Attorneys
general in 36 states have written to Secretary of State Colin L.
Powell and drug czar John P. Walters asking for the federal government
to do more to curb the increase in heroin trafficking from Colombia
into the United States, the Washington Times reported Nov. 20.
"In 2000, Congress approved an aid package, now commonly known as Plan Colombia,
to assist that country in fighting the illegal drug industry within its borders," the
prosecutors said. "While this joint effort by the United States and a cooperative
Colombian government has been successful in eradicating coca plants, commensurate
pressure must be applied to the opium fields that have proliferated in Colombia."
In their letter, the state prosecutors have requested that the federal government
focus more of their "attention and resources to this rising problem."
The attorneys general received a response from Powell's office that said the
State Department was conducting a "vigorous and successful campaign" to eradicate
Colombian poppy crops. |
