Drug War: Counternarcotics Programs in Colombia and Peru

• NCJ Number: 137662
• Author(s): J E Kelley
• Date Published: 1992
• Length: 80 pages
• Corporate Author: US Government Accountability Office
• Sale Source: Azimuth Inc.
• Publication Type: Legislative Hearing/Committee Report
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Statement by the U.S. General Accounting Office's Director of Security and International Relations Issues before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations.

Annotation

This statement by a representative of the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations summarizes the results of two GAO studies of U.S. military and law enforcement counternarcotics programs in Colombia and Peru.

Abstract

U.S. legislation and policy allow the Andean countries to use U.S. aid against both drug traffickers and insurgents involved in the drug trade. GAO agrees with U.S. and Colombian officials that the situation in Colombia requires such flexibility and that such use is consistent with congressional intent. Although U.S. officials are working to improve program management, oversight of U.S. aid was not sufficient at the time of the study. There was little assurance that the aid was being used effectively and as intended. U.S. counternarcotics programs in Peru have not been effective, and it is unlikely that they will be until Peru overcomes serious obstacles beyond U.S. control. These obstacles include Peru's inability to maintain effective government control over military and police units, a lack of coordination and cooperation between military and police, failure to control airports, political instability caused by active insurgent groups, extensive corruption, and an economy heavily dependent on coca leaf production. Overall, the U.S. Federal executive branch has not established the management oversight required to implement large counternarcotics aid programs.