COLOMBIAN AND DRUGCARTELFREE
by Adriana Lopez, KnightRidder/Rribune
Copyright (c) 1997, The News and Observer

NEW YORK Colombian immigrants in the United States are
getting a bad rap.

Recently, I went out with some friends, all pretty
educated. The topic of cocaine experimentation arose. I
denied any interest. A member of the group turned to me and
said, "I find that hard to believe. Aren't you Colombian?
You must be connected in some way." Though my friend said
he was only joking, the ethnic insult enraged me.

The Colombiancocaine connection has become a repressive
and tiresome cliche. Movies such as "Clear and Present
Danger," about the Drug Enforcement Agency's fight against
Colombian drug traffickers, use the stereotype of the
foreign "sleazeoid" corrupting American values. Most movies
about drug trafficking, even when focusing on another
Latino group (such as the Cuban dealer in "Scarface"),
refer to the "source of all sources": los Colombianos.

Colombians in the United States are misunderstood. We
are a mostly middleclass and educated community that came
to this country, particularly the New Yorkmetropolitan
area, in large numbers in the 1970s and '80s. We are
comparable to any immigrant group in the United States
Italians, Polish, Irish and Cubans. We came and stayed.
Many of us became professionals and have achieved a middle
to upperclass status.

The vast majority of Colombians in the United States are
hardworking, lawabiding citizens and should not be blamed
for crimes committed by a small percentage of the Colombian
community.

"Only 5 to 10 percent of the population has anything to
do with drugs," says Marylena Vargas Quintero, president of
the HispanicAmerican Alliance. But in the eyes of the
public, Colombian immigrants are all in some way affiliated
with drug cartels.

Now, given current U.S. policy, I'm worried this
stereotype will become even more common.

Colombia, for the second year in a row, failed the
Washington's test of full cooperation in the U.S. war
against drugs.

I worry that U.S. policy toward Colombia will lead to
harsh new measures, such as putting Colombian travelers
through difficult searches when they enter the United
States or eliminating tariff preferences on coffee and
other products.

I fear such policies will mean poorer treatment of
Colombians living in the United States. It's already bad
enough.

Next time I hear a joke about Colombians and cocaine,
I'll point out that Americans are the ones that consume
most of the cocaine. That's the real punch line. (Adriana
Lopez is a freelance writer living in New York.)