Get Tough Policy Begins In 90 Days

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva may not be the Bush administration's best friend in South America, but the two leaders do agree on one thing: Shooting down suspected drug planes is the right thing to do.

After a six-year delay, the Brazilian government Monday published a controversial law that says it will indeed blow suspected smugglers out of the sky. But the United States, which backs similar measures in other Latin American countries, wants assurances from Lula that there are sufficient safeguards to keep innocent pilots and passengers from being blown to bits.

Brazil is considered a major transfer point for South American drug smugglers. In fact, Brazil itself is a major market for cocaine that comes from both Peru and Colombia. It's also what you'd call a "target-rich environment" for airborne law enforcers -- there are some 4,000 unregistered general aviation aircraft flying over the Brazilian jungles.

According to the new law, Brazilian fighter pilots would only shoot down a suspected drug runner as a matter of last resort -- if suspects don't identify themselves. If they don't respond, if they don't identify themselves or if they refuse to land when ordered, they'll be "considered hostile and subject to destruction," according to the new law.

FMI: www.brasilemb.org