Pubdate: Fri, 17 Jun 2005
Source: Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright: 2005 The Miami Herald
Contact:  http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/262
Author: Pablo Bachelet

U.S. SAYS NO TO $150M TO FIGHT COCA FARMING

WASHINGTON - Colombia's request for an additional $150 million to strengthen
its anti-coca spraying program was rebuffed Thursday by a House
appropriations subcommittee.

It comes soon after new data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime indicated Colombia achieved only a modest reduction in coca
cultivation despite heavy spraying, with more coca being grown in Peru and
Bolivia. Coca is used in the production of cocaine.

However, lawmakers on the foreign operations subcommittee of the House
Appropriations Committee did approve $463 million requested by the Bush
administration for Plan Colombia, a massive anti-drug effort.

The $20.3 billion appropriations bill approved Thursday also includes funds
for Israel, Egypt and the fight against HIV/AIDS. The Bush administration
had asked for $22.8 billion. The full House is expected to vote on the
measure later this month.

The Colombian government's effort to establish a new coca eradication base
had the backing of several key members of Congress, including Reps. Henry
Hyde, R-Ill., chairman of the House International Relations Committee, and
Tom Davis, R-Va., chairman of the House Government Reform Committee.

But the proposal had only lukewarm support from the Bush administration,
which did not formally request any additional funds for Colombia.

The United States has pumped more than $3 billion into Plan Colombia, most
of it for military aid to help Colombia defeat drug traffickers and armed
anti-government forces.

A Colombian diplomat, who asked not to be identified, said the embassy was
pleased that Bush's funding request was approved in full, but the country
will try, with its congressional allies, to get more money for spraying
included in a future bill.

PABLO BACHELET
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MAP posted-by: Josh