{
  "id": "RL33163",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL33163",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 310814,
      "date": "2005-11-18",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T19:27:02.747029",
      "title": "Drug Crop Eradication and Alternative Development in the Andes",
      "summary": "The United States has supported drug crop eradication and alternative development programs\nin the\nAndes for decades. Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru collectively produce nearly the entire global supply\nof cocaine. In addition, Colombia has become a producer of high quality heroin, most of it destined\nfor the United States and Europe. The United States provides counternarcotics assistance through\nthe Andean Counterdrug Initiative (ACI). The program supports a number of missions, including\ninterdiction of drug trafficking, illicit crop eradication, alternative development, and rule of law and\ndemocracy promotion. From FY2000 through FY2005, the United States has provided a total of\nabout $4.3 billion in ACI funds. \n Since 2001, coca cultivation in the Andes has been reduced by 22%, with the largest decrease\noccurring in Colombia, according to the State Department. Opium poppy crops, grown mainly in\nColombia and from which heroin is made, have been reduced by 67%. However, the region was\nstill capable of producing 640 metric tons of cocaine, and 3.8 metric tons of heroin in 2004,\naccording to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.\n Congress has expressed a number of concerns with regard to eradication, especially the health\nand environmental effects of aerial spraying, its sustainability and social consequences, and the\nreliability of drug crop estimates. With regard to alternative development, Congress has expressed\ninterest in its effectiveness, its relationship to eradication, and the long-term sustainability of\nprograms once they are started. \n Drug crops are eradicated either manually or by aerial spraying of a herbicide mixture, the main\ningredient being glyphosate, used commercially in the United States under the brand name of\nRoundup\u00ae. Eradication can be conducted with the voluntary agreement of growers, or\ninvoluntarily. Peru and Bolivia do not allow aerial eradication, which has proven to be controversial. \nCritics\nbelieve it poses risks to the environment and the health of inhabitants living in sprayed regions. \nProponents believe it is the most effective and safe means to defoliate large areas being used for drug\ncrop cultivation, thereby removing a lucrative source of income from the illegally armed Colombian\ngroups.\n Providing alternatives to drug crops is believed to be crucial to achieve effective eradication. \nThis often includes technical support for farmers, marketing assistance, and strengthening the\ntransportation infrastructure in order to get crops to market. The U.S. approach to alternative\ndevelopment (AD) is to link it to eradication. Growers who agree to eradicate are eligible for\nassistance. \n This report will not be updated. For more information on the Andean Counterdrug Initiative,\nsee  CRS Report RL32337 ,  Andean Counterdrug Initiative (ACI) and Related Funding\nPrograms:\nFY2005 Assistance ; and  CRS Report RL32774 ,  Plan Colombia: A Progress\nReport , both by Connie\nVeillette.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL33163",
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Environmental Policy"
  ]
}