Exports Of Columbia, South America

1 Pages 209 Words

On March 1, 1996 and again on February 28, 1997, President Clinton made the decision not to certify Colombia as fully cooperating with the U.S. or taking adequate steps on its own to meet the objectives of the 1988 UN Convention on drugs. The U.S. concluded that there was a lack of effort at the top levels of Colombia's government to push for legislative and judicial reforms to strengthen Colombian government institutions' ability to fight narco-trafficking. Under the certification legislation, the U.S. Government was required to halt non-humanitarian and non-counternarcotics aid to Colombia and to vote against loans to Colombia by certain multilateral development banks. U.S. law provides for the discretionary imposition of economic sanctions, which were not imposed.

On February 26, 1998, the President determined that the vital national interests of the United States require that U.S. assistance to Colombia be provided to meet the increasing challenges posed to counternarcotics efforts in Colombia. The President thus granted Colombia a national interests certification, which waives the restrictions of decertification and allows for broader U.S. engagement with Colombia in the fight against illegal narcotics.

Colombia, along with other drug producing and drug transit countries, will be reviewed for counter-narcotics performance again at by March 1, 1999 and each successive year....