NCJ Number
146786
Date Published
1993
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This testimony discusses the General Accounting Office's recent report on the progress and problems that U.S. and Colombian agencies have experienced in the implementation of U.S. antidrug programs in Colombia between fiscal years 1990 and 1992.
Abstract
This is a followup to the initial report that was issued in September 1991. In the 3 years since the Andean Strategy was announced, Colombia has shown its commitment to the strategy by taking action to support U.S. counternarcotics objectives. It has applied pressure against drug-trafficking activities through law enforcement and military actions and has disrupted drug trafficking in Colombia. The General Accounting Office, however, could not prove the effectiveness of Colombia's efforts, because U.S. officials lack the data required to make such an assessment. Specifically, data are not available on the amount of cocaine being shipped from Colombia to the United States. Various obstacles have hindered the implementation and effectiveness of U.S. efforts in Colombia. These obstacles included the limited ability of some Colombian agencies to plan and implement effective programs, increased insurgency and narcoterrorist activities, the expansion of drug trafficking activities into opium cultivation, corruption within the Colombian government, and the lack of effective antidrug programs in other neighboring countries. This testimony also describes United States management problems that have hindered the planning and implementation of U.S. antidrug programs in Colombia.