Do Something? Are You Kidding? We Just Live Here!

By Sidney Urquhart

The American lawmaker had come to Peru for a firsthand look at that country's drug-interdiction efforts. "Why so much smoke?" asked Congressman ROBERT TORRICELLI of New Jersey as his helicopter waited to take off from a military outpost in the Huallaga Valley. "They are burning off the forest to plant more coca," answered the pilot. As the chopper circled over the municipal airport, the legislator noticed frantic activity on the runway. "They are loading cocaine," explained his guide. "Why don't the police and the military do something to stop it?" the Congressman asked his Peruvian hosts when he landed. "It is out of my jurisdiction," said the local army commander. "It is too dangerous," said the police chief. "It is hopeless," concluded the Congressman.