McCaffrey's replacement is expected to be John Walter, deputy director under the president's father. That change of leadership should be an opportunity for a shift in direction in the war on drugs. This air war against suspected drug traffickers, in the skies over the area where Colombia, Ecuador and Peru come together, was authorized in 1994. Peru has shot down at least 30 planes since March 1995. The U.S. role involves the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency, down to subcontractors that fly the planes that hunt for smugglers.
Information is relayed to the Peruvian air force which intercepts the planes.
How the missionary plane was alerted and warned, and U.S. protests to Peruvian pilots against an attack, are all in dispute. Americans, by agreement, are not part of the chain of command to make a final decision. Money to fight drugs at the source has had a poorly-understood consequence of binding the U.S. into local politics. In Peru, that meant a working relationship with former president Alberto Fujimori, who along with his chief military and intelligence deputies, all face corruption charges. Fujimori aides are accused of selling arms to guerrillas defending drug shipments.