Un Fracaso

Plan Colombia called a failure

From Congress to the editorial page of Bogota’s main newspaper, criticism of the U.S.-backed anti-drug effort known as Plan Colombia Ö which has cost American taxpayers $4 billion since 2000 Ö is growing. […]
In Colombia, President Alvaro Uribe’s two main challengers in this month’s elections have used the report’s findings to reopen a debate over decriminalization of drug use.
In a Sunday editorial, the generally pro-government newspaper, El Tiempo, called the war on drugs “un fracaso,” a failure.[…]
Even supporters of the government’s reliance on aerial spraying acknowledge they were angered by the ONDCP’s admission that it has long been underestimating Colombia’s coca harvest.
“If they tried to get a job as a pollster for Congress being off by that much, they’d never work again,” said Marc Wheat, staff director of U.S. House of Representatives’ subcommittee on drug policy. […]
A spokesman said Walters was unavailable for comment Tuesday.