USA: US TO CUT OFF FINANCIAL AID TO COLOMBIA

Описание: (2 Mar 1996) Eng/Span/Nat

The United States is cutting off most financial aid to Colombia as punishment for the country's involvement in the drugs industry.

President Clinton has concluded that Colombia has failed to co-operate fully with the war on drugs.

Some officials warned that an aid cutoff would jeopardise what co-operation Colombia is providing to fight drug trafficking, and the country's President has reacted with fury to the move.

President Clinton has ordered a cutoff of most U-S aid to Colombia after concluding that Colombian authorities are not doing enough to cut the drugs flow from their country.

Clinton's decision was announced following the release of a State Department report on worldwide efforts against drug trafficking.

The report says efforts picked up steam last year with increased arrests of drugs barons, drug eradication programmes and new measures to combat money laundering.

Ambassador Robert Gelbard, Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, explained President Clinton's decision.

He said the Colombian government had been plagued with drugs related corruption.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"These efforts have been undercut at every turn by a government and a legislature not only plagued by corruption, but which are fostering corruption in order to protect themselves. The Cali traffickers have been running their operations from prison, and the prosecutor general has been the target of a public campaign to undermine and discredit his efforts. The US government did not prejudge the Samper administration's effort on drugs, but neither could it ignore the facts at hand. The test of the law is whether the government of Colombia is cooperating in the counter-drug struggle. In the president's judgement, there was insufficient cooperation."
SUPER CAPTION: Ambassador Robert Gelbard, Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement

Clinton reached his decision on Colombia after a bitter inter-agency debate.

Some officials warned that an aid cutoff could jeopardise what co-operation Colombia is providing to fight drug trafficking.

SOUNDBITE(English): "And we have seen repeated instances where the government has taken concerted efforts to try to undermine the efforts of the prosecutor general, has cooperated with corrupt members of the congress in the introduction of amendments to legislation which would have effectively - if they had not been ultimately defeated - undercut and diluted important Colombian laws against drug trafficking."
SUPER CAPTION: Ambassador Robert Gelbard, Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement

By law, countries failing to cooperate lose most foreign assistance and all U-S Export- Import Bank financing.

The United States must also vote against loan requests from the decertified country to international financial institutions, such as the World Bank.

Colombia's President reacted with rage to the US move:

SOUNDBITE (Spanish): This determination is in openly opposite to the overwhelming evidence shown by Colombia in its fight against narco-trafficking during 1995. No government up until now had accomplished so much in so little time.
SUPERCAPTION: Ernesto Samper-Pizano. President of Colombia

Colombia's image has deteriorated in recent months because of allegations that President Ernesto Samper solicited drugs money in his 1994 campaign.

SUPERCAPTION: Ernesto Samper-Pizano, President of Colombia

There was no immediate estimate as to the economic impact on Colombia of Clinton's decision.



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