Drug Control: Specific Performance Measures and Long-Term Costs for U.S. Programs in Colombia Have Not Been Developed.

摘要

The United States has been providing assistance to Colombia since the early 1970s to help reduce illegal drug production and trafficking activities. Despite this assistance, Colombia remains the world's leading producer and distributor of cocaine and a major source of the heroin used in the United States. Recognizing that illicit drug activities are a serious problem in Colombia, the Colombian government in October 1999 announced a $7.5 billion plan, known as Plan Colombia, which among other things proposed reducing the cultivation, processing, and distribution of illegal narcotics by 50 percent over 6 years. In fiscal years 2000 through 2003, the United States provided over $2.5 billion to Colombia for counternarcotics assistance. For fiscal year 2004, the administration has proposed an additional $700 million in assistance to address many of the same purposes. However, insurgent groups involved in illicit drug activities control more than 40 percent of Colombia's territory, making Colombian government and U.S. interdiction and eradication operations immensely difficult and dangerous and leaving illicit-drug growers with few legal alternatives to earn a living.