>Colombia's program to wipe out illegal cultivation of coca leaf, the
raw
>material for cocaine, receives strong U.S. logistical support in
Guaviare
>province, where the coca crop is concentrated. American civilian pilots
w=
>ho
>perform surveillance and coca-spraying missions rotate through
Colombia's
>principal anti-drug base at San Jose del Guaviare, and U.S. military
>personnel conduct training missions there, according to a U.S.
official.
>
>The Miraflores base, about 100 miles southeast of San Jose, is used as
a
>refueling station for spray planes on crop-eradication flights. U.S.
>officials said that no U.S. personnel were at Miraflores during the
rebel
>raid and that no U.S. casualties were reported in any of the attacks.
>
>A State Department official said the Miraflores attack would have a
>"negligible" effect on drug-fighting efforts. "I don't want to downplay
t=
>he
>devastation . . . there, but we will be able to carry on with our
>counter-narcotics programs," she said.
I talked to a guy the other night who at one point had a roommate who worked for the DEA. The roommate used to be involved with field strafing, the method of crop-eradication. The guy once asked his roommate if the strafing meant civilian casualties, to which the roommate gave the flip answer, yeah, sure, of course.
I know this was in the news recently, but does anyone know what kind of chemicals are used in the strafing? Hmm I wonder: are civilian casualties from these runs tallied in official reports.
-Alec
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