The U.S. supports Latin American crime prevention and counternarcotics programs. While counternarcotics efforts by Peru, Colombia and other Latin American nations have had an impact on the drug trade, continued U.S. support is necessary. The U.S. Government will continue to support counter-narcotics programs in Latin America through transfer of helicopters, vehicles, communications equipment and computers as well as through intelligence sharing and assisting in construction projects. Counternarcotics continues to be fully supported. The change in U.S. arms transfer policy towards Latin America is not particularly relevant to the war on drugs since US- provided counternarcotics support does not include advanced weapons transfers.
Some foreign systems are cheaper.
For example, used Russian MiG 29 aircraft can be obtained for a lower price and with better financing terms than used F-16 aircraft. The increasing GDPs of most Latin American countries will probably mean increased purchasing potential in the area of defense spending. Many of the nations have embarked on economic reform programs. In large part this growth is due to economic reform programs underway in many Latin American countries which have contributed to GDP growth. A significant portion of these economic reforms includes greater fiscal discipline.