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Coca from Bolivia, Peru worries U.S.Afghanistan gets mixed grade in annual narcotics reportFrom Elise Labott  A coca farmer walks among his plants in Coroico, Bolivia, in this photo from December. RELATEDYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSWASHINGTON (CNN) -- A State Department report issued Wednesday voices concerns about heightened political influence by coca-growing associations in Bolivia and Peru, resulting in an increase in coca cultivation in those countries. The International Narcotics Control Strategy Report examined progress in counternarcotics efforts worldwide last year. The annual report is used to determine which countries belong on the U.S. list of major drug-producing and -trafficking nations and are subject to sanctions for failing to meet counternarcotics requirements. In Latin America, the report said, cocaine seizures set record highs last year. It praised Colombia, the world's top coca-cultivating nation and source of about 90 percent of cocaine in the United States, for both its seizures and its eradication efforts. In 2000, the United States started Plan Colombia, a multibillion-dollar effort to fight cocaine production and trafficking in the country. Anne Patterson, assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement, said the plan has been a "dramatic success" because, in addition to reducing drug production, it has helped restore security in the country. The Colombia government, rebel groups and paramilitary forces have been fighting each other for decades, with drug money playing a large role in the conflict. Yet Patterson noted that the World Bank has listed Colombia as one of the world's most attractive countries for foreign investment. The report outlined great concern over Bolivia, where the new president, Evo Morales, was a farmer and coca association founder before his election in December. While still a candidate, the leftist declared himself a "nightmare" for the United States, and he has expressed opposition to U.S.-sponsored drug-eradication efforts. Morales told CNN in January that he favored "zero cocaine, zero drug-trafficking, but not zero coca cultivation for traditional consumption." After meeting with U.S. Ambassador David Greenlee last month, Morales told Reuters, "We at least agree on 'zero cocaine.' " (Full story) In written remarks, Patterson said, "We are concerned about the inability thus far of Bolivia's new president to articulate whether or not he will allow coca eradication and U.S. counternarcotics assistance to continue." Peru ranks second and Bolivia third among coca producers in the world. According to the report, coca cultivation in Bolivia rose by 8 percent last year to 65,000 acres, a trend the State Department found disquieting "as it shows no signs of being reversible in the short run." The report blamed the increase on both an inactive government and "cocalero activists." Although the report found a rise in coca cultivation in Peru, it said the government is meeting its eradication goals. Amid heightened tensions between the United States and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the report accused Venezuela being uncooperative. The United States has criticized Chavez over Venezuela's counternarcotics efforts. Last year, Caracas was decertified for having "failed demonstrably" at meeting international counternarcotics standards. Venezuela is one of the main transit points for drugs leaving Colombia. The United States says drug flights from Colombia are being flown into Venezuela, which Patterson called "a hole in our whole counternarcotics strategy in Latin America." Difficulty in AfghanistanThe report also gave a mixed picture in Afghanistan. It warned that the country's opium crop and heroin production threaten development but said the government of President Hamid Karzai has demonstrated the political will to deal with the problem. The report said the opium yield in Afghanistan rose because of favorable weather but cited a 48 percent drop in land used for poppy cultivation overall. The United States is hoping a British-led strategy to find alternative crops for Afghan farmers, coupled with tougher law enforcement and eradication, will continue to produce results in the world's largest producer of opium. The report cited estimates that a third of Afghanistan's total licit and illicit gross domestic product is derived from narcotics-related activities. "I don't want to underestimate the difficulty of this, because Colombia is paradise next to Afghanistan," Patterson told reporters. "This is going to take years and years and years. "But it's important to do, not only because of the security of Afghanistan and Afghanistan's democratic institutions; it's also important to do because of the cheap heroin that's spreading into neighboring countries and Europe." The report was released the day President Bush made a surprise visit to Afghanistan, his first to the country where U.S. forces ousted the Taliban after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Bush met with Karzai during a five-hour unannounced stopover en route to India and Pakistan. (Full story) 
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