Allison Major

• Colombia Special Report

Coca Eradication: The Case for Action
Allison Major
Senior Policy Analyst, National Office of Drug Control Policy
Friday, Jan, 12, 2001

The chemical used to eradicate coca fields in Colombia is "totally harmless," according to national drug policy chief Barry McCaffrey. He and the Clinton administration defend the fumigation campaign described in correspondent Scott Wilson's story Aerial Attack Killing More than Coca as a necessary component of a balanced plan for attacking the drug problem.

Allison J. Major, a Senior Policy Analyst for Colombia and Venezuela in the Office of Supply Reduction at the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), will talk about the misunderstood role of fumigation in U.S. counter-drug policy in Colombia on Friday, January 12 at noon EST.

Major began her counter-drug career in the Narcotics Affairs Section at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota where she lived from 1987-1993. She subsequently served as Coordinator for International Policy and Programs in the Office of Drug Enforcement Policy and Support in the Office of the Secretary of Defense from 1993-1997.

Major holds both a Bachelor's degree from the University of Kansas and a Master's degree from Indiana University; both in Spanish.

The transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

washingtonpost.com: Our guest is Allison Major, senior policy analyst from the National Office of Drug Control Policy. She'll be talking about coca eradication and U.S. policy toward Colombia.

washingtonpost.com: Give us your reaction to the story that prompted washingtonpost.com's interest in the eradication issue. I am referring to Scott Wilson's article last Sunday about the effects of aerial spraying in southern Colombia. Was this article accurate?
Was it fair?

Allison Major: I do not believe that the article was entirely accurate or fair. The aerial eradication campaign begun in December against coca cultivation in Colombia's Putumayo department is an extension of a program that the Colombian government has been carrying out for more than 10 years. This is not the first time that coca crops in the Putumayo have been sprayed. The spray campaign in the Putumayo is focused on "industrial" sized plots (12 hectares or more), not on the smaller family-farm type cultivation of 3 hectares or less. Every effort is made to ensure that only drug crops are sprayed. The Colombian government investigates when there are allegations that aerial spraying damaged legitimate agriculture. Deliberate intercropping of food crops with drug crops to avoid aerial eradication is not legitimate agriculture.

washingtonpost.com: What then should washingtonpost.com viewers know about this program that they didn't learn in Wilson's article?

Allison Major: The aerial eradication program in Colombia is only one aspect of the overall counter-drug strategy. The Colombian government has a national strategy, "Plan Colombia," and our assistance is in support of that plan. In addition to the spray program, the USG has provided funds for the protection of human rights workers and investigators, administration of justice programs, alternative economic development (which also is currently taking place in the Putumayo), support for internally displaced people, environmental programs, as well as mobility, training and communications support for Colombian police and military involved in counter-drug efforts. It's also important to put our cooperative efforts with Colombia into the regional context. This is a regional problem that will require a regional solution. There are substantial programs in place with the surrounding nations as well, precisely to avoid the "balloon effect" so touted by detractors of the program.

Seattle, Washington: What moral authority do we have to fumigate family farms of people of other cultures and countries?

Allison Major: All coca and opium poppy cultivation in Colombia is illegal under Colombian Law Number 30 of 1986. The US is supporting Colombia's efforts to enforce its laws. The spray program is conducted by the Colombian National Police with support from the US Department of State.

DC: What's your assessment of the contribution of DoD to the nation's anti-drug effort? If I recall the mid- to late-1980s, DoD wasn't too thrilled about using the military to combat drug trafficking. Obviously the sentiment has changed over the years, but has DoD involvement made a difference?

Allison Major: DoD has a limited, but important, role in counter-drug efforts, and it has made a significant positive contribution. It is important to note that, in accordance with current US law and policy, DoD personnel do not participate in host nation operations or participate in any activity where hostilities are imminent. DoD's support in the areas of transportation, training, planning, communications, and intelligence gathering cannot be replicated by any other department or agency of the USG.

Blacksburg, VA: First of all, in defense of the article:

The reporter did not write that the campaign was new, but that it had entered, a "new punitive phase" -- see paragraph one. Also, he wrote that yes, the spraying had been going on for awhile, but now there is something different -- that is, in addition to hitting the industrial size farms, which he says in the body of the article, the spraying is also targeting more populated areas. Thus, the article is, in fact, a fair and accurate representation of the policy, based on the information you gave at the beginning of this discussion.

What I find so disturbing about all of this is, what ever happened to grassroots solutions to these problems?

Allison Major: Coca cultivation in the Putumayo increased from 6,600 hectares in 1995 to nearly 46,000 hectares in 1999. This is not "mom and pop" farming. This is coca cultivation and drug production on an industrial scale. Our support package provides Colombia with $106 million to support alternative economic development in the drug producing regions. The Colombian Government development agency PLANTE is in the process of creating pacts with the communities in the Putumayo in which the small farmers voluntarily eradicate their illegal crops in exchange for government support and services. There are also funds for boosting local governments, justice programs, and protection of human rights workers and investigators at the grass roots level. Our hope is that our European allies, who are facing increased levels of cocaine consumption, will also continue to contribute significant funds for alternative economic development.

Washington, DC: Have we had any success at all in dealing with Cocaine production in the other cocaine producing countries--like Peru and Bolivia. To what do you attribute our success or failure? What lessons for Colombia?

Allison Major: Overall coca cultivation dropped 15% from 1995 to 1999. This was largely due to successful counter-drug efforts in Peru (66% decline) and Bolivia (55% decline). These decreases in coca cultivation were the result of a combination of law enforcement, interdiction, forced eradication, and alternative economic development. The primary lesson is that you need both the law enforcement and development aspects in place before progress is possible. We poured money into Peru and Bolivia's alternative development programs for many years. However, it was not until the governments in those countries developed a plan to implement law enforcement/interdiction efforts along with the development programs that we saw any decrease in drug crop cultivation. We are continuing to support both types of programs in those countries to shore up the success they have worked so hard to achieve.

Washington, DC: How much of our drug budget are we spending on international programs versus domestic demand reduction

Allison Major: Historically the international programs have constituted about 3% of the overall national drug control budget. In FY2000, because of the Colombia/Andean emergency supplemental, that figure rose to 8%. About one third of the budget is spent on domestic prevention, education, and treatment. About one half of the budget goes to US domestic law enforcement efforts.

Jeremy Bigwood Washington, DC: Exactly what is being used to spray coca and poppy in Colombia?
And which additives (surfactants, etc) are being used?

Will you permit independent oversight of the fumigation program? (edited)

Allison Major: The only chemical currently used for aerial eradication is glyphosate, which is one of the most widely used agricultural chemicals in the world. It is commercially available under many different brands in Colombia and worldwide. The aerial eradication program uses less than 10%
of the total amount of glyphosate used in Colombia each year. The remaining is used in the production of coffee; for pre-seeding rice, cotton, corn, sorghum, barley, and soybeans; for weed control in plantations of fruit trees, plantains, bananas, and African palm; and as a maturing agent in the production of sugar cane. It is even used by growers of coca and opium poppy to control weeds. The surfactant blend is polyethoxylated talowamines or POEA, which has been reviewed and approved by the EPA. The EPA toxicity classification for both RoundUp and RoundUp Ultra is exactly the same -- Category III, relatively low oral and dermal acute toxicity. It is far less toxic than either aspirin or caffeine. I refer you to the State web site (http://usinfo.state.gov/regional/ar/colombia/crop6.htm) or the US Embassy Bogota web site (http://usembassy.state.gov./bogota/wwwhglyp.html#3) for further information.

Mt. Rainier MD: I am puzzled how the spraying can be so carefully targeted that unintended fields - and people - are not hit. Just a little shift in breeze would certainly undo the plan, and I can't imagine the planes can go in so very close (as crop dusters generally do) because they'd be liable to be shot.

Allison Major: The Colombian National Police do reconnaissance of the potential spray areas. They prepare maps and very specific flight plans. The spray planes are outfitted with satellite guidance systems to ensure exact coordinates. Additionally, the police monitor the weather carefully and do not spray on days with high winds or when rain is imminent.

Washington DC: How will President elect Bush and the Pentagon view Plan Colombia now. Rumsfeld was quoted yesterday in the Washington Post as being skeptical of Plan Colombia. Where do you see U.S. Policy going?

Allison Major: I cannot speak for the incoming administration, but the Bush campaign put out a policy statement in October indicating that our counter-drug policies would continue basically in the same direction. The statement says that President-elect Bush "fully supports the $1.3 billion aid package recently passed by Congress" for Colombia and the Andean region.

washingtonpost.com: We are out of time. Our thanks to Allison Majors for her strong and succinct presentation and for graciously answering Jeremy Bigwood's questions. Thanks to everybody who sent in questions. Tune in next week for "Bush and the World," a daily roundtable of experts on the challenges facing the new administration in China, Russia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Check the World section for times.