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Article  DoD Supports Counterdrug Operations  By Linda D.
Kozaryn American Forces Press Service  WASHINGTON, May. 8, 1996
– In the vast jungle hinterlands of Central and South America,
money and might rule the land and drug lords are the richest,
most powerful of all.  Throughout Brazil, Colombia, Peru,
Venezuela and Mexico, drugs mean big money, corruption and
violence. Drugs destroy countless lives, and according to U.S.
defense officials, the illicit trade can also destroy nations.
"In my view, cocaine trafficking is the greatest threat to
democracy in this hemisphere," Brian Sheridan, deputy assistant
defense secretary for drug enforcement policy and support, said
during a recent trip to Central and South America. "If cocaine
flows through a country long enough, it is virtually inevitable
that it will corrode law enforcement mechanisms, political
institutions, and in some cases