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.]