American Notes DRUGS

The international assault on Latin America's illicit drug industry was unprecedented. In Operation Snowcap, made public only when it ended last week, antidrug forces from 30 nations cooperated for 28 days in a blitz on the dope trade -- dynamiting airstrips, assaulting coca-processing operations, searching travelers. Among the participating nations were Belgium, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Britain, the U.S. and Venezuela. Results: 11 tons of cocaine and 244 tons of marijuana seized; 114 guns, 122 boats, planes and vehicles confiscated; 22 cocaine labs destroyed; and 1,267 arrests made. Yet no major kingpins were nailed. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh applauded the cooperation with an apt low-key assessment: "I don't think anybody's claiming that this is a success in the war on drugs. We are talking about an important avenue toward success."