WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Colin Powell has approved a resumption of drug surveillance flights over Colombia after a two-year suspension, a U.S. official said Tuesday. The official said the White House is expected to announce the resumption on Thursday, when Colombian President Alvaro Uribe observes his first anniversary in office. Uribe has advocated a strong stand against drug traffickers. The official said Powell's recommendation went out Monday night. The process took far longer than expected, as officials attempted to put safeguards in place to minimize the possibility of an incident like that two years ago, when a plane carrying a U.S. missionary and her child was mistakenly shot down. [continues 200 words]
They fly helicopters, guard military bases and provide reconnaissance. They're private military companies--and they're replacing U.S. soldiers in the war on terrorism At a remote tactical training camp in a North Carolina swamp, six U.S. sailors are gearing up for their part in President Bush's war on terrorism. Dressed in camouflage on a January afternoon, they wear protective masks and carry nine-millimeter Berettas that fire nonlethal bullets filled with colored soap. Their mission: recapture a ship--actually a three-story-high model constructed of gray steel cargo containers--from armed hijackers. [continues 4244 words]
Dear editor: The recent shooting death of Clayton Helriggle (in Preble County) by a police SWAT team is only the latest tragic example of a drug war gone horribly awry. In April 2001, American missionary Roni Bowers and her 1-year-old baby, Charity, were killed when their plane was shot down in a U.S.-funded drug interdiction operation in Peru. Bowers' flight was mistakenly thought to be smuggling drugs. Eighteen-year-old Esequiel Hernandez was shot in the back by U.S. Marines looking for marijuana smugglers on the Texas-Mexico border. Hernandez, who had no criminal record and was not a drug suspect, was herding goats 100 yards from his home when he was killed. [continues 119 words]
BOGOTA, Colombia, Oct. 2 -- Eighteen months after an American missionary plane was mistakenly shot down, the United States plans to resume a campaign to help Colombia track and force down drug flights, officials from both countries said today. The program was suspended in April 2001 in Colombia and Peru after a Peruvian warplane shot down the missionary flight over the Amazon, killing an American and her infant daughter. Colombian warplanes will intercept drug flights based on intelligence from the United States, Gen. Hector Velasco, the air force commander, said today. [continues 139 words]
Downing Of Missionary Plane Had Halted Aid Efforts By U.S. BOGOTA, Colombia - Eighteen months after an American missionary plane was accidentally shot down, the United States will resume a campaign to help Colombia track and force down drug flights, officials from both countries said Wednesday. The program was suspended in April 2001 in Colombia and Peru after a Peruvian warplane mistakenly shot down the missionary flight over the Amazon, killing an American woman and her infant daughter. Colombian warplanes will intercept drug flights based on intelligence from the United States, Colombian air force commander Gen. Hector Velasco said Wednesday. Officials said the campaign would resume over Peru later. [continues 83 words]
BOGOTA, Colombia - Eighteen months after an American missionary plane was accidentally shot down, the United States will resume a campaign to help Colombia track and force down drug flights, officials from both countries said Wednesday. The program was suspended in April 2001 in Colombia and Peru after a Peruvian warplane mistakenly shot down the missionary flight over the Amazon, killing an American woman and her infant daughter. Colombian warplanes will intercept drug flights based on intelligence from the United States, Colombian Gen. Hector Velasco said Wednesday. Velasco, the Colombian air force commander, said operations are expected to resume this month. [continues 149 words]
LIMA, Peru,(Reuters) -- Peru, the world's No. 2 cocaine producer, has changed tack in its war on drugs, offering farmers cash and job benefits to eradicate crops voluntarily, but officials admit illicit cultivation still is on the rise. Nils Ericsson, the Andean nation's anti-drugs "czar," said on Wednesday Peru had launched a new campaign offering farmers a decent day's pay to rip up their cocaine-producing crops, and guaranteeing them jobs in infrastructure and other projects instead to develop legal economies in the drug heartlands. [continues 544 words]
Nearly an hour before a Peruvian Air Force A-37 fighter jet shot down a single engine float plane carrying American missionaries from the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism in April 2001, a CIA contract pilot flying a spotter aircraft said he was "a little nervous" about the Peruvians' assumption that drug traffickers were flying the plane. The CIA man's hesitation is documented in a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report that was recently made available on the committee's Web site. The chronology in the report lays bare a fatal chain of mistakes that took the lives of two Americans. [continues 1271 words]
LIMA, Peru (AP) -- A civilian court has ordered the release of two air force pilots who were jailed after they mistakenly shot down a small plane in 2001, killing an American missionary and her infant child, their lawyer said Monday. Defense lawyer Jorge Power said his clients' right to be charged within nine months of incarceration had been violated. They had been in prison for more than 10 months. Peruvian Air Force Maj. Jose Antonio Redhead and Lt. Richard Hercilla should be released this week, Power said. He said the court made its decision Thursday. [continues 223 words]
U.S. Should Pay Money, Create Safer Anti-Drug Flights The West Michigan-based missionary whose plane was shot out of the Peruvian sky deserves the compensation the U.S. government promised four long months ago. U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Holland, is right to continue pushing for the State Department to pay Jim Bowers the $8 million it agreed to in March. Right, too, are Mr. Hoekstra's continued concerns about the U.S.- backed program that killed Roni Bowers and the Bowers' infant daughter, Charity, in April 2001. President Bush's administration appears ready to re-launch the drug interdiction flights, suspended after the Bowers incident, despite significant questions about whether there would be adequate safeguards to prevent other tragedies. [continues 465 words]
Year Later, Missionary Still Awaits An Apology GARNER, N.C. -(AP)- When he got off the plane that brought him to North Carolina, Jim Bowers wondered aloud to his mother whether he could ever get the images out of his mind: The smoke from the guns of a Peruvian Air Force A37 that shot through the small aircraft carrying his missionary family. The screams in Spanish of the Cessna's pilot: "They're killing us! They're killing us!" The blood on his infant daughter. His wife slumped over in her seat. [continues 492 words]
Just how many innocent people have to be shot out of the air before our government permanently abandons a program putting them at risk? In a move that embraces an irresponsible approach to law enforcement, the State Department is poised to restart a controversial "shoot-down" program in partnership with the governments of Columbia and Peru. Under the program, American agents cooperate with Latin American fighter pilots to force down - -- in fiery crashes if necessary -- suspected of drug-carrying planes whose pilots do not respond to orders to land. [continues 298 words]
Drug War Takes Another Aggressive Turn We breathed a sigh of relief last year when the Bush administration put on hold its support for forcing down - even shooting down - aircraft believed to be engaged in the illicit drug in the skies above Latin America, where much of U.S. drug traffic originates. The administration had suspended the program after an American missionary and her infant daughter were killed in Peru last year when their plane was shot down by mistake. Though the downing was the work of Peruvian forces, a U.S. surveillance plane dispatched to track down drug runners had been coordinating with the fighter aircraft at the time of the incident. [continues 196 words]
GARNER, N.C. -- When he got off the plane that brought him to North Carolina, Jim Bowers wondered aloud to his mother whether he could ever get the images out of his mind. The smoke from the guns of a Peruvian air force A-37 that shot through the small aircraft carrying his missionary family. The Cessna's pilot screaming in Spanish: "They're killing us! They're killing us!" The blood on his infant daughter. His wife slumped over in her seat. [continues 567 words]
Bush Expected To Resume Program In S. America WASHINGTON - The program to force down or shoot down airplanes suspected of carrying drugs in Latin America is expected to be resumed, a senior Bush administration official said yesterday. The timing of President Bush's decision remains uncertain, said the official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity. The program was stopped after an American missionary and her infant daughter were killed in Peru last year when their plane was shot down by mistake. [continues 75 words]
GARNER, N.C. -- When he got off the plane that brought him to North Carolina, Jim Bowers wondered aloud to his mother if he could ever get the images out of his mind. The smoke from the guns of a Peruvian Air Force A-37 that shot through the small aircraft carrying his missionary family. The screams in Spanish of the Cessna's pilot: "They're killing us! They're killing us!" The blood on his infant daughter. His wife slumped over in her seat. [continues 858 words]
WASHINGTON - President Bush is expected to approve the resumption of a program to force or shoot down airplanes suspected of ferrying drugs in Latin America, U.S. officials say. The program was halted a year ago after a plane carrying American missionaries in Peru was mistakenly shot down. Plans call for the State Department to take over the program from the CIA once the president gives final approval. Air interdiction operations could begin in Colombia as early as the fall and would probably be expanded to Peru later, U.S. officials said. [continues 1143 words]
Operation in Latin America was halted last year after U.S. missionaries were mistaken for drug carriers and killed. WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush is expected to approve the resumption of a program to force or shoot down airplanes suspected of ferrying drugs in Latin America, a year after the program was halted by the mistaken downing of a plane carrying American missionaries in Peru, U.S. officials say. Once the president gives his final approval, the State Department would take over the program from the CIA, and U.S. officials said air- interdiction operations could begin in Colombia as early as this fall and would likely be expanded to Peru. The Pentagon would support the program as well, providing intelligence about suspected drug flights gathered from ground-based radar and other sources, officials said. [continues 929 words]
State Dept. To Take Over Program Shelved After Missionaries Downed Washington -- President Bush is expected to approve the resumption of a program to force or shoot down airplanes suspected of ferrying drugs in Latin America, a year after the program was halted by the mistaken downing of a plane carrying American missionaries in Peru, U.S. officials say. Once the president gives his final approval, the State Department would take over the program from the Central Intelligence Agency, and U.S. officials said air interdiction operations could begin in Colombia as early as this fall and would most likely be expanded to Peru later. [continues 908 words]
WASHINGTON - President Bush is expected to approve the resumption of a program to force or shoot down airplanes suspected of ferrying drugs in Latin America, a year after the program was halted by the mistaken downing of a plane carrying American missionaries in Peru, U.S. officials say. Once the president gives his final approval, the State Department would take over the program from the Central Intelligence Agency, and U.S. officials said air interdiction operations could begin in Colombia as early as this fall and would probably be expanded to Peru later. The Pentagon would support the program as well, providing intelligence about suspected drug flights gathered from ground-based radar and other sources, officials said. [continues 500 words]
