Index for "The Drug Quagmire" series:

Colombia's War On Drugs Getting Hotter
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n992/a05.html

Escobar's Drug Cartel Put Colombian Cocaine On Map
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n992/a06.html

Mules Ferry Drugs Across Borders In Game Of Chance
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n993/a01.html

US Aid Package For Colombia
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n992/a01.html

Colombia Rolling In Cocaine Crop
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n996/a10.html

Despite Risks, US-Backed Crop-Dusters On A Mission
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n996/a09.html

Drug War Options
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1004/a03.html

Officials Urge Farmers To Try Alternative To Coca
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1023.a10.html

U.S. AID PACKAGE FOR COLOMBIA

A bill containing a two-year, $1.3 billion aid package for the drug
war in the Andean region was passed by Congress last month and signed
by President Clinton on Thursday.

Most of the money -- $862.3 million -- is destined for Colombia, the
third-largest recipient of U.S. aid after Israel and Egypt.

"This money will be the first step toward the definitive eradication
of drugs and the final battle against drug trafficking in our
country," Colombian President Andres Pastrana told his nation in a
televised address.

When combined with previously approved funding, the package will boost
Washington's assistance to Colombia to nearly $1.2 billion in 2000 and
2001.

About 80 percent of the new funding for Colombia is for the police and
military, and about 20 percent is for economic and humanitarian
assistance. The funds are divided into five categories:

* $441.9 million for a Colombian military push into southern
coca-growing areas, many of which are controlled by Marxist
guerrillas. This portion of the package includes 16 Blackhawk and 30
reconditioned Vietnam War-era Huey II helicopters as well as weapons
training, intelligence and other assistance for three new Colombian
army counternarcotics battalions. The aid includes $25 million for the
resettlement of residents who may be displaced by fighting.

* $115.6 million for the Colombian National Police. The police will
receive two Blackhawk and 12 Huey II helicopters, plus crop-dusting
planes.

* $101.8 million for drug interdiction operations. The money will fund
upgrades to Colombian radar, aircraft, air bases, riverine operations
and intelligence sharing.

* $81 million for alternative economic development programs that will
encourage drug farmers in areas under control of the Colombian
government to grow legal crops.

* $122 million for judicial reform, human rights protections and
programs to halt high-tech crimes such as money laundering.

The rest of the Andean aid package includes assistance for Peru and
Bolivia; upgrades to airports in Ecuador, Aruba and Curacao that are
used by the United States for regional surveillance, and funding for
U.S. agencies involved in drug interdiction and law enforcement in the
region.