|
It's
"Certification"
Time
Again:
Mexico
Makes
the
Grade,
Colombia
Doesn't
--
But
Sanctions
Will
Be
Lifted
2/27/98
In the annual, controversial ritual in which the President, with the
consent of Congress, certifies those nations which have been appropriately
cooperative in the global Drug War, Mexico has maintained its status as
an ally, while Colombia, which has been decertified for the past two years,
will remain off the list but will see US sanctions lifted.
None of this is final, of course, as Congress may well attempt to overturn
President Clinton's decisions, as they attempted unsuccessfully to do last
year with regard to Mexico. The Associated Press (2/26) reports that there
is already a move on in Congress to decertify Mexico legislatively. Nations
which have been denied certification face economic sanctions including
an automatic "no" vote by the U.S. on any loan requests to the
World Bank.
That is exactly the position in which Colombia has found itself over
the past two years; the Clinton Administration has cited its belief that
President Ernesto Samper received over $6 million in campaign contributions
from drug traffickers during his 1994 campaign. Clinton's recommendation
this year, that Colombia remain decertified but have economic sanctions
waived, apparently reflects the belief of the administration that Colombia's
police force and new attorney general are relatively free of corruption
and are making a good-faith effort to combat the multi-billion dollar trade.
The AP notes that US officials acknowledge the massive eradication efforts
in Colombia but also know that increased planting of coca has more than
made up the difference.
to admit is that it doesn't make a difference how hard a source country
"fights" the drug trade -- demand for drugs in the US and other
countries assures that someone will provide the supply. Study after study,
many of them by the government's own General Accounting Office, have found
that source country efforts have had negligible long-term impact on the
price and availability of drugs in the US.]
-- END --
|
Issue #31, 2/27/98
DRCNet Special Report: American Public Health Association Holds Congressional Briefing on Syringe Exchange | It's Certification Time Again: Mexico Makes the Grade, Colombia Doesn't -- But Sanctions Will Be Lifted | Colorado State Senate Okays Needle Exchange -- Republican State Chair Explictly Threatens Reps Who Vote in Favor! | House Republicans Declare: Damn the Science, Full Speed Ahead! Approve Resolution Opposing Any Use of Marijuana As Medicine | Hollywood Group Promises More Anti-Drug Themes | State Legislators Launch Counterattack on Prop. 215 in California | California Supreme Court Deals a Blow to Buyers' Clubs | No Federal Charges to be Filed Against Marine Who Shot Hernandez | Editorial: Hollywood and the Drug War
|
This issue -- main page
This issue -- single-file printer version
Drug War Chronicle -- main page
Chronicle archives
|
PERMISSION to reprint or
redistribute any or all of the contents of Drug War Chronicle (formerly The Week Online with DRCNet is hereby
granted. We ask that any use of these materials include proper credit and,
where appropriate, a link to one or more of our web sites. If your
publication customarily pays for publication, DRCNet requests checks
payable to the organization. If your publication does not pay for
materials, you are free to use the materials gratis. In all cases, we
request notification for our records, including physical copies where
material has appeared in print. Contact: StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network,
P.O. Box 18402, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 293-8340 (voice), (202)
293-8344 (fax), e-mail [email protected]. Thank
you.
Articles of a purely
educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of the DRCNet
Foundation, unless otherwise noted.
|
