US giving more coca eradication planes to Colombia
The United States will give three additional planes to Colombia this year to help its fleet of 21 aircraft already spraying defoliants on plants used to make cocaine, a top U.S. official said on Monday. The planned move follows a report showing an increase in coca crops in the Andean country and a request from Colombian President Alvaro Uribe for more anti-drug assistance. The U.S. government’s 2005 survey of Colombia’s coca crop found 26 percent more land dedicated to coca cultivation than in 2004 after nearly doubling the area surveyed. Full Story