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DEA
Congressional Testimony
September 17, 2002
Statement
of
Asa Hutchinson
Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration
Before
the
The Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control
Executive
Summary
The Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) is fully committed to aggressively targeting major
international drug trafficking organizations. As part of this commitment,
DEA's objectives include targeting and dismantling the networks and operations
of these international cartels.
As the nations
lead Federal drug law enforcement agency, the DEA works diligently to
facilitate the objectives of the Andean Regional Initiative. The presence
of the DEA in the Andean region has resulted in significant multi-national
investigations and initiatives and noteworthy successes in the following
ways:
- Reduction
of cocaine flow to the U.S. by nearly 100 metric tons since 1996
- Decline of
cocaine purity in the U.S. by nearly 10 percent since 1998
- Federal indictment
of FARC terrorist members
- Apprehension
of FARC terrorist Carlos Bolas
- Extradition
of 26 Colombian Nationals
- Improved communication
and cooperation between Host Nation Counterparts
- Enforcement
activity involving Priority Targeting, Sensitive Investigative Units,
and Bilateral Task Forces
- Intelligence
Sharing with and between Host Nation Counterparts
- Enhanced operational
efficiency due to Andean region funding
Andean region
countries face dramatic challenges, many of which are directly related
to drug trafficking. DEA will continue to work in close partnership with
our counterparts in these countries that are critical to DEA's mission.
This is a partnership that we have invested substantial time and resources
for the past twenty years and has yielded great success. The ultimate
test of success will come when we bring to justice the drug traffickers
who control their vast empires of crime, which bring misery to so many
nations.
Chairman Biden,
Co-Chairman Grassley, and distinguished members of the Senate Caucus on
International Narcotics Control. It is a pleasure for me to appear before
you today. I would also like to personally express my sincere gratitude
to this Caucus for your unwavering and ongoing support for the men and
women of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
I appear before you
today to testify regarding the Andean Regional Initiative and how this
initiative affects our nation's battle against illegal narcotics.
OVERVIEW - PLAN
COLOMBIA/ANDEAN REGIONAL INITIATIVE
The strategic initiative
known as Plan Colombia was based upon a proposal developed by the Colombian
government to reduce the destabilizing influences damaging Colombia today.
The Plan called for simultaneous approaches in ten areas to combat the
crisis. These elements included economic reform, national security protection,
judicial reform, and counter-narcotics enforcement.
In the counterdrug
element of Plan Colombia, the Colombian government established six primary
objectives designed to reduce the cultivation, processing, and distribution
of narcotics by 50 percent. These objectives were to be accomplished within
a six-year period. The United States Government appropriated $1.3 billion
to fund this Plan.
The second phase
of Plan Colombia was created and identified as the Andean Regional Initiative
(ARI), in order to reduce the "spill-over" potential on neighboring
countries. This initiative implemented strategic goals similar to those
of Plan Colombia, in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Panama,
Peru, and Venezuela.
REGIONAL "SPILL-OVER"
DEA has observed
a limited "spill-over" effect in Andean countries with respect
to cocaine and heroin trafficking. Colombian trafficking organizations
are a dominant force in both Venezuela and Ecuador and, in addition, there
are significant ties between elements of the FARC involved in drug trafficking
and major drug traffickers in Brazil and Suriname. The Colombians traffickers,
in alliance with other trafficking groups, have caused these nations to
become transshipment points for cocaine and heroin. As a result of effective
enforcement efforts, there has been a dramatic increase in Colombian heroin
seizures in Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama (See Chart). DEA reporting
indicates that since 1999, heroin seizures have increased by 785% in Venezuela,
285% in Ecuador, 226% in Panama and 5.7% in Colombia. These seizure figures
illustrate the importance of having a regional approach in combating drug
trafficking.
NARCO-TERRORIST
ACTIVITY
The DEA continues
to develop overwhelming evidence about the connection between the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), other terrorist groups in the Andean
region, and the drug trade. The U.S. State Department has officially designated
the FARC, National Liberation Army (ELN), and the United Self-Defense
Groups of Colombia (AUC) as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
An alliance of convenience
between guerillas and traffickers is nothing new. Since the 1970s, drug
traffickers based in Colombia have made temporary alliances of convenience
with leftist guerillas, or with right wing groups. In each case, these
arrangements are not grounded in common ideology, but rather to secure
protection for the trafficking organizations drug interests. At other
times, the drug traffickers have financed their own private armies to
provide security services.
The FARC and ELN
have routinely kidnapped U.S. citizens and attacked U.S. economic interests
in Colombia. According to the 2001 U.S. State Department Annual Report
on Global Patterns of Terrorism, 55 percent of all the terrorist acts
in the world reportedly were committed in Colombia by the FARC or ELN.
The report also claims that almost 85 percent of the terrorist attacks
(219 attacks) against U.S. interests occurred in Colombia. Of these attacks,
178 reportedly were directed against the Cano Limon-Covenas oil pipeline.
Since 1980, the FARC
has murdered 13 U.S. citizens and kidnapped over 100 more, including the
1993 kidnapping of three U.S. missionaries, who now are believed dead.
In May 2002, the Colombian Prosecutor General's Office charged Jorge Briceno-Suarez
(aka Mono Jojoy) with the kidnapping and murder of the three U.S. missionaries.
According to the investigation, Briceno-Suarez ordered members of the
FARC's 10th Front to execute the missionaries. The brother of Briceno-Suarez,
German Briceno-Suarez, also was charged in the investigation.
Recently, a high-ranking
FARC member reportedly gave orders to specifically target U.S. personnel
in Colombia. In late August 2002, the Colombian press reported that Colombian
National Police intelligence confirmed that Briceno-Suarez had announced
a decision by the FARC leadership to attack U.S. citizens residing in
Colombia. Intelligence allegedly confirmed that the August 7, 2002, terrorist
attacks in Bogota-the day of Alvaro Uribe-Velez' inauguration-were the
work of the FARC.
Over recent months,
there have been numerous reports of members and associates of the FARC
exchanging cocaine or cash for weapons with arms suppliers from around
the world. Although uncorroborated, these arms suppliers include criminals,
revolutionary groups, and corrupt government officials from Mexico, Nicaragua,
Russia, Venezuela, and other countries. Some of the weapons that allegedly
have been exchanged for drugs include AK-47 rifles, M60 machine guns,
rocket-propelled grenades, and MANPAD surface-to-air missiles (IGLS, STRELA,
and Stinger missiles).
The Sendero Luminoso
(Shining Path) is a terrorist group operating in Peru that advocates the
overthrow of the government in order to achieve their self-described form
of "agrarian communism." The overlap of Peru's coca cultivation
regions and the traditional Shining Path strongholds suggest their involvement
in aspects of the local drug trade. Historically, the Shining Path has
derived income from the taxation of coca production. U.S. State Department
has designated the Shining Path as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
On March 20, 2002,
a 60-kilogram car bomb exploded in the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy in
Lima, killing nine people, one of whom was a Peruvian National Police
Officer. There were no Americans injured or killed during the incident.
Current investigations indicate that the Shining Path was most likely
responsible for this attack.
This environment
of civil unrest provides terrorists organizations, such as the FARC, with
a ready-means of exploiting access to cocaine stocks for the purpose of
securing weapons and munitions to facilitate their terrorist activities.
CULTIVATION/PRODUCTION
TRENDS
Since 1995, net coca
cultivation in Colombia has more than tripled, from 50,000 hectares in
1995 to 169,800 hectares in 2001. When expressed in terms of potential
cocaine base "output", Colombia's production has increased by
217 percent since 1995, from 230 metric tons in 1995 to 730 metric tons
in 2001. Colombia accounted for 76 percent of the world's cocaine base
production in 2001. Accordingly, Colombian traffickers have become far
less dependent on Peruvian or Bolivian cocaine sources of supply than
in the past.
Since the early 1990s,
opium poppy cultivation in Colombia has rapidly expanded. With approximately
6,540 hectares of opium poppy under cultivation in 2001, Colombia potentially
produced 4.3 metric tons of heroin. Production has risen fairly steadily
since 1998, when Colombia produced about 2.7 metric tons of heroin. Capitalizing
on existing cocaine smuggling routes, Colombian traffickers have effectively
seized control of the heroin market displacing Southeast Asian heroin
traffickers, who were dominant heroin distributors during the 1980's and
early 1990's. Approximately 59% of the heroin seized in the United States
is of Colombian origin as opposed to a combined 24%, which is estimated
to arrive from Southwest Asia (16%) and Southeast Asia (8%).
Bolivia's cocaine
production fell by 67 percent, from 240 metric tons in 1995 to 80 metric
tons in 2000. This decrease in Bolivian potential cocaine production was
largely due to unprecedented coca eradication, enforcement operations
targeting essential chemicals, and decreased demand from Colombian traffickers.
In 2001, production in Bolivia dropped by 25 percent, from 80 metric tons
to 60 metric tons.
Peru's cocaine production
decreased by 68 percent during the same five years, from 460 metric tons
in 1995 to 145 metric tons in 2000. A combination of aggressive crop eradication,
a persistent coca fungus in some growing areas, Peru's air interdiction
program, and decreased demand from Colombian traffickers were key factors
that led to this decline in potential cocaine base production. In 2001,
production in Peru decreased by 3.4 percent, from 145 metric tons to 140
metric tons.
ENFORCEMENT SUCCESSES
Colombia
On March 7, 2002,
a Federal indictment was unsealed against seven defendants, three of whom
are members of the 16th FARC Front. This case, conducted by DEA's Bogota
and Brasilia Country Offices, and the Government of Colombia, with assistance
from the Department of Justice Criminal Division Attorneys, is the first
time that members of a known terrorist organization have been indicted
in the United States for their drug trafficking activity. The indictment
charged that between 1994 and 2001, the commander of the 16th Front, Tomas
Molina-Caracas, Carlos Bolas, and other members of the 16th Front, engaged
in drug trafficking, and further alleged that Molina-Caracas collected
cocaine processed in laboratories along the Guaviare River and sold it
to international cocaine traffickers. This cocaine was ultimately transported
to the United States, Brazil, Suriname, Paraguay, Mexico, and Spain. In
addition, the 1st, 7th, 10th, 39th, and 44th FARC Fronts delivered to
Molina-Caracas and the 16th FARC Front cocaine to be sold to international
drug traffickers. According to the indictment, cocaine was sold in exchange
for currency, weapons, and equipment.
The Bogota Country
Office, Curacao Country Office, and the Surinamese Police developed a
variety of intelligence and investigative leads concerning the whereabouts
of former uniformed guerrilla FARC member Eugenio Vargas-Perdomo, a.k.a.
Carlos Bolas. Vargas-Perdomo was indicted in the District of Columbia
for conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States. On June 18, 2002,
Vargas-Perdomo was located and arrested. Subsequently, Surinamese authorities
determined that Vargas-Perdomo was in Surinam illegally and expelled him
from the country. On the same day, a DEA aircraft transported him to Washington,
D.C.
On March 14 and 15,
2002, the Colombian National Police (CNP), in coordination with DEA Bogota
Country Office (BCO), conducted several raids of cocaine hydrochloride
(HCl) and cocaine base laboratories that were operated by different Fronts
of the FARC. These three labs were located in the demilitarized zone (DESPEJE)
near San Jose del Guaviare, Colombia. A combined total of seven tons of
cocaine HCl and cocaine base and numerous pieces of documentary evidence
were seized.
Current Colombian
drug traffickers transport cocaine from Colombia, via maritime routes,
through Mexico or the Caribbean Islands, to the United States. Coordinated
go-fast boat and fishing vessel operations are very difficult to detect
and interdict. However, in the last 20 months, the intercepting of the
vessels, Forever My Friend, Svesda Maru, Atun X, Macel, Paulo and Maria
Isabel, have led to the interdiction of approximately 71 tons of cocaine
destined for the United States.
On September 2, 2002,
Pedro Navarrete-Venganzones and Manuel Aviles-Duron were arrested by the
Colombian National Police Sensitive Investigative Unit in Medellin, Colombia.
Both defendants were principal members of a transportation organization
and were responsible for shipping approximately 22 tons of cocaine through
Mexico into the United States, since the late 1980's. The defendants were
indicted in the Middle District of Florida for conspiracy to import and
distribute cocaine into the United States and for money laundering.
An investigation
by the Bogota Country Office, the Colombian National Police, and several
other DEA foreign and domestic offices culminated on June 12, 2002, with
Operation Juliet. This investigation/operation dismantled the international
heroin and cocaine trafficking organization of Jose Jairo Garcia-Giraldo.
Garcia-Giraldo's group coordinated and shipped multi-kilogram quantities
of heroin and cocaine to the United States. As a result of this investigation,
16 individuals in Colombia were arrested, 46 kilograms of heroin, 21 kilograms
of cocaine, and approximately 600,000.00 U.S. currency were seized. The
Colombian National Police also seized a heroin-packing house used to conceal
the heroin. Garcia-Giraldo was indicted in New York, is currently incarcerated
in Colombia, and is awaiting extradition to the United States.
Venezuela
On August 13, 2002,
the Venezuelan Guardia Nacional (VGN) seized 51 kilograms of heroin and
arrested eight individuals, to include two Spanish nationals and six Venezuelan
nationals at the Maiquetia International Airport in Caracas. The heroin
was concealed in clothing, shoes, shaving cream canisters, shampoo bottles
and other personal items. The investigation has revealed that nine individuals
were traveling as a group of family members to New York, on a direct flight
from Caracas.
On September 8, 2002,
the Caracas Country Office, along with the Venezuelan National Guard (VNG),
seized approximately 657 kilograms of cocaine, 15 "go fast"
boats, a ranch, weapons, and communication equipment from the Juan Sanchez,
a.k.a. Leon Cachito organization. Sanchez was arrested along with 15 other
individuals. Subsequent to the initial seizure, law enforcement seized
another 1,000 kilograms of cocaine. Sanchez is considered to be one of
the top transportation specialists operating from Venezuela. Intelligence
indicates that he has been shipping multi-ton loads of cocaine, on behalf
of Colombian trafficking groups, for years.
Peru
On June 7, 2002,
the Lima Country Office (LCO), the Peruvian National Police (PNP), and
the LCO Sensitive Investigative Unit (SIU), in coordination with the DEA
Special Operations Division, Miami Division, Bogota Country Office and
Mexico Country Office, culminated a six month investigation of Nelson
Paredes-Ortiz. The investigation targeted a cocaine smuggling organization
comprised of Colombian, Guatemalan, Mexican, and Peruvian violators. The
investigation resulted in the seizure of 1760 kilograms of cocaine, $18,000.00
in U.S. Currency, a cocaine conversion laboratory, 1,520 kilograms of
assorted chemicals, and equipment necessary for cocaine processing. In
addition, 28 individuals were arrested as a result of this investigation.
The lab is believed to have been capable of producing 600 kilograms of
cocaine weekly.
Ecuador
On February 7, 2002,
the DEA-supported Ecuadorian National Police (ENP) Canine Unit, while
conducting inspections of flower shipments exiting Ecuador at the Quito
International Airport, detected 19 kilograms of heroin secreted in plastic
pellets within several hundred boxes bound for Miami, Florida. Follow
up investigation by the DEA and ENP led to the discovery of 31 more kilograms
of heroin destined for the United States.
The Ecuadorian port
cities of Guayaquil and Manta are actively used by Colombian and Ecuadorian
traffickers to send maritime shipments of cocaine to the United States.
DEA investigations in these cities greatly contributed to the seizures
of the vessel Svedsa Maru with 12 metric tons of cocaine, and the vessel,
Forever My Friend, with 8 metric tons of cocaine.
Brazil
The Brazilian Federal
Police and the Sao Paulo Resident Office developed information that Colombian
multi-ton cocaine distribution and trafficking cells had been established
in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In May 2002, the Brazilian Federal Police seized
1, 238 kilograms of cocaine and arrested 28 members of the organization,
including the cell leader, Luis Fernando Arismendy-Echavarria. Also as
a result of the arrests, the Brazilian Federal Police seized documents
that have proven to be valuable to subsequent DEA domestic and foreign
investigations.
Panama
On July 24, 2002,
the DEA Panama Country Office assisted the Panama National Police (PNP)
in the arrest of six defendants (2 Colombians and 4 Panamanians) and seized
10 kilograms of heroin. Subsequent information developed from this arrest
led to the discovery of a hidden basement in another location that contained
an additional 6 kilograms of heroin, 300 kilograms of cocaine, and 260
kilograms of marijuana. Also discovered were 139 AK-47 Russian made rifles,
11 Dragonov sniper rifles, 1 Fal 7.62 rifle, two 45 caliber submachine
guns, 247 AK-47 ammunition clips, and 598 rounds of 7.62 ammunition.
Regional Investigations
On December 12, 2001,
DEA, in close alliance with its South American police counterparts, announced
the results of Operation Seis Fronteras (Phase III). The multi-faceted
operation resulted in numerous arrests, the seizure of significant quantities
of liquid and solid chemicals, 94 laboratories, 81 kilograms of heroin,
5,490 kilograms of cocaine, and 1,163 kilograms of cocaine base.
As a direct result
of the IDEC Conference in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, the countries of Peru,
Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil participated
in a coordinated regional operation, Operation Gran Chaco V. This operation
was designed to interdict chemicals and drugs destined for the illicit
market. The operation was conducted between May 20, 2002, and June 10,
2002, and yielded seizures in excess of 74 metric tons of sulfuric acid,
59 metric tons of dry chemicals, 28,976 liters of liquid chemicals, 78
kilograms of cocaine, two cocaine laboratories, as well as 58 arrests.
The DEA has noted
in recent months an increase in the size of heroin shipments destined
for the United States. Previously, couriers on commercial flights were
the primary means of smuggling heroin to the United States. However, current
DEA intelligence indicates that heroin has also been transported via commercial
air cargo and maritime vessel in larger amounts. This trend may indicate
that independent heroin trafficking groups are becoming more organized
and are consolidating their shipments in a fashion similar to cocaine
traffickers. In response to this threat, Operation Plataforma, a regional
heroin enforcement operation that was carried out from April 15, 2001
until June 15, 2001, culminated in the seizure of 144 kilograms of heroin
and the arrest of 85 defendants in Colombia, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, and
Ecuador. The second phase of Operation Plataforma began in November 2001
after a multi-national planning meeting was held on October 23, 2001,
in Bogota. Since the beginning of the second phase, approximately 1 ton
of heroin has been seized.
IMPACT OF ENFORCEMENT
OPERATIONS
Cocaine Purity
in the United States
Purity levels of
Colombian cocaine are declining according to an analysis of samples seized
from traffickers. Since 1998, wholesale cocaine purities have dropped
by nearly 10 percent.
This decline in purity
may be attributable to several factors, including substantial DEA cooperative
enforcement operations, the Sensitive Investigative Unit (SIU) initiative,
and Operation Purple, a DEA program which targets the illegal diversion
of chemicals used in processing cocaine and other illicit drugs. Operation
Purple, which involves 28 countries, restricts the supply of potassium
permanganate and is thought to have an impact on the quality of cocaine
base in the Andean region.
A second possible
factor is that traffickers are diluting their cocaine to offset the higher
costs associated with payoffs to insurgent and paramilitary groups in
Colombia.
A third possible
cause is that cocaine traffickers simply do not have sufficient stocks
of product to simultaneously satisfy their stable market in the United
States and their rapidly growing market in Europe. As a result, they are
cutting the product to try to satisfy both markets.
At the same time,
the street price of pure cocaine is rising in the United States. Cocaine
abusers still pay the stable price of approximately $100 per gram price
that has been in effect for the last several years, but they are now getting
less pure cocaine for their money. The situation is comparable to a candy
manufacturer's decision to either raise the price of its candy bar or
to reduce the size of the candy bar and sell it at the same price.
In addition to the
decline of cocaine purity levels, the importation of cocaine into the
U.S. has decreased substantially. From 1996 to 1999, estimated cocaine
flow to the U.S. declined by nearly 200 metric tons. From 1999 to 2001,
estimated cocaine flow to the U.S. began rising again. However, overall
estimated cocaine flow to the U.S. in 2001 was still down by nearly 100
metric tons, compared to 1996 levels.
OVERVIEW OF PRIORTIES
AND PROGRAMS
Priority Targeting
DEA's Priority Targeting
System is the mechanism within DEA that identifies and prioritize those
highest level drug trafficking problems or drug trafficking organizations
having the greatest impact on drug abuse in the United States. Based on
an ongoing assessment process, DEA resources will be directed towards
combating identified priority drug trafficking problems and organizations.
The system provides for better measurement of field enforcement efforts,
as well as resulting successes in these high priority enforcement initiatives.
The Office of International Operations (OF) is attacking these Priority
Targets on a regional basis due to the global nature of their operations.
There are currently 22 listed priority target investigations in South
America.
Bogota Heroin
Task Force
The Bogota Country
Office and the Colombian National Police have created a Heroin Task Force
that coordinates all heroin investigations within Colombia, in cooperation
with other South American countries and DEA domestic offices. The Task
Force is comprised of 45 officers, working from five offsite locations
in Colombia. This newly established task force initiates additional investigations
against the major Colombian trafficking organizations. The House and Senate
Appropriations Committees recently approved DEA's proposal to reallocate
13 foreign positions, including nine Special Agents, two Intelligence
Research Analysts, and two administrative positions, to coordinate efforts
with the task force.
The formation of
this Task Force has significant importance for the U.S. because approximately
59% of the heroin seized in the U.S. is of Colombian origin. This is in
contrast with an estimated combined total of 24% arriving from Southwest
Asia (16%) and Southeast Asia (8%).
Sensitive Investigative
Units
The Sensitive Investigative
Unit (SIU) program began in Colombia and has been used as a model since
then for the formation of such units in other countries. This group of
specifically trained and vetted police officers carry out highly sensitive
investigations, which directly impact the United States and have been
directed to target the command and control centers of Colombia's most
significant drug trafficking organizations. There are currently four distinct
SIU's operating in Colombia. They are divided based on their investigative
responsibilities, which include high level investigations of major drug
trafficking organizations, chemical investigations, and money laundering.
The SIU's have offices located in the major cities of Colombia and are
completely funded by DEA. This highly successful program has been responsible
for the dismantling of numerous major drug trafficking groups since its
inception. A residual benefit of this program is the long-term enhancement
of the integrity and professionalism of law enforcement.
The DEA has also
established other highly effective SIU's within the Andean Regional Initiative,
including Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Brazil. Since FY 2000, DEA has trained
579 foreign law enforcement officers of the SIU program. These units,
in concert with the local DEA office, have made significant contributions
to the U.S. Government's Andean strategy.
Extradition
Extradition is one
of the most effective weapons available to the United States in the fight
against Colombian drug trafficking organizations. The Extradition Reform
Act of the Colombian Constitution, which allows for the extradition of
Colombian nationals for crimes committed after the date of enactment,
entered into force on December 17, 1997. Since that time, the Bogota Country
Office, in support of DEA's domestic investigations, has been able to
successfully coordinate the extradition of 26 Colombian Nationals.
Regional Intelligence
Sharing with Host Nation Counterparts
In late November
2001, 25 Unified Caribbean On-line Regional Network (UNICORN) Systems
were purchased and distributed to Host Nation law enforcement counterparts
in nine South American countries. This on-line regional system is designed
to improve effective communications and exchange of law enforcement information
via electronic mail (e-mail). It has proven beneficial in sharing of interdiction
and investigative information between local law enforcement agencies,
as well as their neighboring counterparts and their respective DEA offices.
To protect communications between the law enforcement agencies, encryption
software has been integrated with the e-mail communications.
Training
DEA's International
Training Section provides substantial training for the Sensitive Investigative
Units (SIUs) in the Andean regional countries. SIU members receive a five-week
training course at the DEA Academy in Quantico, and selected members receive
an additional two-weeks of enforcement intelligence training. In addition,
International Training provides two-week bi-lateral training to other
law enforcement officers operating in the Andean regional countries. The
professional and specialized training provided by DEA is invaluable to
the success of current and future enforcement and intelligence operations.
Andean Regional
Funding
Although DEA did
not receive direct funding through Plan Colombia and the Andean Regional
Initiative, we have received substantial support from Congress through
other Andean Counter-Drug Initiatives. In particular, DEA receives funding
for Source Country Programs, Andean Ridge Programs, Sensitive Investigative
Units, and the Riverine Program.
These programs, which
were initiated in 1997, have provided DEA with immeasurable support and
have greatly contributed to the many enforcement successes achieved by
DEA and our host nation counterparts in the Andean countries. These Congressionally
funded programs have allowed DEA to increase staffing in some countries,
to create elite vetted police units, and to purchase the necessary law
enforcement equipment.
The Bogota Country
Office has used these funds to create four SIUs to fund jungle operations
against cocaine laboratories, carry out regional operations to diminish
the flow of essential chemicals, pay informants and purchase equipment
necessary to collect valuable intelligence. The Caracas, Venezuela, Country
Office has formed a vetted unit by combining the forces of the National
Guard, the police and the prosecutor's office, and the Quito, Ecuador,
Country Office has created an SIU, which has vigorously investigated maritime
transporters of cocaine and heroin trafficking groups. In Tabatinga, Brazil,
a joint intelligence complex has been established that joins the forces
of Brazil, Peru and Colombia to interdict the flow of cocaine and chemicals
along the river system.
Conclusion
The DEA remains committed
to our primary goal of targeting and arresting the most significant traffickers
in the world today. In particular, we will continue to work in close partnership
with our counterparts throughout the Andean region. The DEA has invested
substantial time and resources in this valuable partnership, resulting
in many successful enforcement operations.
Thank you for the
opportunity to testify before the Caucus today. I will be happy to respond
to any questions you may have. |