Word: bolivian
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Word leaked out almost as soon as the giant U.S. Air Force C-5A transport plane touched down in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz. As U.S. embassy spokesmen in the capital city of La Paz and Defense Department officials in Washington tried to downplay the matter, headlines in Bolivia and the U.S. were blaring the news: in the first use of a U.S. military operation on foreign soil to fight drugs, Army Black Hawk helicopters, armed with .30-cal. machine guns and escorted by about 160 U.S. soldiers, had been flown into the South American jungle to assist Bolivian...
...really shoot to kill. U.S. troops, though armed with M-16 rifles, were under orders not to fire unless fired upon. Besides, the splash of unwanted publicity removed the surprise, ensuring that most of the big drug traffickers would be out of the country before the forces arrived. Said Bolivian Ambassador to the U.S. Fernando Illanes: "With all the advance advice, I think everybody is scampering." At the outset, the mission had a comicopera quality to it. The planned arrival from the U.S. Southern Command in Panama of the C-5A transport ferrying the helicopters, to be followed...
According to Defense sources, the Bolivian mission had been planned for some time. Since 1982, when the Administration stepped up the Federal Government's war on drugs, the U.S. military, with some effectiveness, has assisted civilian authorities in seizing incoming shipments of cocaine and other drugs. Partly at the urging of Vice President George Bush, the Army, Air Force and Navy have provided about $21 million worth of operational and maintenance support, including high-tech electronic detection equipment on loan to the Bahamian government as part of "Operation Bat." This was a three-year-old effort to intercept drug smugglers...
...launching their dramatic operation, the Reagan Administration and the Bolivian government tackled a complex problem that seems to be beyond the reach of standard diplomatic or administrative efforts. Dissatisfied with earlier Bolivian attempts to eradicate coca fields, the U.S. State Department in June decided to cut Bolivia's $14.4 million economic support in half. Bolivian officials were hoping last week's raid would prevent any similar slashes in aid next year...
Technically, the procedure for U.S. military assistance called for Bolivian authorities to request the help. In practice, said a Defense Department official, "we sort of told 'em what to ask for." Even so, many Bolivian officials apparently expected to receive reconnaissance planes and helicopters similar to those provided outright to Mexico and Colombia. The spectacular arrival of troops, transport vehicles, trucks, tents and other supplies -- followed by reporters and camera crews trying to charter planes to follow the action -- left the country nonplussed. "All the publicity has been a little rough," said one official. "The operation is a little...