[Note from Matthew Gaylor: My thanks to Ashley Clements <cheechwz@mindspring.com> (MAP, FEAR & November Coalition listmaster) for alerting me that the US has already tested these fungi on an unwilling population. The US is getting way out of control in Latin America. Can anyone see the US screwing up Peru's agriculture and "curing" it with massive US aid. It looks like the US is gearing up their propaganda machine about Columbia. US special forces are already there and I expect to see massive US troop involvement in Columbia in the next year...Unless you fight like hell by calling your congresscritter if and when this happens. And just where the hell is the environmental movement on this one? ]
"In Peru, angry farmers have recently accused the United States of using a soil fungus to destroy coca in the Upper Huallaga Valley, saying that the fungus has spread to banana, yucca, tangerine and other food crops, according to the Miami Herald. American officials, while acknowledging in June that they had spent $14 million on research to develop such biological agents against poppy, coca and marijuana, denied the charges."
] URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n768.a08.html
Pubdate: Tue, 27 Jul 1999
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 1999 The New York Times Company
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Forum: http://www10.nytimes.com/comment/
Author: Rick Bragg