President Bill Clinton (1996) told the American public that Peru had taken steps to achieve full compliance with the goals and objectives of the 1988 United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. However, this did not mean that Peru had become drug-free. Robinson (1998) claimed that some Peruvian farmers did switch from cocoa cultivation to other crops. Robinson (1998) also stated that between 1997 and 1998, Peru eliminated 114,900 acres of cocoa û nearly half of its cocoa fields.

The key factor in this success appears to have been the cooperation of Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori. Fujimori, assisted by the United States, developed a two-prong approach of stepped-up law enforcement and aid to cocoa growers who shifted to planting alternative crops. Special police teams were established with American assistance and in 1997, a total of 10,000 arrests on drug trafficking charges were recorded. Peru also adopted an aggressive policy of shooting down suspected drug planes û 45 in the late 1990s û whose pilots who do not respond to orders to land. According to Robinson (1998), U.S. Drug Enforcem

A just war? (2001). Commonweal, 128(10), 5.

The goal of Plan Colombia, therefore, is the remaking of a secure democratic society freed from violence and corruption. Marcella (2002) believes that because little of magnitude happens in this hemisphere without leadership from Washington, U.S. financial support is critical for encouraging Colombians to sacrifice for their survival and prodding the international community to assist. Accordingly, the five year Plan Colombia will cost $7.5 billion. Colombia will spend $4 billion of its own money on this effort. The international community will contribute $3.5 billion and the United States will contribute $1.3 billion (Marcella, 2002).

drugs. NACLA Report on the Americas, 35(3), 21-28.

Over the past decade, the nature of the drug war in Colombia has changed. This is due to changes in the drug trade itself. Once a few cartels dominated the Colombian drug trade, but aggressive law enforcement led to the death of several key actors, including Pablo Escobar, and to the dismantling of the Cali and Medellin drug cartels. The triangular drug trade that imported cocoa paste from Bolivia and Peru, produced cocaine I Colombia, and then exported the product to the U.S. market has been damaged significantly by air surveillance, including force-downs and shoot-downs (AmericaÆs shadow drug war, 2001).

United Press International, March 15, P. 1008074u6176.

Assistance for the Colombian police ($115.6 million)

According to Marcella (2002), Plan Colombia is a very simple concept. It links economic development and security to the peace process. Its central premise is that drug money feds the coffers of the guerrillas in Colombia, whose attacks give rise to the paramilitary self-defense organizations. It is theorized that if the money going to the drug traffickers is dried up, the guerillas will no longer be able to pose a threat to the Colombian governmen