Plan Colombia and Beyond

Continuing the theme of yesterday’s post:

• March 4, 2005: “[T]he balloon effect, the notion that somehow, when you win in one country, which we saw over the last 15 years — I’ve watched this evolution up and down and when we won in Peru and Bolivia, to a large extent, it somehow moved us over into Colombia. What’s fascinating on the metrics is that we are really not seeing the balloon effect. In terms of the entire region in 2003, there was an overall regional reduction of 16 percent of cultivation. That’s a remarkable thing by itself.”
  – Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Robert Charles

• March 2, 2006: “Tony Arias, director of the Americas program at the State Department’s Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, told The Miami Herald the balloon effect is ‘frankly … evident.’
  ‘You’re successful in one part and then the traffickers will look wherever they can to continue their business,’ he said.”
  – The Miami Herald

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