A SAD TALE OF COCAINE AND CONGRESS THE TALLEYRAND REPORT

I don't use cocaine.

But if I did, I would read this column especially closely.

In the international cocaine trade, things are changing.
Quickly.

U.S. cocaine has long followed the same route. It goes from farms
generally operated by Marxist revolutionaries in Colombia to the lords
of various Colombian drug cartels who refine the raw product on the
Pacific or Caribbean coast. These cartels then sell to powerful
Mexican cartels that make their profit by shipping the finished
product into the United States across the porous southern border.

To tell the truth, the life of a drug lord is quite appealing. I once
told an elementary school teacher that I wanted to be a Colombian drug
lord when I grew up. It was the big hacienda with the beautiful woman
and the semi-official motorcade that got me.

A drug lord is like a feudal lord. People owe him loyalty (and
service). He has his fiefs. His organization is a transnational
corporation-Exxon with AK-47s. Sadly, for all children who aspire to
run their own cartels, this way of life is becoming extinct.

Colombia is the third-largest recipient of American foreign aid.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has reorganized the military (with
the help of the U.S. Special Forces) and has taken the fight to the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by the Spanish acronym
FARC, Marxist rebels who for so long have kept Colombia unstable and
wracked by violence. One by one, the military is hunting down and
killing the FARC's top commanders. In a recent daring raid, Colombian
forces seized FARC's most valuable batch of hostages, including
international cause celebre Ingrid Betancourt. As the Marxist rebels
lose battles, they lose territory. As they lose territory, they lose
their cocoa fields.

On the other hand, Uribe has also disarmed right wing paramilitary
groups. These organizations were often no more than gangs of
extortionists, terrorists who bought and then refined Marxist cocoa.
Journalists and trade unionists are now much closer to being able to
work without fear. The judiciary is flexing its muscles, issuing
rulings against military figures, government officials and even
members of the president's family. Uribe has accepted this as natural
and proper.

As the military wins land, production of cocoa decreases. As
production decreases, so does the revenue for the terrorists. As their
revenue decreases, so does their violence. As violence decreases, the
military wins more control of rebel-held areas. With our help (at
least, the help of all of us who pay taxes), Uribe has broken a cycle
of terror, violence and misery.

To the surprise of many, Colombia is becoming a better
place.

"So what?" ask the non-addicts among you.

The problem is that the work of stabilization and democratization
undertaken by Uribe with the strong support of the Bush administration
is in danger.

To sustain the positive trends of peace, Colombians need to see
economic improvement. They need to feel its effects in their wallets.
They need to have the Colombia Free Trade Agreement passed by the U.S.
Congress.

Most of us agree that free trade-excepting, of course, that in
cocaine-is a good thing. Increased competition increases
specialization which, in the end, lowers the price of goods for the
consumer (aka you, me and the average Colombian). The political
progress of Colombia must be followed with economic progress, and that
progress can be our gift, as American voters. Ratification of the
agreement is simply the right thing to do. The Colombians clearly
deserve the passage of this agreement-I even called a staffer in one
of the congressional leadership offices and asked what the big holdup
was.

I'll tell it to you straight: The Bush-backed free trade agreement
can't be supported by Democrats in an election year, so House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi is keeping it off the agenda. She actually has the votes
for passage: Combined with the Republicans, there are enough
free-trade Democrats to pass the agreement. After the 2008 elections,
the Colombia Free Trade Agreement should be brought to a vote.

If we are serious about helping democracy in the world, and I believe
we are, then we should put our money where our mouth is.

Write to your congressperson (especially if you are from Pelosi's
district) and ask him or her to support the free trade deal with
Colombia. Colombia is our ally and a democracy. Because Congress
hasn't acted yet, only you and I, it seems, can create the momentum we
need in order to do the right thing by our southern friends.

At the very least, Sunday's seizure of $200 million worth of cocaine
by the Colombian police deserves some concrete recognition and attention.

Gregory Morrison is a Trinity sophomore. His column runs every other
Wednesday.