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last updated:4/7/04
INC (also known as INL and INCLE): International Narcotics Control
Program description / Law | INC military and police assistance | Total INC funding by country / program | Other sites
Program description Law

Within the Department of State, the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) designs and carries out international counternarcotics policy and programs, while advising and coordinating other U.S. agencies' overseas anti-drug activities. INL provides aid and training to the governments and security forces of countries in which drugs are produced or transported.

INL's program combines economic and security assistance, aiding civilian and military agencies with counternarcotics responsibilities. Types of aid include training, technical assistance, equipment and arms transfers, development assistance (particularly to encourage cultivation of legal crops), and aid to administration of justice and domestic drug demand-reduction programs. State Department INL officials themselves may manage assistance programs, or INL funds may be transferred to other government agencies like US Agency for International Development or the Drug Enforcement Administration.

INL's budget saw an enormous increase between 1999 and 2000 when funding for Latin America roughly tripled after Congress approved the "Plan Colombia" aid package. Since 2000, funding has continued at this higher level.

Of INL's $928 million budget request for fiscal year 2003, about $825 million will go to Latin America. According to INL's Congressional Budget Justification for 2003,

"Requested funds will support Latin American programs initiated under the FY 2000 Emergency Supplemental and continued under the Andean Counterdrug Initiative. The requested funds will allow us to advance our source country approach against the cocaine threat in South America; it will provide for alternative development resources to buttress successful crop control efforts; it will allow continued materiel and logistical support to the police and military to block drug shipments out of the producing areas and through key transit zones; and it will furnish the training and other institution-building assistance needed to strengthen the judiciary's ability to resist trafficker corruption and to prosecute major cases successfully." [1]

The 2003 budget request includes $731 million for the "Andean Counterdrug Initiative," a follow-on to the Plan Colombia package, that will provide significant assistance to Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia as well as lesser amounts to Venezuela, Brazil and Panama. Much smaller levels of assistance are provided to countries in other parts of Latin America.

An Interregional Aviation program, managed by INL, uses U.S.-owned aircraft, and contractor or host-country pilots, to perform aerial counter-drug reconnaissance and crop eradication. According to INL's 2003 budget request, this program will focus on Colombia, Bolivia and Peru.

INL's Anti-Crime program provides law enforcement training and technical assistance to about 150 countries worldwide. These programs are often carried out by other agencies such as Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Customs Service, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

INL works with international organizations as well. It is the largest contributor to the Organization of American States Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) and supports the implementation of the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM).

The 2003 budget justification also addressed INL's role in counterterrorism efforts, explaining that "INL counternarcotics and anticrime programs promote modernization of criminal justice systems and enhance the capabilities of foreign law enforcement agencies charged with countering terrorism." [2]

 The INC program is authorized by section 481 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (P.L. 87-195, or the "FAA"), as amended. Section 481 authorizes the President "to furnish assistance to any country or international organization, on such terms and conditions as he may determine, for the control of narcotic and psychotropic drugs and other controlled substances, or for other anticrime purposes." The law makes the Secretary of State responsible for coordinating this assistance.

Limitations

Like all security assistance programs funded through the Foreign Operations appropriation, INC is subject to the human rights restrictions found in the Leahy Law.

Reports

The laws which authorize the INC program require regular reporting to Congress about its activities. The most extensive of these reports is the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) required by section 489 of the Foreign Assistance Act. The INCSR discusses certification decisions, narcotics activity, and U.S. programs in each drug source or transit country. It must be submitted every March 1 to the Speaker of the House and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Notification

The Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) also requires that Congress be notified if certain actions are taken within the INC program.

According to section 482(b) of the FAA, INC can only supply weapons or ammunition if they are to be used:

  • For the defensive arming of aircraft that are used for counternarcotics purposes; or
  • For defensive purposes by State Department employees or contract personnel engaged in counternarcotics activities.

These transfers cannot take place until fifteen days after the President notifies the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, the House International Relations Committee, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Section 484(a) of the FAA specifies that aircraft provided to foreign countries through the INC program must be either leased or loaned. The President may grant aircraft through INC, however, by determining that a lease or loan would be "contrary to the national interest of the United States."

The aircraft cannot be transferred until fifteen days after the President notifies the same congressional committees.

According to section 488 of the FAA, INC funds cannot be obligated for construction until fifteen days after the President notifies the congressional committees.

[The International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) is available online at the State Department's website.]

Click to read the text of Section 481 of the FAA, also known as section 2291 of Title 22, U.S. Code. (From U.S. House of Representatives Internet Law Library)

INC military and police assistance

2000-2005
(U.S. dollars)

Country 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004, est. 2005, req.
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Bahamas 510,000 823,000 811,000 645,000 525,000
?
Barbados
Belize
Bolivia 53,450,000 28,461,000 44,142,000 43,872,000 43,615,000 49,000,000
Brazil 4,443,000 1,380,000 5,100,000 5,080,000 11,000,000
?
British Virgin Islands
Caribbean Regional 1,740,000 2,200,000 3,940,000 2,600,000 1,000,000
?
Central America Regional 2,600,000 2,635,000 2,590,000 2,750,000 1,000,000
?
Chile
Colombia 666,250,000 42,350,000 255,400,000 290,500,000 375,000,000 313,000,000
Costa Rica
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Eastern Caribbean Regional
Ecuador 12,665,000 1,650,000 13,825,000 14,175,000 19,115,000 11,000,000
El Salvador
Grenada
Guatemala 1,935,000 1,810,000 2,070,000 1,225,000 1,650,000
?
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica 600,000 0 1,106,000 790,000 1,080,000
?
Mexico 2,450,000 7,975,000 34,900,000 9,651,000 34,312,000
?
Netherlands Antilles
Nicaragua
Panama 4,617,000 853,000 4,319,000 3,592,000 7,300,000
?
Paraguay
Peru 48,710,000 17,010,000 65,250,000 51,500,000 56,390,000 62,000,000
Puerto Rico
South America Regional 347,000 750,000 710,000 755,000 490,000
?
St. Kitts and Nevis
St. Lucia
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Suriname
Trinidad and Tobago
Turks and Caicos
Uruguay
Venezuela 3,765,000 550,000 2,760,000 859,000 1,910,000
?
Western Hemisphere Regional 10,119,000 1,500,000 5,660,000 1,700,000 700,000 24,250,000
Total  $814,201,000  $109,947,000  $442,583,000  $429,694,000   $555,087,000  >$459,250,000

Total INC by country / program

2001-2005
(U.S. dollars)

Program 2001 [16] 2002 [17] 2003 [18] 2004, est. [18] 2005, req. [18]
Country Programs
The Bahamas 1,200,000 1,200,000 1,100,000 1,000,000 1,000,000
Bolivia 52,000,000 87,600,000 90,727,000 91,000,000 91,000,000
Brazil 2,000,000 6,000,000 6,000,000 10,200,000 9,000,000
Colombia 48,000,000 379,900,000 634,200,000 463,000,000 463,000,000
Ecuador 2,200,000 25,000,000 30,896,000 35,000,000 26,000,000
Guatemala 3,000,000 3,500,000 2,500,000 3,000,000 2,820,000
Jamaica 257,000 1,550,000 1,200,000 1,500,000 1,500,000
Mexico 10,000,000 37,000,000 12,000,000 32,000,000 40,000,000
Panama 1,363,000 5,000,000 4,500,000 6,487,000 6,000,000
Peru 48,000,000 142,500,000 128,052,000 116,000,000 112,000,000
Venezuela 1,200,000 5,000,000 2,075,000 5,000,000 3,000,000
Latin American regional programs 8,537,000 10,000,000 9,500,000 4,850,000 3,250,000
Systems Support & Upgrades
C-26 Support
Huey Upgrades for Colombia
Total		 4,000,000 6,000,000 4,500,000    
International Law Enforcement Academy - Costa Rica   2,090,000 2,896,000 3,300,000 3,300,000
Interregional Aviation Support 50,000,000 60,000,000 65,000,000 70,000,000 70,000,000
Air Bridge Denial Program         21,000,000
Western Hemisphere regional border control supplemental   4,000,000      
Latin America Country Programs Subtotal 231,757,000 776,340,000 995,146,000 842,337,000 852,870,000
International Organizations 12,000,000 16,000,000 12,200,000 13,000,000 12,000,000
Other International Law Enforcement Academies   12,410,000 11,604,000 11,200,000 11,200,000
Regional Narc. Training 4,500,000 5,000,000 4,500,000    
Drug Awareness / Demand Reduction   5,000,000 5,000,000 4,200,000 4,200,000
Program Development and Support 12,187,000 13,000,000 13,850,000 13,850,000 13,850,000
Programs elsewhere in the world 14,028,000 178,250,000 73,001,000 270,350,000 163,500,000
Anti-crime programs 50,500,000 15,330,000 12,300,000 11,324,000 10,000,000
Civilian police contingent     4,670,000 2,700,000 2,700,000
Trafficking in persons   7,670,000 10,000,000 12,000,000 5,000,000
Anticorruption / Rule of Law         9,000,000
United Nations Crime Center       1,000,000 1,000,000
All programs carried out by INL $324,972,000 $1,029,000,000 $1,142,271,000 $1,181,961,000 $1,085,320,000

1996-2000
(U.S. dollars)

Program 1996 actual3 1997 actual4 1998 actual5 1999 actual6 2000 actual7
Country Programs
The Bahamas 700,000 800,000 500,000 1,000,000 1,000,000
Bolivia 30,000,000 45,500,000 35,000,000 54,000,000 158,000,000
Brazil 290,000 700,000 500,000 1,200,000 5,000,000
Colombia 16,000,000 33,450,000 43,000,000 205,860,000 894,429,000
Costa Rica Included in Latin American regional programs 1,900,000
Ecuador 500,000 600,000 500,000 1,200,000 21,200,000
El Salvador Included in Latin American regional programs 3,000,000
Guatemala 2,000,000 2,000,000 2,000,000 3,000,000 3,000,000
Jamaica 700,000 650,000 600,000 800,000 800,000
Mexico 2,200,000 5,000,000 5,000,000 8,000,000 4,071,000
Panama Included in Latin American regional programs 4,987,000
Peru 18,500,000 25,750,000 32,000,000 74,540,000 80,000,000
Trinidad and Tobago Included in Latin American regional programs 2,100,000
Venezuela 500,000 600,000 600,000 700,000 4,200,000
Latin American regional programs 3,708,000 5,100,000 4,000,000 24,500,000 7,806,000
Systems Support & Upgrades
C-26 Support
Huey Upgrades for Colombia
Total		 0 3,500,000 4,000,000
14,000,000

18,000,000		 2,500,000 5,000,000
Latin America Country Programs Subtotal 100,853,000 154,150,000 179,700,000 377,300,000 1,196,493,000
Interregional Aviation Support 25,755,000 31,500,000 38,000,000 51,000,000 50,000,000
International Organizations 7,710,000 12,000,000 4,517,000 9,200,000 12,000,000
Law Enforcement Training and Demand Reduction 7,000,000 9,000,000 9,000,000 8,000,000 9,000,000
Program Development and Support 6,500,000 7,800,000 8,600,000 8,800,000 9,800,000
Programs in Asia and Middle East         15,048,000
Anti-crime programs         30,000,000
Budget rescission         1,159,000
All programs carried out by INL $153,155,000 $213,000,000 $230,000,000 $516,570,000 $1,322,341,000

Other sites

  • State Department Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs budget presentations to Congress:
  • INCSRs:
  • The National Drug Control Strategy:
  • General Accounting Office (GAO) reports:
    • GAO-01-435R "Drug Control: The Department of State's Contract Award for Its Counternarcotics Aviation Program," February 28, 2001 [Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format]
    • GAO-01-63BR "Drug Control: International Counterdrug Sites Being Developed," December 20, 2000. [Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format]
    • GAO-01-26 "Drug Control: U.S. Assistance to Colombia Will Take Years to Produce Results," October 17, 2000. [Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format]
    • GAO-01-76T "Drug Control: Challenges in Implementing Plan Colombia," Statement of Jess T. Ford, director, International Affairs and Trade, U.S. General Accounting Office, October 12, 2000. [Web (.html) format | Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format]
    • T-NSIAD-00-77, "Drug Control: DOD Allocates Fewer Assets to Drug Control Efforts," January 27, 2000.
    • NSIAD-00-9, "Drug Control: Assets DOD Contributes to Reducing the Illegal Drug Supply Have Declined," December 21, 1999.
    • NSIAD-99-136 "Drug Control: Narcotics Threat From Colombia Continues to Grow," June 1999
    • T-NSIAD-99-98 "Drug Control: Update on U.S.-Mexican Counternarcotics Activities." 3/4/99.
    • NSIAD-98-231 "DOD Counterdrug Activities: Reported Costs Do Not Reflect Extent of DOD's Support." 9/23/98.
    • T-NSIAD-98-249 "Drug Control: Observations on U.S. Counternarcotics Activities." Testimony, 9/16/98.
    • NSIAD-98-154 "Drug Control: U.S.-Mexican Counternarcotics Efforts Face Difficult Challenges." 6/30/98.
    • T-NSIAD-98-129 "Drug Control: Status of Counternarcotics Efforts in Mexico." Testimony, March 18, 1998.
    • T-NSIAD-98-103 "Drug Control: Counternarcotics Efforts in Colombia Face Continuing Challenges." Testimony, 2/26/98
    • NSIAD-98-60 "Drug Control: U.S. Counternarcotics Efforts in Colombia Face Continuing Challenges." 2/12/98
    • NSIAD-98-30 "Drug Control: Update on U.S. Interdiction Efforts in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific." 10/15/97
    • GGD-97-42 "Drug Control: Observations on Elements of the Federal Drug Control Strategy." 3/14/97
    • NSIAD-97-75 "Drug Control: Long-Standing Problems Hinder U.S. International Efforts." 2/27/97
    • GGD-96-189BR "Customs Service: Drug Interdiction Efforts." 9/26/96
    • T-NSIAD-96-239 "Drug Control: Observations on Counternarcotics Activities in Mexico." Testimony, 9/12/96
    • NSIAD-96-163 "Drug Control: Counternarcotics Efforts in Mexico." 6/12/96

Sources:

1 United States, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 2003 Budget Congressional Presentation (Washington: Department of State: March 2000): <http://www.state.gov/g/inl/rls/rpt/cbj/fy2003/10553.htm>.

2 ibid.

3 United States, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 1998 Budget Congressional Presentation (Washington: Department of State: March 1997): 3.  

4 United States, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Congressional Presentation (Washington: Department of State: March 1998): 11. 

5 Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 2000 Budget Congressional Presentation 7.

6 United States, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 2001 Budget Congressional Presentation (Washington: Department of State: March 2000): 13 <http://www.state.gov/www/global/narcotics_law/fy2001_budget/fy2001_request.html>.

7 United States, Department of State, FY2002 International Affairs (Function 150) Budget Request (Washington: Department of State: April 9, 2001) <http://www.state.gov/s/rpp/rls/iab/>. 

United States, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 2002 Budget Congressional Justification (Washington: Department of State: April 2001): 13 <http://www.state.gov/g/inl/rls/rpt/cbj/fy2002/index.cfm?docid=3699>.

8 United States, Department of State, Congressional Presentation for Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 1999 (Washington: Department of State: March 1998): 355. 

9 United States, Department of State, Congressional Presentation for Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 2000 (Washington: Department of State: March 1999): 1306.

10 United States, Department of State, Congressional Presentation for Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 2001 (Washington: Department of State: March 2000) <http://www.state.gov/www/budget/fy2001/fn150/forops_full/150fy01_fo_spigots-fy99.html>.

11 United States, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 1998 Budget Congressional Presentation (Washington: Department of State: March 1997): 4.

12 United States, Department of State, Congressional Presentation for Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 1999 12.

13 Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 2000 Budget Congressional Presentation 7.

14 Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 2001 Budget Congressional Presentation 14.

15 United States, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 2002 Budget Congressional Justification (Washington: Department of State: April 2001): 14 <http://www.state.gov/g/inl/rls/rpt/cbj/fy2002/index.cfm?docid=3699>.

16 United States, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 2003 Budget Congressional Justification (Washington: Department of State: April 2002) <http://www.state.gov/g/inl/rls/rpt/cbj/fy2003/>.

17 United States, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 2004 Budget Congressional Justification (Washington: Department of State: June 2003) <http://www.state.gov/g/inl/rls/rpt/cbj/fy2004/>.

18 United States, Department of State, FY 2005 Congressional Budget Justification for Foreign Operations (Washington, DC: Department of State, February 2004) <http://www.state.gov/m/rm/rls/cbj/2005/>.

 

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