- U.S. legislators are making new threats to use biological
weapons in Colombia's civil war. In December 2002 a plan resurfaced in
the U.S. House of Representatives to employ an untested pathogenic fungus,
Fusarium oxysporum in Colombia's U.S.-funded "War on Drugs."
Critics say the plan proposes illegal acts of biological warfare, poses
major ecological risks to one of the world's most bio-diverse countries,
and will increase the human damage of a failed eradication policy. The
new fungal agents were dubbed Agent Green by the Sunshine Project, a non-governmental
organization opposed to the use of biological weapons, and were developed
by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and by two other facilities using
U.S. government funding--a private company in Montana, and a former Soviet
biological weapons facility in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The lead agents are
types of Fusarium oxysporum (to kill coca and cannabis) and Pleospora papaveracea
(to kill opium poppy). Their ecological and human health safety is very
poorly tested, and they are known to impact non-target species.
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- In June 1999, the U.S. Senate approved a US$1.3 billion
aid package in support of Colombia's "War on Drugs," that required
testing of the fungal pathogen as another weapon to be employed against
illicit drugs, along with conventional pesticides. The plan was opposed
by civil society worldwide, and President Clinton eventually waived this
requirement, citing concerns for the proliferation of biological weapons.
Colombia also rejected proposals to test this pathogen due to environmental
risks.
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- The coca-killing strain of Fusarium oxysporum is naturally
abundant in temperate and tropical zones, killing plants by releasing fungal
toxins (mycotoxins) into plant roots. A generalist fungal pathogen, the
toxin attacks a variety of plants. Because it persists in soil, Fusarium
oxysporum would make the soil sprayed in Colombia unfit for coca-cultivation
for up to 40 years.
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- Pesticide Action Network scientist Margaret Reeves states
"Fusarium oxysporum is a huge threat, with potentially enormous negative
consequences for a variety of plant species. Little is known about possible
dangers of a massive introduction of these fungi into the environment,
their potential to attack other plant species or the health risks caused
by the toxins they produce." The Sunshine Project considers Agent
Green an indiscriminate killer, that poses threats to human health and
to non-targeted species. Some Fusarium species are also known to cause
human disease, especially in individuals with compromised immune systems
due to cancer, AIDS or even asthma.
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- Clearly, the large-scale introduction of a persistent
and generalist toxin, is extremely risky for Colombia. However, Colombia
is at a disadvantage because it depends heavily upon U.S. aid.
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- The U.S. plan to spray Fusarium oxysporum would violate
the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), which prohibits international
transfers of bioweapons and equipment. Some of Colombia's neighbors, including
Ecuador and Peru, have passed national regulations to try to preempt U.S.
bioweapons pressure like that exerted on Colombia.
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- If biological warfare in the form of Agent Green is used
in Colombia, it may legitimize global biological warfare on a larger scale.
The Sunshine project explains that Afghanistan is also on the U.S. target
list, as are other countries in South Asia, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
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- Attempts to use Agent Green on illicit cannabis crops
within the U.S. were quashed by environmental regulators in Florida. The
Sunshine Project terms the use of this fungal pathogen in Colombia not
only hypocritical but also colonialist. The use of this generalist and
highly persistent fungal pathogen would legitimize biological warfare,
and provide a major threat to the health and environment within Colombia.
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- Sources: The Temptation of Dr. Weed, Missoula Independent,
January 16, 2003; Press Release, New US Bioweapons Threat on Colombia,
The Sunshine Project, 17 December 17, 2002, http://www.sunshine-project.org/;
Biological Weapons Join Pesticides in Misguided "War on Drugs,"
PANUPS, Aug 1, 2000, PANNA Web site.
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- Contact: PANNA
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- PANUPS is a weekly email news service providing resource
guides and reporting on pesticide issues that don't always get coverage
by the mainstream media. It's produced by Pesticide Action Network North
America, a non-profit and non-governmental organization working to advance
sustainable alternatives to pesticides worldwide.
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- You can join our efforts! We gladly accept donations
for our work and all contributions are tax deductible in the United States.
Visit http://www.panna.org/donate.
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