CRACKDOWN IN COLOMBIA

Colombian President Andres Pastrana has just one year left in office, and
an imposing problem of his own creation is preventing him from finishing
his term with pride in his legacy. Despite having ceded a demilitarized
territory as large as Switzerland to the control of Colombia's most brutal
and powerful rebel group, known as the FARC, the president has been unable
to make any noteworthy stride for peace and stability. The FARC has made a
mockery of the president's peace process, not to mention the president
himself, by cultivating narcotics in the demilitarized zone, brutally
repressing the Colombians that live there and using the region as a
launching pad for missions of terror.

And unfortunately for Mr. Pastrana, a likely candidate for president is
emerging whose track record and integrity will only highlight the sitting
president's failings. Congressional sources who have been in the field in
Colombia told The Washington Times that Colombia's former police chief,
Jose Serrano, plans to run for president. Mr. Serrano has a well-deserved
popularity rating of 75 percent among Colombians and has distinguished
himself by rising from very humble beginnings and leading an effective war
on drugs while demonstrating respect for human rights. In July, Mr. Serrano
became the first foreigner to be awarded the Drug Enforcement Agency's
special agent award.

In order to divert attention from Mr. Serrano's achievements, Mr. Pastrana
has prohibited the Colombian National Police from making any reference to
him in the press. Furthermore, a defensive Mr. Pastrana is trying to muzzle
the media's criticism. He recently used his influence to have a popular
radio personality, Carlos Perdomo, fired for criticizing him.

Nevertheless, criticism of Mr. Pastrana's and his ill-conceived peace plan
continue to grow, even in Washington. The Heritage Foundation recently
released a study by Stephen Johnson, outlining a series of problems with
Mr. Pastrana's Plan Colombia strategy for reinstituting peace, a project to
which the United States has allocated over $1 billion in aid. Mr.
Pastrana's plan "failed to address the key problems of weak state and
municipal governments and a highly bureaucratized, centralized system.
Without public security and the delivery of government services beyond the
major urban areas, most of Colombia will remain besieged," said Mr.
Johnson's study.

What is needed is help for Colombia to improve its judicial process through
Administration of Justice programs and to fund inexpensive civic education
programs. In addition, Washington should launch a more comprehensive
strategy for curbing drug use in the United States. President George W.
Bush said, "My administration will continue to work with nations to
eradicate drugs at their source, and enforce our borders to stop the flow
of drugs into America." "However, the most effective way to reduce the
supply of drugs in America is to reduce the demand for drugs in America,"
he added. Both must commend our attention.

Surely, Mr. Bush and Mr. Serrano could cooperate effectively on
counter-narcotics initiatives to Mr. Pastrana's chagrin.