The GAO has previously conducted reviews of counternarcotics activities in Colombia, Mexico, Bolivia, Peru, and the Caribbean. In every case the State Department and embassy officials were cooperative in providing timely and independent access to information. In contrast, throughout the current review, the State Department has delayed and imposed undue restrictions on GAO access to documents. The State Department has established an elaborate process for considering GAO's document requests by screening documents through multiple, time-consuming reviews before their release to GAO. The State Department has also insisted that GAO review many released documents under restrictive conditions. Moreover, in some cases the State Department has deleted some information from these documents. Attempts to resolve these problems were unsuccessful. Thus, GAO formally notified the State Department on June 25, 1997 that the GAO work was being obstructed by delays in obtaining information. Thus, GAO cannot say with certainty at this time that it has been provided with all the information necessary to conduct an independent review of United States counternarcotics activities in Colombia.