries, the
U.S. would be wise to increase efforts to reduce demand for cocaine and
other illicit drugs through increased drug education, prevention, and
rehabilitation programs at home.<br><br>
<br>
<a name="_edn1"></a>[i] 2008 World Drug Report, United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime.
<a href="http://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2008/WDR_2008_eng_web.pdf">
http://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2008/WDR_2008_eng_web.pdf</a>.<br>
<br>
<a name="_edn2"></a>[ii] “INTERPOL lauds Venezuelan capture of suspected
Colombian drug lord and accomplice,” September 8, 2008.
<a href="http://www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/PressReleases/PR2008/PR200845.asp">
http://www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/PressReleases/PR2008/PR200845.asp</a>
<br><br>
<a name="_edn3"></a>[iii] 2008 World Drug Report, United Nations Office
on Drugs and Crime.
<a href="http://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2008/WDR_2008_eng_web.pdf">
http://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2008/WDR_2008_eng_web.pdf</a>.<br>
<br>
<a name="_edn4"></a>[iv] “Bolivia’s Surprising Anti-Drug Success, ” Jean
Friedman, <i>Time Magazine</i>, August 5, 2008.
<a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1829782,00.html">
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1829782,00.html</a>
<br><br>
<a name="_edn5"></a>[v] “US Lists Major Drug Producing and Trafficking
Countries, Names Only Bolivia, Burma, and Venezuela as Not Complying, ”
Council on Hemispheric Affairs, September 19, 2008.
<a href="http://www.coha.org/2008/09/us-lists-major-drug-producing-and-trafficking-countries-names-only-bolivia-burma-and-venezuela-as-not-complying/">
http://www.coha.org/2008/09/us-lists-major-drug-producing-and-trafficking-countries-names-only-bolivia-burma-and-venezuela-as-not-complying/</a>
. <br><br>
<a name="_edn6"></a>[vi] “Coca: An Andean Cultural Tradition,” John H.
Burrows, Center for World Indigenous Studies.
<a href="http://www.erowid.org/plants/coca/coca_info1.shtml">
http://www.erowid.org/plants/coca/coca_info1.shtml</a> <br><br>
<a name="_edn7"></a>[vii] “President Bush Vows to Fight Drug Trade in
Latin America,” Online NewsHour, PBS, March, 12, 2007.
<a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/latin_america/jan-june07/drugwars_03-12.html">
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/latin_america/jan-june07/drugwars_03-12.html</a>
. <br><br>
<a name="_edn8"></a>[viii] 2008 World Drug Report, United Nations Office
on Drugs and Crime.
<a href="http://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2008/WDR_2008_eng_web.pdf">
http://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2008/WDR_2008_eng_web.pdf</a>.
<br><br>
<a name="_edn9"></a>[ix] “Coca: An Andean Cultural Tradition,” John H.
Burrows, Center for World Indigenous Studies.
<a href="http://www.erowid.org/plants/coca/coca_info1.shtml">
http://www.erowid.org/plants/coca/coca_info1.shtml</a><br><br>
<a name="_edn10"></a>[x] 2008 World Drug Report, United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime.
<a href="http://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2008/WDR_2008_eng_web.pdf">
http://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2008/WDR_2008_eng_web.pdf</a>.<br>
<br>
<a name="_edn11"></a>[xi] Ibid.<br><br>
<a name="_edn12"></a>[xii] “Bolivia dice a EEUU que sus éxitos antidroga
superan los de Colombia y Perú,” AFP, September 28, 2008.
<a href="http://www.univision.com/contentroot/wirefeeds/noticias/7608646.html">
http://www.univision.com/contentroot/wirefeeds/noticias/7608646.html</a>.
<br><br>
<a name="_edn13"></a>[xiii] 2008 World Drug Report, United Nations Office
on Drugs and Crime.
<a href="http://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2008/WDR_2008_eng_web.pdf">
http://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2008/WDR_2008_eng_web.pdf</a>.<br>
<br>
<a name="_edn14"></a>[xiv] “Bolivia’s Surprising Anti-Drug Success, ”
Jean Friedman, <i>Time Magazine</i>, August 5, 2008.
<a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1829782,00.html">
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1829782,00.html</a><br><br>
<a name="_edn15"></a>[xv] “Venezuela to use nationally produced chemical
reagents to detect drugs,” Bolivarian News Agency, September 2, 2008.
<a href="http://www.embavenez-us.org/news.php?nid=4468">
http://www.embavenez-us.org/news.php?nid=4468</a> <br><br>
<a name="_edn16"></a>[xvi] “Venezuela’s Fight against Drug Trafficking,”
Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
<a href="http://www.embavenez-us.org/factsheet/FS-Drug-Sept2008.pdf">
http://www.embavenez-us.org/factsheet/FS-Drug-Sept2008.pdf</a> <br><br>
<a name="_edn17"></a>[xvii] “Venezuela destruyó 223 pistas clandestinas
en su combate al narcotráfico,” AFP, September 11, 2008. <br><br>
<a name="_edn18"></a>[xviii] “Venezuela’s Fight against Drug
Trafficking,” Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
<a href="http://www.embavenez-us.org/factsheet/FS-Drug-Sept2008.pdf">
http://www.embavenez-us.org/factsheet/FS-Drug-Sept2008.pdf</a><br><br>
<a name="_edn19"></a>[xix] 2008 World Drug Report, United Nations Office
on Drugs and Crime.
<a href="http://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2008/WDR_2008_eng_web.pdf">
http://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2008/WDR_2008_eng_web.pdf</a>.
<br><br>
<a name="_edn20"></a>[xx] “2008 International Narcotics Control Strategy
Report,” United States Department of State, February 29, 2008.
<a href="http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/102583.pdf">
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/102583.pdf</a>. <br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<i>The <a href="http://www.veninfo.org/">Venezuela Information Office</a>
is dedicated to informing the American public about contemporary
Venezuela, and receives its funding from the government of
Venezuela. Further information is available from the FARA office of
the Department of Justice in Washington, DC. <br><br>
</i> <br><br>
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