Pubdate: Sun, 23 Jul 2000 Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA) Copyright: 2000 Cox Interactive Media. Contact: Journal: Constitution: http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/ Forum: http://www.accessatlanta.com/community/forums/ Author: Mike Williams DRUG WAR FOUGHT WITH DOSES OF CASH Colombia will be getting $1.3 billion from the U.S., but there are fears of being drawn into a civil war. Tres Esquinas, Colombia- The flood-swollen Orteguaza River slices through the Colombian lowlands, its dirty brown water straining at banks that give way to swampy clumps of thick forest and patches of cleared land. Bright green coca plants and poppy fields dot many of the clearings, verdant cash crops in a land of hunger and war. This remote territory in Colombia's far south has become ground zero in the escalating conflict against narcotics traffickers, and Marxist rebels who have tapped the trade as a major source of revenue to fuel their 36-year-old insurgency. Much of the cocaine and heroin grown here is destined for the United States, which recently approved a $1.3 billion aid package to help Colombia fight its drug war. Colombian pilots will fly a fleet of 60 U.S.-supplied helicopters, providing security and transporting forces to wipe out remote drug laboratories and fumigate illicit crops from low-flying crop dusters. But for all the high-tech U.S. weaponry, the Amazonian headwaters of southern Colombia are a primitive, hostile region. There are few towns, fewer roads and thousands of square miles of dense green growth perfect for hiding illegal operations --- and enemies. The muddy brown streams are ideal for transporting contraband. "The rivers are the superhighways here," said Gen. Mario Montoya, head of a new Colombian anti-narcotics task force. "They carry everything they need for the production of cocaine on those rivers. Ten years ago, there was very little coca here, but today this area has the highest concentration of coca production in the world." Stepping back from quagmire Critics fear the jungle --- and Colombia's tortured landscape of leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitary groups, drug barons, a questionable military and rancorous domestic politics --- may swallow up the American aid, drawing the U.S. further into a quagmire. "We have made a profound and dramatic shift in focus from supporting a police force in a friendly country to supporting an army engaged in a civil war," said Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) shortly after Congress approved the aid package. "I wonder how long it will be until we read the first news story of some of this equipment showing up in the hands of rebels." U.S. officials insist the aid is strictly for fighting drugs, not to help Colombia fight its civil war. But Montoya admits that in the remote wilds, the two are often intertwined. "The FARC, with all its guns and all its evil, is involved in the drug trade," he said, referring to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the nation's largest and oldest guerrilla group. "If the guerrillas are involved in drug trafficking, as we know they are, we're going to attack them." Colombia, a nation of 39 million, supplies an estimated 80 percent of the world's cocaine. It is also a growing source of heroin. Both drugs are worth billions of dollars on the streets of America and Europe. There are no accurate figures on how much the country's guerrillas gain by taking a cut from the poor farmers who grow the crops and the traffickers who process and smuggle it, but some Colombian newspapers have cited figures in the hundreds of millions. With the guerrillas and drug lords so powerful, Colombian President Andres Pastrana stunned the nation 18 months ago by starting peace talks with the FARC. To show his goodwill, he ordered Colombian troops out of a Switzerland-sized chunk of the nation that has become de facto FARC territory. But the peace talks have since stumbled without much real progress, and Pastrana's popularity has plummeted. Many Colombians fear he has given the guerrillas too much without getting anything in return. "The guerrillas are terribly strong because they have so much money from drug trafficking," said Eduardo Gomez, who retired from the Colombian military and now works in Bogota, the capital. "We have no confidence in our institutions. The money from the U.S. will be wasted, because our army, our police and our government are corrupt." Estimates on FARC strength range from 17,000 to 22,000 soldiers in the field, but they are only one of the warring forces in Colombia. Another guerrilla group, the Army of National Liberation or ELN, has some 5,000 soldiers, while right-wing paramilitary groups, which also take tribute from drug traffickers, have an estimated 7,000 troops. Problems include political corruption Colombia's military --- the army, air force and navy --- has about 120,000 personnel. It also has a reputation for corruption and human-rights abuses, with many observers citing close ties between army officers and the paramilitaries. Pastrana has named his bold new strategy for saving the country "Plan Colombia." The U.S. aid --- which will mostly fund military equipment, but also provides money for crop substitution and other social programs --- will be supplemented by more than $600 million for social programs that Pastrana recently obtained from European nations. Midway through his four-year term in office, however, Pastrana has been hamstrung by a corruption scandal and bitter relations with the national congress. He recently appealed to Colombians to be more positive, saying, "I'm tired of the bad news that does not let us see and construct a better country for all." But it will take more than a positive attitude to vanquish Colombia's problems. "We feel that Plan Colombia will escalate the war on both sides," said Marco Alberto Romero, a political scientist at Colombia's National University. "If the guerrillas resist this first campaign, the logic will be that the U.S. will increase its aid and become more committed to the Colombian conflict. It's a very complicated problem." Romero believes the focus should be on providing more opportunity for the rural peasants who grow the coca and poppy. The peasants now have no alternatives, and wiping out their only cash crop by fumigation could foul the environment, sicken the poor farmers and create a new wave of internal displacement within Colombia. "This could have regional consequences," he said. "The drug trafficking affects the whole Andean region. This could lead to the breakdown of the peace talks in Colombia, but also could trigger an arms race. Already both (the FARC and the government) are building up their forces even as they are participating in the peace talks." On the front lines, Montoya downplays the criticism and confidently predicts victory. During a recent briefing for reporters, complete with slides, tapes of radio conversations among drug traffickers and maps laying out the alignment of forces, Montoya said the new U.S. aid --- especially a fleet of about 30 sophisticated Blackhawk helicopters --- will tip the balance in favor of his 3,000-man force in the southern region. "Once we get the helicopters, we can really go to work," he said. "They will give us the element of surprise and mobility. We will move in and immediately neutralize the crops." Boats patrolling the rivers to intercept cocaine shipments, as well as the supplies of gasoline, cement and chemicals needed to convert the coca leaves into cocaine, will augment the force. The only role for U.S. troops --- no more than a few hundred at a time --- will be to train the Colombian pilots and soldiers, and help operate sophisticated surveillance equipment the United States will send, he insisted. There are reports that the guerrillas may have --- or will soon obtain --- surface-to-air missiles or other advanced weapons to shoot down the helicopters. Critics also warn that the drug farmers and traffickers will simply move elsewhere once the Colombian offensive picks up steam. But Montoya remains upbeat. "These groups will try to defend their operations because there is lots and lots of money involved in narco-trafficking," he said. "But we're prepared militarily for this fight. We're in this for the long haul." Mike Williams is based in Miami as a correspondent for Cox News Service. ON THE WEB : For more information on Colombia: www.lanic.utexas.edu www.ciponline.org - --- MAP posted-by: Don Beck