Number: RL31383
Title: Andean Regional Initiative (ARI): FY2002 Supplemental and FY2003 Assistance for Columbia and Neighbors
Authors: K. Larry Storrs and Nina M. Serafino, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division 
Abstract: In 2002 and continuing into 2003, Congress considered President Bush's request for additional funding and additional authority to provide assistance to Colombia and six regional neighbors in a continuation of the Andean Regional Initiative that was launched in 2001. The regions has been viewed as important primarily because it produces virtually all of the world's cocaine and increasing amounts of heroin. Moreover, the stability of Colombia and the region is threatened by Colombia's longstanding guerrilla insurgency and rightist paramilitary groups, which are both believed to be largely funded by "taxes" on illegal narcotics cultivation and trade.
Pages: 50
Date: Updated July 22, 2003