Pubdate: Fri, 06 Aug 2004 Source: Oklahoman, The (OK) Copyright: 2004 The Oklahoma Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.oklahoman.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/318 Author: Associated Press Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/colombia.htm (Colombia) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/plan+colombia POLICY FAILS TO STOP COCAINE FLOW INTO U.S. SANTA MARTA, Colombia - After flying over blackened coca fields, White House drug czar John Walters conceded that seizing cocaine, destroying coca crops and locking up drug traffickers in Colombia have had little impact on the flow of cocaine on American streets. But in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Walters nevertheless insisted that Washington must stay the course with so-called Plan Colombia, a $3.3 billion, five-year program mainly to train, equip and provide intelligence to Colombian forces spearheading the war on drugs. "We have a history in the United States of not following through on programs like this," Walters said late Wednesday. During his three-day visit, Walters also met with President Alvaro Uribe and attended a funeral for nine police officers killed in apparent retaliation for a drug seizure. The U.S.-funded Plan Colombia has led to a huge increase in drug seizures, with 48 tons of cocaine confiscated in Colombia last year compared to just 8 tons in 1999. Closer judicial cooperation between the two countries has allowed for 120 alleged drug traffickers to be extradited to the United States for trial in two years. But aerial eradication, a key part of the aid package in which crop dusters fly over fields of coca -- the raw ingredient in cocaine -- and spray them with herbicides, has drawn sharp criticism, despite its success in reducing the area under cultivation. The amount of cultivated coca crops across the country fell to 280,000 acres last year, from 420,000 acres in 2001 -- a 33 percent drop, officials say. Peasants in the sprayed zones complain of health problems and rights groups say the herbicides kill banana and yucca plants. The U.S. and Colombian governments insist spraying is safe and refuse to stop. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin