Colombia ignores US pressure to return to aerial fumigation of coca

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Colombia Reports


written by Adriaan Alsema June 14, 2017


Colombia’s government dismissed US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s claim that “it is necessary to resume fumigation” of coca, the base ingredient for cocaine, reported newspaper El Tiempo.

According to the country’s leading newspaper, while being heard by the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the 2018 budget, Tillerson said that President Donald Trump had talked to his Colombian counterpart Juan Manuel Santos personally “and we are going to work with them to deal with this issue.”

. . .

Colombia has banned the controversial use of the Monsanto-produced chemical deemed possibly carcinogenic by the World Health Organization. Moreover, the aerial spraying has led to health complaints by locals and tensions with neighboring country Ecuador.

Instead of spraying, Colombia and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have embarked on a two-year project of voluntary coca crop substitution as part of a peace process to end 52 years of war between the state and Marxist FARC guerrillas.

Read more: https://colombiareports.com/us-wants-colombia-return-aerial-fumigation-coca-ignored/

[sandensea]

1. Good on President Santos.

To think that when he was first elected, I thought of him as a Dubya/Uribe lackey - a somewhat more moderate alter ego, and not much more than that.

His Nobel Peace Prize was well deserved. Nor perfectly, perhaps; but certainly much more than some of us gave him credit for.

[Judi Lynn]

6. A lot of people undoubtedly thought that, since Uribe had appointed him his Defense chief.

I thought he was one of the right-wing lackeys, too.

The moment he became President, Uribe started trying to destroy him, and has never let up.

Santos has more courage than anyone could have ever known, considering Uribe's TOTAL ties to the utra-violent Colombian criminal world, the narco-trafficking, death-squad operating monsters who have terrified the poor and helpless so long. Uribe's entire family has been directly tied to them, some in prison. One of the Uribes is missing, of course.

Uribe has been treading water, wants Santos out of the way, and to get one of his guys back in the Presidency, so they can continue to keep Alvaro Uribe free, and start making the astounding profits all over again. As even the US Department of Defense report indicated in 1991, they already KNEW Uribe and his father were connected to Pablo Escobar, all that time ago.

Santos has earned his Nobel Prize by now, for his sheer courage, and actions trying to bring peace to his country.

[Warpy]

2. War on plants is incredibly stupid

especially in areas where people rely on those plants for things like mitigating altitude sickness.

The DEA is dead wrong on this policy and most others.

[jiminvegas]

3. Maybe Colombia should recommend that

Americans stop using cocaine. That would seem like a way to solve the problem without giving Colombians cancer.

[CentralMass]

4. An anti-cocaine song. (I think)

[Sunlei]

5. "aerial fumigation" The USA needs to ban this too.

[burrowowl]

8. Yes, it is not a solution

and we need all the plants we can get.

[SergeStorms]

7. Meanwhile.......

Donald Trump wonders why they want to eradicate cocoa. "I love hot chocolate", he said, also offering, "How would I ever get another piece of that chocolate cake, the most beautiful chocolate cake you've ever seen, at my resorts"?