ADDRESS BY THE HONORABLE ELLIOTT ABRAMS, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INTER-AMERICAN AFFAIRS, BEFORE THE COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS, NEW YORK CITY, FEBRUARY 10, 1986

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88G01117R000401210003-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 30, 2011
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: February 13, 1986
• Content Type: MEMO

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TAGS: SNAR
SUBJECT: AS DELIVERED TEXT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY ABRAMS?
SPEECH ON PL4RC0T1~5
'DRUG WARS:
THE NEW ALLIANCES AGAINST TRAFFICKERS AND
TERRORISTS`
ADDRESS BY THE HONORABLE ELLIOTT ABRAMS
ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INTER-AMERICAN AFFAIRS
BEFORE THE COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
NEW YORK CITY, FEBRUARY 10. 1986
SCUCSS I~OtrLOFNWEIC~fTY MATTERS. TFEISSERIOUS~BUSIN SS OF
FOREIGN POLICY, GLOBAL ECONOMICS, MILITARY STRATEGY, AND
NATIONAL SECURITY. I WOULD GUESS TWIT FEW COUNCIL
MEETINGS HAVE BEEN DEVOTED TO THE SUBJECT I WANT TO
ADDRESS TODAY. THE DRUG PROBLEM HAS LONG BEEN TFaK~iT TO
BE A MATTER FOR Tiff POLICE. OR FOR THE LOCAL TV NEWS OR
FRIDAY NIGHT MELODRAMAS.
I WANT TO CWINGE TWIT ATTITUDE, ANO I APPRECIATE THE
OPPORTUNITY YOU HAVE GIVEN ME TO DO SO. FOR I BELIEVE
THAT FEW ISSUES WE FACE IN THE AREAS OF FOREIGN POLICY
AND NATIONAL SECURITY WIVE A GREATER AND MORE IMMEDIATE
RELEVANCE TO THE WEII-BEING OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THAN
INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS. THE SOONER ALL OF US WHO POPPER
FOREIGN POLICY ISSUES RECOC~IIZE THE EXTREME THREAT POSED
BY INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS TRAFFICKING TO THE HEALTH OF
OUR NATION AND ITS NEIGHBORS, THE SOONER WIII THIS DANGER
TO OUR FAMILIES APp OUR CHILDREN BE REDUCED APD
ELIMINATED.
NO7 VERY LONG AGO, THE DISCUSSION OF DRUG TRAFFICKING
CONSISTED MOSTLY OF FINGER-POINTING. WE BLAMED LATIN
AMERICANS FOR INDIFFERENCE TO THE PRODUCTION AND MOVEMENT
OF NARCOTICS NORTHWARD. AND THEY POINTED TO THE UNITED
STATES AND ITS INSATIABLE MARKET AS THE CAUSE OF TWIT
TRAFFIC. WITHIN OUR OWN GOVERNMENT., DIFFERENT AGENCIES
BELITTLED EACH OTHER'S EFFORTS, AND SOME EVEN CLAIMED
THAT FIGHTING NARCOTICS WOULD 'DEGRADE' THEIR MISSION AND
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SHOULD BEST BE LEFT TO TRADITIONAL LOCAL AND FEDERAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS, THE ?NARCS.?
THERE HAS BEEN A DRAMATIC CHANGE. THERE IS A BIT OF THE
?NARC" IN All OF US NOW ? FROM PRESIDENTS OF LATIN
AMERICAN DEMOCRACIES, TO COMMANDERS OF U.S. NAVY
DESTROYERS IN THE CARIBBEAN, TO ASSISTANT SECRETARIES OF
STATE FOR INTER-AMERICAN AFFAIRS. THERE IS. OF COURSE,
STILL PLENTY OF BLAME TO BE LAID. BEFORE I FINISH
TONIGHT I WILL POINT MY OWN FINGER AT SOME SPECIFIC
TARGETS. AND I HOPE SOME OF YOU WILL BE UNCOMFORTABLE FOR
IT. BUT A SIGNIFICANT STORY OF THE 1980'S IN THIS
HEMISPHERE, OURSELVES VERY MUCH INCLUDED, HAS BEEN THE
BREAKING DOWN OF OLD ATTITUDES AND JEALOUSIES, THE
UPGRADING OF MISSIONS, AND PRECEDENT-SETTING COOPERATION
AAINST THE TRAFFICKERS AND THEIR GUERRILLA ALLIES AND
PROTECTORS.
IN WASHINGTON, THE LEVEL AND PRODUCTIVITY OF JOINT
NARCOTICS CONTROL VENTURES AMONG GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IS
MAKING BUREAUCRATIC HISTORY. IN EXACTLY THE SAME MAY,
EFFECTIVE COOPERATION AMONG THE ANDEAN COUNTRIES OF SOUTH
AMERICA AND BRAZIL IS CONFOUNDING HISTORICAL JUDGMENTS
ABOUT NARROW NATIONALISM AND THE 'T'RADITIONAL' ROLE OF
THE MILITARY AND POLICE IN THESE COUNTRIES. I DON'T KNOW
WHICH IS MORE SURPRISING -- STATE DEPARTMENT ?NARCS?
WORKING CLOSELY WITH DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION
DIPLOMATS, OR JOINT COLOMBIAN/PERWIAN MILITARY AND
POLICE ANTIDRUG ACTIONS ON THEIR COMMON BORDER. I
SUSPECT ,THAT NEITHER DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN GIVEN
SUFFICIENT PUBLIC AIRING.
THE NEW ANTI-DRUG ALLIANCES ARE A PHENOMENON ALMOST AS
IMPORTANT IN INTER-AMERICAN POLITICS AS THE HEMISPHERE'S
TRANSITION FROM DESPOTISM TO DEMOCRACY OVER THE PAST 10
YEARS. MOREOVER, SUSTAINING DEMOCRACY AND COMBATTING THE
'MARCO-TERRORIST' THREAT ARE INEXTRICABLY LINKED. THAT
IS OUR VIEW AND IT IS THE VIEW OF DEMOCRATIC LEADERS
TFROIK~DUT THE HEMISPHERE.
HDW DID THIS COME ABOUT? IT DID NOT STEM PRIMARILY FROM
BUREAUCRATIC IMPERATIVES IN WASHINGTON OR DIPLOMATIC
APPROACHES IN LIMA OR BOGOTA. AND IT DID NDT RESULT FROM
ANY PARTICULAR, PERSUASIVE PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN. IT
HAPPENED, SIMPLY STATED. WHEN WE DISCOVERED OURSELVES TO
BE VICTIMS AND BEGAN TO FIGHT BACK IN SELF-DEFENSE. IN
EFFECT, WE BEGAN TO SEE THAT THE PERNICIOUS ASSAULT OF
DRUGS ON SOCIETY IS POTENTIALLY AS DAMAGING TO THE
SECURITY OF OUR FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES AS A FOREIGN
INVASION AND THAT DEFENDING OUR NATIONAL SECURITY HAS TO
INCLUDE DEFENDING OURSELVES AGAINST DRUGS.
THE SCOURGE TAKES MANY FORMS. IN NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA,
STILL THE MAIN ROUTE OF COCAINE TRAFFIC TO THE U.S.,
THERE IS A RELATIVELY NEW DRUG WHICH SOME CALL THE MOST
DAMAGING SUCH SUBSTANCE ON EARTH. IN COLOMBIA IT IS
CALLED ?BASUCO? FROM 'BASE DE COCA'. BASUCO IS A
SEMI-REFINED COCA PASTE WHICH. WHEN SMOKED. DELIVERS THE
'HIGH' OF COCAINE -- AND WITH IT THE CHEMICAL POISON OF
AN INCOMPLETE REFINING PROCESS. THE RESULT IS ADDICTION
PLUS THE VERY HIGH RISK OF SEVERE, PERMANENT BRAIN
DAMAGE. IN ONE BOGOTA NEIC~BORFiDOD ALONE, THERE ARE AN
ESTIMATED SEVEN THOUSAND JUVENILE BASUCO ADDICTS.
INSIDIOUSLY, THE PRODUCERS OF BASUCO DELIBERATELY CREATED
A DEMAND FOR THIS VICIOUS PRODUCT AND PRICED IT SO THAT
WFIOLE NEW SEGMENTS OF SOCIETY -- THE YOUNG AND THE POOR
-- COULD BECOME DRUG CONSUMERS. BASUCO HAS EXPLODED THE
MYTH, FOSTERED BY TRAFFICKERS. THAT THE SUPPLY MERELY
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'FOlLOWS DEMAND: THAT THE TRAFFIC ONLY EXPLOITS THE RICH,
IDLE. AND PERVERSE GRINGOS AND EUROPEANS. IN BOLIVIA AND
PERU, THESE SAME DEADLY COCA-PASTE CIGARETTES ARE KNOWN
AS ?PITIlLOS?. BOLIVIAN EXPERTS SUGGEST A HIGHER PER
CAPITA INCIDENCE OF ADDICTION TO SUCH DRUGS IN THEIR
NATION THAN IN THE UNITED STATES.
AS THE FRIGHTENING FACT EMERGED TWIT LARGE NUMBERS OF
THEIR OWN CHILDREN WERE BECOMING REGULAR USERS OF THIS
TERRIBLE AND TERRIFYINGLY CHEAP PRODUCT. AUTHORITIES AND
PARENTS IN THE ANDES UNDERSTOOD TWIT PASSIVE ACQUIESCENCE
IN A TRAFFIC DESTINED TO THE DISTANT UNITED STATES IN
FACT RISKED THE HEALTH OF THEIR OWN SOCIETIES. THEY WIVE
LEARNED TWIT DRUG-PRODUCING COUNTRIES EASILY BECOME
DRUG-CONSUMING NATIONS. SOMETHING OF THE TRAFFIC ALWAYS
STAYS BEHIND: THIS IS NDT A MIAMI VICE ALONE.
THE SHOCK OF BASUCO, AND SIMILAR REVELATIONS ABOUT OTHER
DRUGS. WERE AMONG MANY OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS:
- FIRST, THERE WAS THE ECONOMISTS' CONCLUSION THAT THE
SOCALLED 'ECONOMIC BENEFITS' TO PRODUCING AND
TRAFFICKING COUNTRIES REACH VERY FEW PEOPLE AND ARE FAR
OUTWEIGHED BY THE INFLATION AND OTHER DISTORTIONS BROUGHT
ON BY THE TRAFFICKERS AND THE MONEY-LAUNDERERS. IN
BOLIVIA, FOR EXAMPLE, REPUTABLE. LEGITIMATE BUSINESSMAN
(SOME REPRESENTING U.S. FIRMS) ARE FINDING THEIR BACKS TO
THE WALL, FACING BANCRUPTCY AS A RESULT OF PREDATORY
PRICING AND MARKETING COMPETITION FROM NEW FIRMS BACKED
8Y NARCODOLLAR CAPITAL. MEANWHILE, THE CONSTRUCTION OF
CONDOMINIUMS IN SOUTH FLORIDA DOES NOT BENEFIT THE
BOLIVIAN PEASANT.
-- SECOND. THE ENORMOUS INTIMIDATING AND CORRUPTIVE POWER
OF THE TRAFFICKERS SURFACED SO BLATANTLY TWIT PUBLIC AND
POLITICAL OPINION IN COUNTRY AFTER COUNTRY HAS RECOGNIZED
THE DIRECT MENACE TO DEMOCRACY ITSELF. THE 1984 DRUG
MAFIA ASSASSINATION OF COLOMBIAN JUSTICE MINISTER LARA
AND Tiff KIDNAP-MURDER IN 1985 OF DEA AGENT ENRIOUE
CAMARENA IN MEXICO WERE ONLY THE MOST ARROGANT
DEMONSTRATIONS OF THIS SUBVERSION OF GOVERNMENT
INSTIMIONS.
-- THIRD. AND RELATED. IS THE MOUNTING EVIDENCE OF A
DEADLY CONNECTION BETWEEN NARCOTICS TRAFFICKERS AND
GUERRILLA TERRORIST GROUPS. IT IS A LINK TWIT MULTIPLIES
THE CAPABILITIES OF EACH. COLOMBIA PROVIDES THE BEST
EXAMPLES: GUERRILLA GROUPS -- THE ?FARC?, THE ?M-19?.
AND OTHERS -- WIVE BEEN FOUND PROTECTING COCAINE 1A85 AND
LANDING STRIPS AND FACILITATING SHIPMENTS. LAST
NOVEMBER, WHEN THE M-19 TERRORISTS ATTACKED THE SUPREME
COURT AND M~ERED NEARLY HALF ITS JUDGES, THEIR SPECIFIC
BEHAVIOR -- Tiff JUDGES THEY SOUGHT OUT FIRST, THE
EXTRADITION DOCUMENTS THEY BURNED ?- CONVINCED COLOMBIAN
AUTHORITIES THAT, WHATEVER THEIR 'POLITICAL' GOALS, THE
GUERRILLAS WERE AL50 WORKING DIRECTLY FOR THE
TRAFFICKERS. AND ON TOP OF THAT. THE FACT THAT SOME OF
THE WEAPONS THEY USED CAME FROM THE SANDINISTAS
HIGHLIGHTS THE IMMENSELY DANGEROUS CONNECTION TO
INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM. NOR ARE WE IMMUNE: HERE IN THE
UNITED STATES IN OCTOBER 1984, LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES
UNCOVERED AND FOILEQ A RIGHT-WING HONDURAN COUP PLOT
FINANCED BY DRUG MONEY. .
FOR ALl THESE REASONS, Tiff CHANGES IN ATTITUDE,
COMMITMENT, AND POLICY AMONG LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES
HAVE BEEN PROFOUND. TERRITORIAL RIVALRIES AND
NATIONALIST TENSIONS HAVE NDT DIAPPEARED, BUT COLOMBIA
NOW ACTIVELY WORKS WITH PERU AND WITH ECUADOR AND
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VENEZUELA I~N INTERDICTION. ANEW REGIONAL NARCOTICS
TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM WILL SOON BE OPERATING IN SOUTH
AMERICA. IT WILL CONNECT FOR DRUG LAW ENFORCEMENT
PURPOSES MILITARY AND NATIONAL POLICE ESTABLISHMENTS
WHICH NOT LONG AGO SAM EACH OTHER AS POTENTIAL ENEMIES.
SUCCESSFUL AERIAL SPRAYING OF MARIJUANA IN MEXICO.
PANAMA, BELIZE, AND COLOMBIA HAS BEEN FOLLOWED BY
IMPORTANT EXPERIMENTS IN AERIAL ERADICATION OF COCA BY
THE COLOMBIAN NATIONAL POLICE. COLOMBIA HAS EXTRADITED
SEVEN INDIVIDUALS, FIVE OF ITS OWN CITIZENS. ALL ACCUSED
OF NARCOTICS TRAFFICKING, TO THE UNITED STATES. TFiE
INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT OF CHEMICALS USED IN THE COCAINE
REFINING PROCESS HAS BEEN SEVERELY RESTRICTED.
GENERAL AWARENESS OF THE BENEFITS OF INTERNATIONAL
COOPERATION TO COMBAT NARCOTICS PRODUCTION AND
TRAFFICKING I5 INCREASING. THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN
STATES WILL HOLD A SPECIAL CONFERENCE IN RIO, APRIL
27-28. MANY EUROPEAN COUNTRIES~ARE BEGINNING TO LOOK
INTO ASSISTING ERADICATION EFFORTS IN LATIN AMERICA.
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE UNITED STATES ARE RUNNING A PARALLEL
COURSE. THE MYTHOLOGY OF COCAINE AS RELATIVELY SAFE. THE
ONLY RISK BEING ARREST, HAS BEEN EXPLODED. CONCERNED
CONGRESSMEN LIKE NEW YORK REPRESENTATIVE RANGEL. CHAIRMAN
OF OF THE HDUSE SELECT COMMITTEE ON NARCOTICS ABUSE AND
CONTROL. HAVE LED A DETERMINED AND DEDICATED EFFORT TO
EDUCATE AlL OF US TO THE GANGERS OF DRUG ABUSE, AND THE
NECESSITY FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION. FIRST LADY
NANCY REAGAN HAS PITCHED IN TO HELP CARRY THE MESSAGE TO
THE YOUTH OF THIS~COUNTRY. AMERICANS ARE COMING, IF
SLOWLY. TO REALIZE THAT COCAINE DOES LEAD TO ADDICTION:
AFTER FIVE OR 50 USES THE ODDS SHIFT HEAVILY IN TWIT
DIRECTION. THE CORRUPTIVE POTENTIAL OF DRUG TRAFFICKING
IS INCREASINGLY RECOGNIZED AS SOMETHING MDRE THAN PRIME
TIME SCRIPT MATERIAL. AND BASUCO, THE DEADLY PARTIALLY
REFINED COCA FROM SOUTH AMERICA, HAS BEGUN TO APPEAR IN
THE UNITED STATES ALONG WITH 'CRACK', A MORE REFINED BUT
NEARLY AS DEADLY. FORM OF THE DRUG.
AMERICAN ANTI-NARCOTICS ACTIVITY. BOTH DOMESTIC AND
FOREIGN, HAS INCREASED RAPIDLY. PERCEIVED SOMETIME
RIVALS LIKE DEA AND CUSTOMS ARE COLLABORATING AS NEVER
BEFORE. SIMILARLY, THE EXTRADITION OF ACCUSED DRUG
TRAFFICKERS IS NOT A ONE WAY TRANSIT TO THE U.S. -- WE
HAVE RECENTLY EXTRADITED TWO AMERICAN CITIZENS TO
COLOMBIA AS PART OF THIS EFFORT.
AN HISTORIC EXAMPLE OF TEAMING-UP IN OUR OWN GOVERNMENT
IS A CURRENT MASSIVE OPERATION OFF OUR SOUTHERN WATERS:
UNDER THE GENERAL DIRECTION OF VICE PRESIDENT BUSH. THE
U.S. GOVERNMENT HAS UNDERTAKEN INTERDICTION OPERATIONS OF
UNPRECEDENTED SCOPE CUTTING ACROSS TRADITIONAL AGENCY
DIVISIONS. THE VICE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE HAS PROVIDED
COORDINATION TO THE INTELLIGENCE AND INTERDICTION EFFORTS
OF THE COAST GUARD, NAW. AND CUSTOMS WITH THE
COOPERATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY. THE STATE
DEPARTMENT, ThROLIGH OUR EMBASSIES IN THE REGION. HANDLES
THE INVOLVEMENT OF A NUMBER OF FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.
A NEW FUNCTION HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE TRADITIONAL TASKS OF
FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS. FIVE OF OUR POSTS IN LATIN
AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN WIVE SOMETHING CALLED
'NARCOTICS ASSISTANCE UNITS' CHARGED WITH ADMINISTERING
IMPORTANT PROGRAMS OF ASSISTANCE AND COOPERATION IN THE
COUNTRIES WHERE THEY OPERATE. THESE ?NARCO-DIPLOMATS'
ARE ON THE SHARP EDGE OF THIS CRITICAL WARFARE. THEY
HAVE BEEN PARTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ENCOURAGING AND HELPING
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TO CHANNEL U.S. FIAD~ INTO THE SUCCESSES OF LATIN
AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS I NOTED EARLIER. SOME OF THEM SEEM
TO BE DOING BETTER IN THEIR LIAISON WITH DIFFICULT TO
DEAL WITH RANKING GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS THAN ARE THEIR
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC SECTION COUNTERPARTS.
ONE OF MY PERSONAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE WAR AGAINST
ILLEGAL DRUGS WILL BE TO MAKE SURE THAT 6000
?NARCO-DIPLOMATS' MOVE UP FASTER IN THE FOREIGN SERVICE.
THE DRUG MAFIA AND THEIR aJERRILLA FRIENDS ARE SHOOTING
AT THESE PEOPLE. FEW THINGS THAT THE STATE DEPARTMENT
DOES CONTRIBUTE SO DIRECTLY TO THE U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY
AND WELFARE THAN OUR COORDIPfATED WAR ON THE
NARCOTICS/TERRORIST COMBINE.
AT THE SAME TIME. WE MUST BE HONEST WITH OURSELVES. WHAT
WE AND MANY GOVERNMENTS IN THE HEMISPHERE ARE NOW DOING
IS SIGNIFICANT BUT IT GOES NDT MEAN THAT DRUG TRAFFICKING
IS BEING DEFEATED. IN FACT, IN THE AGGREGATE, WE HAVE
NOT REDUCED THE FLOW OF COCAINE TO THE U.S. AT ALL. THE
PRICE OF THE DRUG HAS GONE DOWN OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS
IN MAJOR AMERICAN CITIES, INDICATING INCREASED MOVEMENT
OF SUPPLIES.
ENORMOUS PROFITS ARE CREATING SHARP INCENTIVES FOR
INCREASES IN COCA ACREAGE AND FOR INNOVATIVE PRODUCTION.
SMJC+GLING, AND MARKETING. THE PATTERN OF EXPANDING
CULTIVATION IS CLEAR AS ONE FLIES OVER THE VAST EASTERNS
SLOPE OF THE ANDES. ILLICIT PLANTINGS ARE SHIFTED AS
ERADICATION PROGRAMS SUCCEED. AS COLOMBIAN INTERDICTION,
ERADICATION, AND EXTRADITION INCREASES. THE TRAFFICKERS
MOVE THEIR OPERATIONS TO NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES. THE
TRAFFICKERS CONSTANTLY EXPERIMENT WITH NEW CHEMISTRY AND
NEW SMUGGLING ROUTES. AS OUR AND OTHER NAVAL FORCES
IPTfERDICT DRUGS IN THE CARIBBEAN. THE TRAFFIC FLOWS
ELSEWHERE. COCAINE INCREASINGLY IS BEING TRANSPORTED
TFf201X,'H MEXICO AND ACROSS OUR LAND BORDER. AS OLD
METH005 OF HIDING THE WHITE POWDER ARE UNEARTHED BY
CUSTOMS. NEW, MORE SOPHISTICATED WAYS ARE DEVELOPED. A
RECENT COCAINE SHIPMENT FROM COLOMBIA ARRIVED IN A CASE
OF REALISTIC PLASTIC IMITATIONS OF THE UNBIOUITOUS YAM.
WHERE DOES THAT PLACE ALL OF THE INCREASED COOPERATIVE
EFFORTS I WIVE JUST DESCRIBED? IT MEANS THAT MORE. MUCH
MORE W1S TO BE DONE. BUT AT THE VERY LEAST IT A150 MEANS
THAT VERY FEW OF THE~PRINCIPAL ACTORS ARE NDW ATTEMPTING
jE! HIDE THEIR OWN INACTION BY POINTING THE FINGER AT
OTHERS. ALMOST EVERYONE IS NOW IN THE ACT TOGETHER. THE
EXPERTS IN DUR AGENCIES AND IN OTHER COUNTRIES ARE
AGREEING THAT INTERDICTION, OR ERADICATION. OR
EXTRADITION, OR THE REDUCTION OF DEMAND CANNOT WORK IF
ATTEMPTED IN ISOLATION,?ONE TACTIC AT A TIME.
THE PROBLEM IS HUGE; IT MUST BE ADDRESSED ACROSS THE
BOARD. THE RESOURCES ARRAYED AGAINST OUR EFFORTS ARE
STAGGERING. COCAINE IS AT LEAST A =40 BILLION DOLLAR A
YEAR BUSINESS. FOR FOR OBVIOUS REASONS EXACT FIGURES ARE
ELUSIVE ... IT MAY BE TWICE TWIT. WHAT IS CLEAR, IS
THAT EVERYONE IS AFFECTED, EVERYONE IS TO BLAME. AND
EVERYONE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ACTION.
THIS BRINGS ME TO SOME FINGER-POINTING OF MY OWN. HAS
THE AMERICAN SYSTEM -- AND HERE I REFER TO MORE TWIN THIS
OR THAT GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY -- DONE ITS PART AS A WFDLE?
WHAT OF A LARGE PORTION OF THE MEDIA WHICH GLAMORI2E5
SUCCEEDING GENERATIONS OF 'DESIC~IER DRUGS' (SOME MIGHT
CALL BASUCO JUST THAT)? OR WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO
CONCLUDE, IN FRUSTRATION AT THE SLOW PACE OF PROGRESS.
THAT THE TASK IS 'IMPOSSIBLE" AND THEREFORE PDT WORTH
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ATTEMPTING?
HOW GENUINELY RESPONSIBLE, BEYOND THE STRICT DICTATES OF
THE LAW, ARE MAJOR AMERICAN BANKS IN MAKING CERTAIN THEY
ARE NOT INVOLVED IN THE ?UUNDERING? OF DRUG MONEY? HOW
MANY BANKS REPRESENTED IN THIS ROOM HAVE BEEN CITED
RECENTLY FOR FAILURE TO REPORT CASH TRANSACTIONS OF OVER
TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS? THE LAST LIST I SAW INCLUDED FIVE
BANKS JUST HERE IN NEW YORK CITY. DO THOSE BANKERS MAC
TURN A BLIND EYE IN ORDER TO TURN A BETTER PROFIT WIVE
ANY IDEA WHAT THEY ARE GOING? TO THEIR COUNTRY? TO
THEIR COMM