Pubdate: Sun, 24 May 2009 Source: Washington Post (DC) Copyright: 2009 The Washington Post Company Contact: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491 Author: Luis Gallegos Note: The writer is Ecuador's ambassador to the United States. ECUADOR'S DRUG FIGHTING The May 20 news story "Ecuadoran Town a Hub for Drug-Running Rebels, Colombia Says" provided a misleading account, driven by senior Colombian officials, that was designed to confuse readers. Colombian irregular groups cross the border because of the Colombian government's omissions on its side of the border, thereby gravely affecting Ecuador. Ecuador has had to devote onerous resources to meet the challenges of security and development in a border dominated by Colombian irregulars. This effort by Ecuador has been praised by the U.S. State Department in the "International Narcotics Control Strategy Report" and the "2008 Monitoring Report on Terrorism," which highlights as an Ecuadorian achievement the dismantling of 11 laboratories for cocaine production and more than 130 FARC camps, as well as the deployment of more than 100 battalions at the border, despite not having the billions of dollars of support that Colombia receives from the U.S. government. It was worth mentioning that Ecuador is free of coca cultivation because it is the most successful country in the region in combating drug trafficking. It is unfortunate that Colombian armed forces are being diverted to discredit the government and people of Ecuador. Luis Gallegos Washington - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake