-Caveat Lector- from - http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/020227/d7humfjg0_3.html
Wednesday February 27, 6:12 pm Eastern Time Associated Press Colombian drug farmers in former rebel safe haven face uncertain future as army returns By SUSANNAH A. NESMITH Associated Press Writer VISTA HERMOSA, Colombia (AP) -- Despite U.S.-backed efforts to stamp out cocaine production in Colombia, the drug trade flourished inside a vast southern region ceded to leftist rebels in 1998 as an incentive for peace talks. The military and police were forced to move out of the region, leaving this Switzerland-sized area of cattle ranches and wilderness to the control of rebels. Now, with the return of government troops, farmers who have become dependent on illegal crops are fearful about the future. "The only thing that makes money here is coca," said one Vista Hermosa grower, who agreed to be interviewed on the condition that his name not be used. "It's how people survive here now." In other parts of Colombia, the United States has spent millions to fight the drug war by providing equipment to Colombia's military, training the country's soldiers and spraying pesticide over illegal crops. Until last week, the area occupied by the rebels was exempt from the drug eradication effort. On Wednesday, Justice Minister Romulo Gonzalez said that Colombia's crop of coca dropped by 16.8 percent in the past 16 months, the first decline on record. Gonzalez said the figures show coca eradication efforts are succeeding. But separate estimates scheduled to be released Friday by the U.S. government are expected to show a large increase in coca cultivation in Colombia, U.S. and U.N. counterdrug officials say. A frustrated President Andres Pastrana called off talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, last Wednesday, and ordered the military to recapture their safe haven. The rebels have since abandoned the five towns inside the zone and launched attacks in other areas, targeting civilians and government infrastructure. Pastrana, whose term ends in August, set peace as the goal of his administration. He set a precedent by handing the FARC the territory as a site for the negotiations. Never before had a country created a sanctuary for insurgents prior to peace talks. But the nation's sacrifice came at a price. "Before the demilitarized zone was created, 20 percent of the crops in Vista Hermosa were coca," said mayor Leonel Castano. "Now 80 percent is coca. Vista Hermosa really became a drug trafficking center during the last three years." "If the coca is eliminated, we are going to see a terrible quantity of unemployed farmers here," he added. Perched on a cliff overlooking a vast plain, Vista Hermosa is more than an hour by pock-marked dirt road from Granada, the nearest large town. The isolation makes it hard for farmers to make a living growing rice or plantains. The dusty town fills with farmers from the outlying area on Sunday, but they don't bring their crops to sell. They load up fertilizer and potatoes on top of weary jeeps to head back to their farms. They sold their coca in markets set up by the FARC in nearby villages. "We're not sure who is going to buy the product now," the grower said. "The is a lot of uncertainty now." Colombia, which produces 80 percent of the world's cocaine, is fighting its 38-year leftist insurgency largely in the shadow of the massive U.S. counter-narcotics aid. Though the money -- nearly dlrs 2 billion in the last two years alone -- is restricted by U.S. law to fighting drugs, the battles are closely intertwined because the FARC have long financed their insurgency by taxing and protecting the drug trade. The FARC have broadened their drug operation recently, trying to sell drugs on the international market last year, Klaus Nyholm, the United Nations' top counter-drug official in Colombia, said Tuesday. The coca grower, speaking in the town plaza a few feet from police officers who arrived with the troops Sunday, said the rebels kept a tight hold on the drug market while they held the zone. So many farmers began producing coca, the price of the crop fell. "The first thing that changed here when the demilitarized zone was created was the market was taken over by the rebels," he said. He has a 10-acre (four-hectare) coca field at his farm outside of town, where he employs 20 people, he said. But he plans to stay in Vista Hermosa until the situation calms. "A lot of the coca growers are here in town now," he said. "We don't want to get caught in a firefight." Gen. Gustavo Socha, head of the anti-drug police, said officials were planning to resume fumigation flights over the former rebel territory soon, but he wouldn't say when. The prospects of the government again attacking the drug crops in the region have many here worried. "Many peasants neglected their cattle to get involved in coca," said Daniel Valencia, a rancher. "Now people are worried the government is coming. What will happen to the coca crops?" Castano, the town's mayor, hopes the government might offer loans to help farmers switch to legal crops. But a U.S.-financed program to promote alternative crops has had little success, according to a congressional investigation released Monday. Pastrana has sought greater U.S. assistance in fighting the rebels. The Bush administration is reviewing options to increase aid, but no combat role is envisioned for U.S. forces. In rebel attacks Tuesday, four police officers and a child were killed, and 19 civilians were kidnapped at a roadblock, though nine women and children were later freed. Power and telephone service was cut to dozens of towns after the rebels dynamited electrical towers. There was no word Wednesday on the fate of presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who was kidnapped Saturday along with her campaign manager. Five members of congress have also been abducted. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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