"As stated by the U.S. Undersecretary on drugs it is the policy of the Clinton Administration to support the Peruvian regime's prioritization in fighting subversion militarily in coca producing areas, as an initial step for the substitution of coca by crops to be exported to the U.S. and European markets."
The fact is that in spite of the U.S.'s denials, lethal toxic chemicals have been periodically sprayed by the DEA on humble homes and small peasants plots. In addition, there is a greater presence of Yankee military troops involved in the counter subversive war. This intervention began in the early 1990's with the Bush-Fujimori "anti drug agreement" that opened up the direct military intervention of imperialism in our country, which is being increased during the Clinton administration. These anti drug agreements have resulted in countless genocides of unarmed civilians in the coca growing areas, more evictions of poor peasant families from their lands and the widespread ecological damage (erosion, and pollution of water, soil and air) in immense areas of the Peruvian jungle by the use of defoliants such as the "spike" and other biological germs.
In 1992, the Mayor of Uchiza (city in Alto Huallaga), Nemesio Diaz Guevara denounced that the DEA "experimental" use of the "spike" defoliant resulted in the poisoning of large numbers of cattle, and that entire crop fields were scorched, causing greater hunger and misery among the Upper Huallaga peasantry.
This toxic substance, which despite peasant protests was sprayed by Yankee troops in vast areas in the province of Tocache (Department of San Martin), seriously impacted the rivers, which is the drinking water source in all communities of the area.
Two years early (October 1990), Eustaquio Paredes Dávila, a known peasant leader in Upper Huallaga, denounced that DEA squads and Yankee green berets, supported by a contingent of the Peruvian police under the command of General Juan Zarata Gambini (a few years later implicated as narcogeneral), sprayed vast areas with fungi and giant ants, apparently brought from a military laboratory in the U.S., but were bred inside the Santa Lucia barracks (a U.S. military base in Perú.)
The statements of this peasant were even more dramatic: "These monstrous ants, that look like `marabuntas' besides devouring coca plants, also devoured fruit trees, and even livestock." Residents in areas near the Camote river in the locality of Ucayali, said that the bites of these ants caused intense pain in humans, even paralyzing them. Dozens of deaths occurred from the massive bites of these giant insects that devoured everything on their way , ( not just coca trees) causing misery to thousands of peasants. Four months after this denunciation (carefully hidden by the press in the U.S.), deforestation was intensified in vast areas of Upper Huallaga.
KILLING THE GOLDEN EGGS HEN
As it is widely known, the Peruvian economy is tied directly to "narco dollars" from coca paste exports from the jungle areas of the country. Even the estimated three million dollars Perú's Central Reserve Bank gets from the Ocoña market (the largest open currency exchange at midtown Lima) comes from the "jungle" (known as el monte).
It is naive to pretend that the regime of that imperialist lackey Kenyo Fujimori, wants to end drug trafficking, since the resources and profits from that source are the system's lifesavers. Killing the golden egg's hen would mean suicide to the exploiters!
Therefore, the reactionary armed forces have long been in charge of ensuring and guaranteeing the continuos flow of "narcodollars" from the jungle, and to this end, the Upper Huallaga political-military command established a base in the Sion coca growing area, where it transforms coca paste into chlorohydrate of cocaine or "powder," which triples the price in the international market. This processing center is zealously guarded by army troops, and anyone having the bad luck of discovering it will appear later with his dismembered corpse "floating on the river."
On the other hand, the proposal of former Minister of Industries Guido Pennano for the State to open branches of the government's Nation's Bank in the coca growing regions, so that "narcodollars" can be collected directly without intermediaries is not surprising, but a very sensible idea for the reactionaries. Essentially the Pennano proposal is to duplicate the Colombian "see nothing, know nothing" policy in Perú (an imitation of Clinton's policy "don't ask, don't tell') that allows the yearly "legal coca earnings" in Perú (of approximately five billion dollars USD) from total exports of marijuana and coca derivatives.
In our country, according to scientific experts on this issue, the "narcodollars" obtained by the Fujimori regime amount to the equivalent of 51% of the total earnings obtained for the total of legal exports.
FUJIMORI PULLS DAISY LEAVES
Just like a coveted lady, Fujimori has faced the dilemma of whether or not to agree to the U.S. government's proposal on drugs. First, in a purely political pose (to please his narco generals), he attempted to reject the U.S. "aid" consisting of weaponry, military supplies, "Green Berets," and gun boats, supposedly to confront the drug traffickers. In another staged "photo-op" that he tried to show that he is not a puppet, Fujimori refused to sign a military agreement that had been previously approved by the Director of the National Police, increasing direct "aid" to Peruvian police forces (dollars included) charged with enforcing DEA plans in the Upper Huallaga Valley. In both cases the pretext was the omission by the U.S. of a "global strategy," which addresses the social problems that indiscriminate repression against growers in the coca plantations would necessarily entail.
In reality what Fujimori is seeking is forYankee imperialism to be committed to refloating bureaucratic capitalism in coca growing regions, meaning essentially to evolve semi-feudalism in that extensive and strategic territory, now in great part controlled by the People's Army of Liberation (EPL), the People's Committees organized and led by the PCP.
However, Fujimori's "nationalist" poses evaporated as quickly as the foam in a glass of beer. He ended up signing an agreement which besides setting the priority to promote the agro industrial exports in the coca regions, he gives free reign for Yankee troops, who under the guise of "fighting drug traffickers," has assumed the control of fighting the insurgency, attempting to annihilate the guerrillas and the New Power solidly established in the region.
"CIVIL LEADERSHIP" TO SUBSTITUTE COCA
Imperialist Agent Hernando de Soto (head of the U.S.--FUNDED Institute Liberty and Democracy), just after Fujimori assumed power, suddenly became a key advisor and intermediary between the regime and the U.S. Embassy. He was charged with drafting recipes to restructure the ruined bureaucratic-landlord State in Perú. This character appeared as the "author" of the so-called "Autonomous Authority for Alternative Development" (AADA) implemented in the Upper Huallaga, to enhance the planswhich seek to subject the coca field's peasantry to agroindustrial oligopolies, and to take away their lands.
This nefarious individual (Felipillo) De Soto, was the coauthor along with the USDEA of the repressive stages later implemented by Peruvian counter subversive forces under command of the U.S. Army.
Among other reactionary plans (already implemented and failed) were the funding, training and arming of paramilitary rondas organized by the Peruvian armed forces in the areas around the coca fields, with automatic rifles and machine guns, to establish plugs capable of containing the movement of the PCP guerrillas in Upper Huallaga and Central Huallaga.
At the time, Defense Minister Jorge Torres Aciego stated in a published interview: "The new anti subversive strategy is centered in gaining the confidence of the population," from which it can be derived that with regard to anti drug policies, the regime tries by all available means to corporativize (organize them at a gun point) the peasantry so that they will help promote bureaucratic capitalism in the jungle. These attemps of the reactionaries carried out for more than 6 years (1992-1998) in the Huallaga have failed because the unstopabble People's War.
Published by The New Flag
http://www.blythe.org/peru-pcp