Bush Proclaims ‘Anti-Drug Cartel’ : Summit: Four leaders announce no specific new steps to fight trafficking. The need for financial aid to Andean nations is stressed. A role is seen for armed forces.

President Bush flew here for his much-heralded summit with three Latin American presidents Thursday and proclaimed after about three hours of meetings that the four nations have formed “the first anti-drug cartel.”

An 11-page “Declaration of Cartagena” signed by Bush and the presidents of Colombia, Bolivia and Peru said that fighting drug traffic requires effective efforts to reduce demand for drugs in consuming countries and to stimulate economic development in producing countries.

Bush promised in the document to seek congressional approval of new funds to “counteract the short and long-term socio-economic impact of an effective fight against illicit drugs.”

The communique also pledges the four governments to control chemicals used in refining cocaine, share money and properties seized from traffickers, exchange intelligence information and control weapons, planes and other equipment used in drug trafficking.

However, the presidents--Bush, Peru’s Alan Garcia, Bolivia’s Jaime Paz Zamora and Colombia’s Virgilio Barco Vargas--did not discuss extradition of drug criminals, specific levels of American economic aid or the use of the U.S. military to fight the drug traffic, according to Bush’s spokesman, Marlin Fitzwater.

U.S. and South American officials negotiated details of the document until Wednesday night before coming to final agreement. A source close to the talks said that the American negotiators wanted to put the major emphasis on police and military repression of drug trafficking, but they yielded to the South Americans’ insistence that greater emphasis should be put on the need for financial aid and economic development as necessary conditions for controlling the traffic.

The South American governments reluctantly acceded to a U.S. demand for a clause specifying that the armed forces of the three South American countries may participate in the fight against trafficking, the source said. The Colombian military already is involved, but the military leaders of Peru and Bolivia have balked at joining police in anti-drug efforts.

Fitzwater described the meeting as “cordial and businesslike . . . very complete.”

Others took a somewhat more skeptical view.

“As they say in the United States, ‘Where is the hamburger?’ ” asked Peru’s Garcia during a joint press conference at the end of the summit.

Despite the question, the four participants each pronounced themselves basically happy with the meeting. While no specific new steps were agreed upon, they said, the fact that the four presidents met at all was an important advance.

“We have begun a form of perestroika, “ Paz said at the joint press conference, adding that he was “fully satisfied” with the results.

“For the first time,” said Garcia, “we have come together with the President of the United States.” That fact, he declared, marks the beginning of “a new collaborative approach” and a “new chapter” in relations between Latin America and the United States.

The meeting, said Bush, “demonstrates solidarity” between the United States, the world’s largest consumer of cocaine, and the three nations that are the chief sources of the drug. “In signing the document, we’ve committed ourselves to the first common, comprehensive international drug control strategy. We, in fact, created the first anti-drug cartel,” he said.

Paz said the communique shows that the United States now accepts the idea that coca leaf production cannot be curtailed without major economic support for the economies of the coca-growing countries, Bolivia and Peru.

The document states, “The United States is also prepared to cooperate with the Andean Parties in a wide range of initiatives for development, trade and investment in order to strengthen and sustain long-term economic growth.”

But Paz said the South American presidents recognized that U.S. budget problems make it difficult for Bush to promise all the aid needed.

“We indicated that we do not expect it to come only from the United States,” he said, but other developed countries should also help with financial support.

In the communique, the United States also pledged “increased cooperation in equipment and training to the law enforcement bodies” of the three Andean countries. It agreed to work with them “to stem weapons exports from the United States to illegal drug traffickers.”

But the presidents’ declaration left several major questions unresolved.

Barco, for example, denied news reports that his government had made a deal with traffickers.

“These rumors are completely and totally false,” he said. “Colombian law cannot be negotiated.”

Barco did not, however, mention the word “extradition.” And although he insisted that drug traffickers must “give everything up, including themselves,” he made no commitment that the Colombian government would continue to send at least some of those who did surrender to the United States to face trial.

Extradition is the fate that members of the Colombia drug cartels apparently fear most. When the assassination of a popular presidential candidate by traffickers last August prompted Barco to revive an extradition treaty with the United States, the cartels fought back with a campaign of terror. Recently, messages from the traffickers have indicated that they would end their war with the government and get out of the illicit drug trade. Observers say their aim is to persuade Barco to drop extradition.

Separately, the United States and Peru agreed to make a separate exchange of diplomatic notes reinforcing their commitment to the extradition of accused drug traffickers.

Bush, for his part, pledged to continue to seek economic aid to help wean the economies of the three Andean nations from cocaine. But he made no commitment to a total amount and specifically said that the United States would not try to match the loss of cocaine revenue “dollar for dollar” or “job for job.”

“I don’t think we can do that,” he said. The South American nations should try to end coca production, despite the economic costs, because “growing drugs for the international market” is “immoral.”

Bolivia’s President Paz, however, painted a picture of how difficult that will be for his impoverished country. He said upon his arrival Tuesday night that coca accounts for half of its national economy. In a separate, bilateral agreement with Colombia, the United States pledged to try to open the U.S. market to additional Colombian exports that would replace drugs, but, again, Bush made no specific promises. American consumers “do not want to pay higher prices,” he said when asked about efforts to increase the international price of coffee, one of Colombia’s largest legal exports.

The United States and Peru also signed an agreement permitting the exchange of tax records, bank statements and other information to uncover illicit drug profits and trace drug money-laundering.

Bush also repeated his pledge to continue efforts to reduce demand for drugs in America, an important symbol for South American leaders, who for years have bridled at what they argue is unfair American pressure to destroy coca crops, the main source of income for hundreds of thousands of otherwise impoverished peasants, while United States does little to reduce the demand that fuels the drug trade.

Next to demand reduction, “all other tactics pale into insignificance,” Colombia’s Barco said as he welcomed the three other leaders to the summit site, a Colombian navy base on a small peninsula jutting out into the placid waters of Cartagena Bay.

“The only law the narco-traffickers do not violate,” he said, “is the law of supply and demand.”

The aspect of the summit that was almost certainly the most carefully watched in the United States was a question answered before the meetings even began: Bush proved he could travel to Colombia safely.

For weeks, the question of the President’s security here has dominated discussions of the meeting. Despite qualms by his security staff and worries of many Americans, Bush insisted on traveling here, saying that to do otherwise would send a message of no-confidence in the Barco government.

Administration officials Thursday continued their conflicting messages about the degree of danger. White House officials warned reporters and staff members not to wander from “secure areas” and not to accept any packages or gifts. Other Administration officials, however, said they thought the concern over security, which had led the White House to keep the bulk of the press corps in Barranquilla, about 60 miles from the meeting site, had been overstated.

The worries were “overblown,” Assistant Secretary of State Bernard Aronson told reporters on Air Force One as Bush flew south before dawn Thursday morning.

Although security was tight, few unusual precautions were apparent. Air Force One made a fast, low approach to the airport at Barranquilla. Bush spent a few minutes greeting dignitaries at the airport, then boarded a Marine helicopter which sped off for Cartagena. Accompanied by three other helicopters carrying press, staff and Secret Service agents, the President’s helicopter flew at high speed and low altitude along the coast, sending flocks of egrets swirling into the air from the marshes below.

Peru’s President Garcia had threatened to not attend the summit because of the U.S. invasion of Panama. He changed his position only after the United States announced that all invading troops would be withdrawn by the end of February.

Arriving Thursday morning in Cartagena, Garcia indicated that the invasion was not be a subject for discussion. Panama “is a separate chapter,” he said, but added: “We continue to reject the intervention; we continue to reject the invasion.”

“Glad to meet you at last,” Bush said to Garcia as the two were introduced. “You’re a big man, a big guy,” he added to the Peruvian president, who, even without the elevator shoes he wore is a couple of inches taller and quite a few pounds heavier than the six-foot two-inch Bush.

Taking a brief stroll in the humid ocean breeze before their meeting, Bush chatted with the three other heads of state in a small courtyard of an old fort located on the peninsula as raucous tropical birds crowed nearby and flocks of small yellow warblers darted between branches of bright pink bougainvillea.

“I love it, beautiful,” said Bush “I just wish we had more time for fishing.”

BACKGROUND Cartagena was once a major storage port for the treasure-laden galleons of the Spanish Main. An extensive network of fortresses and ramparts, with walls 50 feet thick in places, was built by Spain to protect hoards of gold and jewels from pirates and privateers, who attacked the city repeatedly. Sir Francis Drake captured Cartagena in 1586 but, for a payment of 10 million pesos, did not burn it down. The French sacked it in 1697. But in 1741, its mightiest fortress, San Felipe--honeycombed with tunnels and passages--resisted a massive assault by 27,000 men and 3,000 pieces of artillery led by the English buccaneer Edward Vernon. Well-restored and well-maintained, Cartagena’s Old City today is one of the best preserved colonial-era districts in South America. It has often been used as a set for films seeking to recreate authentic period locales, including that of “The Mission,” starring Robert De Niro.

THE TALK OF CARTAGENA

The anti-drug war brought the leaders of the United States, the biggest consumer of illegal drugs, and the major producing nations, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, together at a summit in Cartagena, Colombia. Some facts and figures about the drug trade and the participating nations:

COLOMBIA

Colombian farmers grow about 10% of the coca leaves for U.S.-bound cocaine.

The Medellin and Cali drug cartels refine 80% of U.S. cocaine.

Illegal cocaine brings in an estimated $500 million to $1.2 billion.

BOLIVIA

Bolivia raises about 30% of the coca for U.S. cocaine.

Cocaine trafficking brings in an estimated $200 million to $300 million.

PERU

60% of U.S.-bound cocaine is derived from coca grown in Peru.

About 200,000 Peruvians earn their living growing coca.

Drugs bring in $1.2 billion a year.

UNITED STATES

President Bush’s national drug control strategy for 1991, if approved, will cost $10.6 billion. Of the total spending, 42% would be for domestic law enforcement, 29% for interdiction and 29% for prevention and treatment. The plan includes $423 million in drug law enforcement and economic development aid to Colombia, Peru and Bolivia.

Source: Associated Press

DRUG SUMMIT

President Bush met with the presidents of Colombia, Peru and Bolivia to devise a strategy against the cocaine trade.

CARTEGENA

A coastal resort city of 350,000 population that was a key port of the Spainish Main from the 16th to the 18th centuries.

Meeting Site: At colonial style guest house on a naval base.