kylef wrote:
So, he was pretty interesting. Forgoing all "no drugs", his entire speech was on them and their environmental implications etc. Seemed genuinely concerned about the whole thing, which was nice to see. BBC were there filming and as I asked my (not in any way to be drug related question) question: "Looking at satellite images why has Ecuador's rainforest region kept intact whilst Colombia's has been essentially eaten away by cocaine farmers?" He asked the cameras to stop rolling as he didn't want to represent this on TV: apparently major drug lords live in Ecuador and due to laws there they are not seen as a threat like they are in Colombia. So they don't grow and there's nothing illegal with them being there ... or something like that, anyway.
I'm sure it'll be on the BBC soon, I'll get some links if they post it up, I spotted myself on BBC News 24 earlier lol
He should have mentioned that US led chemical spraying of Colombian jungles has decimated much of the vegetation to the point where much of the once-fertile land will not be able to support crops of any kind (including cocaine
and food staples) and that Ecuador does not have the same relations with the US in regards to combatting narco-producers. Then he could have elaborated and said that without explicit US diplomatic, economic, and military support the political regime in Colombia would have far less legitimacy and political clout within its own borders.
