A US-Latin American aerial drug interdiction program that had been conducted in the skies over other peoples' countries has been reinstated, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld announced on Tuesday.

Rumsfeld, accompanied by Colombian Minister of Defense Marta Lucia Ramirez de Rincon, said President Bush had reauthorized the program. It had been suspended for two years after a plane carrying an American missionary family (immediately below) was shot down and then strafed on US orders in Peru.

The pilot, Kevin Donaldson, the son and Mr. Bowers were wounded; Mrs. Bowers and her infant were killed by a single .50 caliber machine bullet, one of dozens that went through their orange and white C-185 floatplane. [See, "US Drug War in Peru Claims Missionary Mom, Infant," 04-23-01; "Peru Shoot-Down Looking Even Worse," 04-24-01; "IAOPA Condemns Peruvian/CIA Attack," 04-25-01; "A Different Set of Facts on the Peru Shootdown," 04-27-01; "CIA in PR CYA Over Peru Shootdown," 04-30-01; "Shot Down, Shot Up Missionary Plane Examined," 05-07-01, "AOPA Urges Congress to Repeal 'Shoot Down' Authority," 05-18-01; "Peru Missionary Claims 'No Warning Shots Fired,'" 05-24-01; Peru Missionaries Had it Coming: Government Assessment," 06-06-01; "Report Blames Language, not CIA, in Missionary Shoot-Down," 08-03-01, ANN.]

Air interdiction "is a regional issue" that affects all of Latin America, Rumsfeld pointed out, involving efforts to eradicate the sale and distribution of "drugs, as well as weapons."

Rumsfeld (right) also met with numerous senior Colombian officials, including Ramirez de Rincon, President Alvaro Uribe and Gen. Jorge Enrique Mora Rangel, commander of Colombia's armed forces.

The U.S. defense secretary said he was impressed with the Colombian government's "conviction, passion and determination" in fighting narcoterrorism over the past year since Uribe took office August 7, 2002.

Rumsfeld drew a parallel between Colombia's struggle against the narcoterrorists who are funding the insurgent FARC terror group and the broader war on world terrorism. "It is a global war" that affects myriad nations, including Colombia, the secretary said, noting the United States is
"proud to be partners with Colombia in addressing the global war on terrorism."

The United States, Rumsfeld said, is committed to assist nations such as Colombia in combating terrorism. He pointed out that America and its Latin American neighbors share a common interest to keep the Western Hemisphere free from the specters of terrorism and drug and weapons trafficking.

He also praised the strategy the Colombian government is employing against terrorists inside its borders, adding that "good progress" is being made.

The Colombian defense minister lauded Rumsfeld for his leadership in the global war on terror, noting that her government is convinced of ultimate victory over the terrorists. "We're going down the right path," Ramirez de Rincon emphasized.

[Thanks to Gerry J. Gilmore, American Forces Press Service --ed.]

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