-Caveat Lector- Police Chief Says Drug Money Corrupts Guerrillas AP 30-APR-99 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Colombia's powerful guerrilla movement is no longer motivated by leftist ideology after having been corrupted by involvement in narcotics activities yielding an estimated $500 million a year, Colombia's top police officer said today. National Police director Gen. Rosso Jose Serrano, here for meetings with administration and congressional leaders, said the links of the guerrillas to narcotraffickers has cost them support both at home and internationally. "The guerrillas have lost their ideology," Serrano said through a translator. "Narcotrafficking is corrupting. It has even corrupted the guerrillas." Serrano, who is highly regarded here as an effective and honest counternarcotics warrior, spoke to a small group of senators and reporters. He said the guerrillas help the drug cartels and earn large sums by protecting airstrips and drug laboratories and by shooting down military and police aircraft. For some units, kidnaping is the major source of revenue, he said, estimating that guerrillas were responsible for 80 percent of the 2,200 kidnappings recorded in Colombia last year. Serrano expressed concern about growing links between the Russian and Colombian mafias and also about the lack of international enforcement for trafficking in the chemical precursors needed to refine cocaine and heroin. "Many countries which produce precursors don't control their destinations," he said. The prime sources for precursors, he said, are Latin America, the United States and Europe. Serrano said that two weeks ago, a shipment of potassium earmarked for cocaine traffickers was seized in the port city of Cartagena. He said there was enough potassium to help produce 60 tons of cocaine. He said the arrival of U.S. Black Hawk helicopters should enable Colombia to eradicate opium poppy production in three years. But, he said, there is little cause for optimism that the drug scourge on the international level can be eased. "The situation looks bleak as we start the millennium," Serrano said, predicting major advances in synthetic drugs as opposed to those derived from narcotics plants. He said such drugs are cheaper than cocaine or heroin, can be produced in smaller laboratories and cause irreversible damage to addicts. Copyright 1999& The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ================================= Robert F. Tatman [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Remove "nospam" from the address to reply. NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml POSTING THIS MESSAGE TO THE INTERNET DOES NOT IMPLY PERMISSION TO SEND UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL E-MAIL (SPAM) TO THIS OR ANY OTHER INTERNET ADDRESS. RECEIPT OF SPAM WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE NOTIFICATION OF THE SENDER'S ISP. ____________________________________________________________________ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
