A US Government watchdog has accused the Pentagon of underfunding the fight against the Latin American drugs trade.

With heavy commitments in the Gulf, the Balkans and Asia, the United States Defense Department is increasingly over-stretched.

Resources have been transferred away from lower-order priorities to peace-keeping missions abroad.

The General Accounting Office (GAO) says that the Pentagon's support for international drug control efforts has dropped sharply since 1992.

The Pentagon's chief role is to provide ships, aircraft and radars to monitor possible drug-trafficking routes.

But the amount of time US aircraft or ships were on patrol fell by over 60% between 1992 and 1999. The Pentagon accepts that the resources available have dropped steeply.

It told the GAO that it was now only able to monitor some 15% of key drug-trafficking routes for 15% of the time.

Anti-drug efforts suffering

The decline in the Pentagon's support for counter-narcotics efforts has affected other countries policing activities.

Peru was running a highly-succesful operation to intercept suspect aircraft based upon US data.

The pace of coca exports declined, leading to a build-up in supply and the driving down of prices. This caused farmers to shift to more lucrative crops.

But the GAO says that since late 1997, the Peruvian air force has received little support from the US military.

Vital surveillance aircraft like AWACs have been diverted away. The Pentagon is seeking to use land-based radars to fill the gap. But these are less capable.

The US Coast Guard has also stepped up its patrolling. US efforts are further hampered by the closure of Howard Air Base in Panama.

Alternative bases are being established, but in the meantime even fewer patrols are being mounted by the US Air Force.