AERIAL ERADICATION OF COLOMBIAN DRUG CROPS SUSPENDED

BOGOTA, Colombia -- A Colombian court on Friday ordered a suspension of
aerial eradication of drug crops using the chemical glyphosate, the main
prong of a U.S.-backed counterdrug offensive in the South American country.

The ruling by a Bogota district court came in response to a petition by an
organization that represents Colombia's native Indian communities.

President Andres Pastrana said his legal experts were studying the ruling.
He did not indicate whether he was ordering an immediate stop to the
spraying of the plants used to make cocaine and heroin.

Addressing a news conference, Pastrana reiterated his government's official
policy of spraying herbicides only against large-scale drug plantations and
of inviting poor peasant farmers to join voluntary manual eradication programs.

But Indian groups, small farmers and environmentalists say that poor
farmers' drug crops are also being wiped out by planes dumping herbicides
and that the spraying is poisoning rivers and making people sick.

"As a provisional measure, all aerial fumigation with glyphosate is ordered
suspended," the ruling said.

The court decision comes amid growing opposition in Colombia to herbicide
use against drug crops and as Congress considers additional drug fighting
aid for the country. Last year, U.S. lawmakers approved a $1.3 billion package.

Washington is bankrolling the offensive against coca and poppy fields in
Colombia.