Anti-coca spraying halted in Colombia after 2 U.S. pilots shot down
Anti-coca spraying halted in Colombia after 2 U.S. pilots shot down
One pilot was killed after his crop-duster was brought down, apparently by leftist rebels. FARC rebels are also believed to have shot down the other plane.
By Chris Kraul
December 16, 2013, 7:29 p.m.
BOGOTA, Colombia — U.S.-funded anti-coca spraying in Colombia has been suspended indefinitely in the aftermath of the shooting down, apparently by leftist rebels, of two spray planes and the death of one of the American pilots, sources confirmed Monday.
One fumigation airplane was shot down Sept. 27, killing the pilot, whose name was not made public. A second crop-duster was brought down Oct. 5, prompting the U.S. Embassy in Bogota to suspend spraying, according to one well-informed source who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.
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At least six U.S. pilots have been killed in the spraying program since 1995, according to recent interviews with U.S. Embassy staff. Danger comes not just from enemy gunfire but also high-tension wires and palm trees. The planes are slow but powerful propeller-driven aircraft with 1,385-horsepower engines that are capable of carrying up to 800 pounds of herbicide.
In a 2009 interview, one of the U.S. pilots, a contractor with DynCorp, told The Times that the planes made easy targets for rebels and drug traffickers but that he felt safe from gunfire with the cockpit's 3/4-inch armor. According to the Associated Press, the embassy is analyzing how gunfire penetrated the shield.
The U.S.-financed fumigation effort has eradicated an estimated 4 million acres of coca, the raw material for cocaine, over the last two decades. The program uses mostly contracted American pilots who spray industrial variants of the weedkiller Roundup from several hundred feet.
More:
http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-colombia-us-planes-20131217,0,1741869.story#ixzz2nrWFkhB7
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