By Scott Miller
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The United States, Mexico, Colombia and other Western Hemisphere countries are making headway in their efforts to diminish coca cultivation and the transit of illegal narcotics into the U.S. market -- and this progress should affect the availability of cocaine in the United States within the next 12 months, according to John Walters, director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy.

A week after returning from his most recent trip to Colombia and Mexico, Walters outlined hemispheric counternarcotics progress during an August 10 briefing at the Foreign Press Center in Washington.

Walters noted that in the last two years, there has been a 30 percent reduction in the cultivation of coca in Colombia, the source of 70 percent of the world's cocaine. He noted that the drop in coca cultivation has resulted in a net reduction in regional production and has not been offset by increased coca cultivation elsewhere in the Andes -- such as in Bolivia and Peru.

Furthermore, the joint interdiction efforts of the United States, Colombia, Mexico, and other nations in the Caribbean and Europe have resulted in the seizure of 400 metric tons of cocaine in 2003, he said. Whereas in the past, interdiction efforts have intercepted 10 percent of the estimated flow of cocaine from South America to the United States, Walters said the cocaine shipments interdicted in 2003 represented 40 percent of the flow.

As an additional sign of counternarcotics progress, the U.S. official said that the United States, for the first time, has intelligence estimates that within the next 12 months there will be changes in the availability of cocaine in the Untied States. This reduced availability of cocaine, he said, likely will be reflected first in purity levels and will be followed by higher prices for cocaine in the United States. Walters cited a United Nations study that indicated the price of cocaine in Europe is already being affected by a reduction in the flow of cocaine.

Of equal importance to Colombia's counternarcotics gains are the other achievements of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's administration, Walters said. He pointed to a recent dramatic decline in murders and kidnappings in Colombia, as well as the establishment of a government presence in all the nation's municipalities for the first time. This progress has been accompanied by increases in Colombia's economic growth, he noted.

"The example of Colombia is outstanding," Walters said. "I know of no other country on the face of the earth over the last two years that has had as dramatic an improvement in human rights and rule of law as Colombia."

As for counternarcotics cooperation with Mexico, Walters said the United States and Mexico "are working more extensively and more successfully than ever before." In fact, "the level of cooperation between the United States and Mexico has never been higher," he added.

Walters said the United States is helping Mexico in its efforts to combat powerful drug organizations. The two neighboring countries' joint activities include working together on aggressive initiatives against money laundering and collaborating to provide better security along the U.S.-Mexico border.

During his recent visit to their countries, Walters said he conveyed to his Colombian and Mexican colleagues that the U.S. government remains dedicated to reducing the demand for illegal narcotics in the United States and is making progress to this end.

He said that for the first time in ten years, the United States was able to record an 11 percent decline in teenage drug use between 2001 and 2003.

During the time Walters was traveling in Colombia and Mexico, President Bush announced the release of an additional $100 million in drug treatment money for substance abusers. Walters noted that, overall, the United States spends $2 billion on drug treatment.

"We intend to do our part, as President Bush has said, to reduce demand," Walters said. "We know this is a market phenomenon, we know that the U.S. market drives dollars and drives the violence that those dollars support."

As part of the Bush administration's efforts to reduce demand, Walters noted that the president also took the unprecedented step in 2004 of announcing federal support for school districts that seek to implement random drug testing.