Drug fighters discuss an Interpol of the Americas

By Misti Lee CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Reuter) A Western Hemisphere law
enforcement agency resembling Interpol could give the war against
international drug trafficking a major boost, officials said Thursday.

About 300 senior and middleranking officials from seven countries,
including the United States, discussed the idea of an international drug
agency at a 10day conference that ended Thursday at Camp Lejeune Marine
Corps Base.

The gathering included ambassadors, ministers of justice and attorneys
general from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, Venezuela and the
United States. Government representatives from Argentina, Brazil and Chile
attended as observers.

The most crucial element in the war on drugs is an accurate and reliable
exchange of information between agencies, said Lt. Gen. Charles Wilhelm,
commanding general of the U.S. Marine Forces Atlantic.

``We've been addressing what information to share, who to share it with,
where the various information centers will be and how will we move the
information from point to point,'' Wilhelm said.

An intergovernmental agency, possibly located in Miami, could aid the drug
fight by improving the flow of information between the United States and
South America, officials said.

In theory, the organization could be akin to Interpol, the international
police agency, and include representatives from member countries.

Already, concerned nations in the Americas have negotiated an antidrug
strategy based on shared responsibility and have discussed academic and
training programs for drug law enforcement personnel.

``It's almost one of the healthiest changes over the last several years ...
this mutual realization that, indeed, this is a global problem,'' Bob
Brown, an official with the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy,
said.

In the United States alone, the cost of drug abuse and its consequences,
including rises in crime and in health care expenses, is estimated at $67
billion a year, Brown said. Americans feed the demand for drugs by paying
nearly $50 billion a year for illegal drugs, he said. ``That fuels not only
misery in our own country but the corruption and violence we see in
neighboring countries throughout the hemisphere,'' he said.