NCJ Number
129142
Date Published
1990
Length
107 pages
Annotation
The House Committee on Government Operations conducted an oversight visit to Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia in January 1990 to assess the effectiveness, viability, and impact of U.S. counternarcotics (CN) operations in the Andean region.
Abstract
The intent of U.S. CN policy in the Andean region is to reduce or eliminate the supply of cocaine coming into the United States. The Committee's visit to the region and subsequent investigation has raised serious questions about the feasibility of a strategy to cut the supply of drugs in source countries. The Committee concluded that U.S. CN strategies reflect a military and law enforcement solution to what is primarily a social and economic problem. Specific implementation and operational problems found by the Committee in U.S. CN operations included the lack of accountability and management, poor interagency coordination, inappropriate agency functions in a paramilitary environment, problems associated with a dangerous operational environment, and waste and mismanagement in equipment procurement and maintenance. In addition, it was found that U.S. CN efforts are severely constrained by problems in source country agencies and operations and that the single greatest obstacle to the operational effectiveness of U.S. efforts may be the lack of political will and/or ability among host countries to confront the narcotics trade. Even though U.S. assistance has been allocated to the Andean militaries to conduct CN operations, the Committee found that the primary mission of military forces in Colombia and Peru is to neutralize armed insurgents, that counterinsurgency and CN objectives are often contradictory, and that no effective controls exist to insure U.S. CN assistance is not used for counterinsurgency purposes. The U.S. CN strategy for the Andean region is assessed in detail, and recommendations to improve U.S. efforts are offered. 240 footnotes