A senator wants changes to a U.S./Peru anti-drug campaign that allows the Peruvian military to shoot down civilian aircraft suspected of running drugs. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Friday urged the Bush administration to reconsider the policy because, he said, there is no guarantee that identification safeguards will prevent the deaths of innocent people. Leahy cited the death of a mother and infant daughter in the mistaken downing of a missionary aircraft in April of 2001 in Peru. Leahy said he’s all for trying to stop the flow of drugs using aerial surveillance. “I am concerned that the foreign pilots are performing the role of prosecutor, jury and executioner, even when there may be no cause for self-defense and no proof that the operators of the targeted aircraft have broken any law,” Leahy told the Senate. AOPA and the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilots Associations applauded Leahy’s sentiments.
Drugs Could Be Deadly In Peru
Key Takeaways:
- Senator Patrick Leahy is urging the U.S. administration to change a U.S./Peru anti-drug policy that permits the Peruvian military to shoot down civilian aircraft suspected of drug trafficking.
- Leahy's primary concern is the lack of guaranteed identification safeguards, which he argues risks the lives of innocent people, citing the 2001 mistaken downing of a missionary aircraft that killed a mother and infant.
- He criticized the policy for allowing foreign pilots to act as "prosecutor, jury and executioner" without sufficient proof of law-breaking or cause for self-defense, a concern echoed by AOPA and IAOPA.
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