Choppers for drug stoppers

Media release

June 23, 2006

WASHINGTON - With the help of seven Blackhawk helicopters from the U.S. Army, the DEA has blocked 25 tons of cocaine and 82 tons of marijuana from being smuggled into Florida since 2000. Now, the Army wants to end its support and shift the helicopters for use in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson believes that while we need adequate resources to fight the war on terror, we can’t cut back in the war on drugs.

So on Thursday, Nelson and U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez passed an amendment that directs Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to submit a plan to Congress describing how the government will maintain the effectiveness of OPBAT (Operation Bahamas, Turks, and Caicos) without the use of the Army’s helicopters.

The amendment was attached to a broader defense spending bill being considered in the Senate today. The next step is approval by House and Senate negotiators.

“We have to have the resources to fight the war in Iraq, but it can’t mean we give up on another battle,” said Nelson.

Last week, Nelson, in a letter to the president, urged him to explore other options, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, if the military were to end it’s participation in this anti-drug program.

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