CPTNet

September 23, 2005

COLOMBIA: U.S. "War on Drugs" is a War on Campesinos

On September 23, 2005, at the airport in Barrancabermeja, Colombia, a
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) delegation held a prayer service against
the U.S. funded "War on Drugs" policy of aerial fumigations. Because of this
policy, this civilian airport has been converted into a storage facility for
toxic chemicals, crop-dusting planes, and military escort helicopters.
Kneeling and praying near the aircraft, the group displayed a banner
reading, "Yes to development, self-determination and life; No to U.S.
dollars for weapons and fumigation." (See Pictures:
www.cpt.org/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=album134=)

In a leaflet, the group explained that they do not support the drug trade,
but see fumigation as ineffective in reducing cocaine production, and
destructive to Colombia's rural poor and the environment. Furthermore, they
understand that farmers are small players in the drug trade as they only
receive two to three percent of total profits.

Over-spray from the coca crop spraying kills food crops, poisons livestock,
fish and water supplies, and damages human health. Once their fields are
fumigated, the farmers typically move into nearby rain forests, cutting down
and burning trees to clear land for more coca production. When asked, the
farmers express a desire for alternative cash crops. Ironically, newly
introduced cash crops, such as cacao (chocolate) trees funded by U.S.
agencies, are also being destroyed by fumigation.

Glyphosate, also known as the Monsanto product Round-Up, is commonly used in
these fumigations, but it is not recommended for aerial spraying in the U.S.
>From 2000 to 2003, over 8,000 complaints about over-spray damage to people
and crops had been filed with the U.S. embassy in Bogot