CHRONICLE BUREAU CHIEF HONORED BY PRESS GROUP

John Otis , the Chronicle's South America Bureau chief, has been honored by
the Inter American Press Association for his series that examined the
expanding U.S. role in Colombia's drug war.

Otis , 38, who is based in Bogota, Colombia, received the Inter-America
Relations award for his series "The Drug Quagmire," which the Chronicle ran
over three days in July 2000.

Though Colombia's drug war "may seem like distant thunder to many
Americans," Otis wrote, "it has more direct impact on the United States
than any other post-Cold War conflict."

Otis ' series focused on stepped-up law enforcement, military and economic
efforts by the U.S. government to fight drug trafficking in Colombia%3B the
United States' close coordination with the Colombians%3B and its $1.3
billion aid package for Colombia and other Andean nations.

The press association cited Otis for "his excellent narrative" and praised
the series' "global view."

The project's chief editor was Darlene Stinson, deputy international editor.

In addition, the association gave its Grand Prize for Press Freedom to four
publications in Peru for supporting a free press during the regime of
former President Alberto Fujimori.

The newspapers El Comercio, La Republica and La Industria de Trujillo and
the magazine Caretas battled harassment, attacks and attempts at
intimidation by the Fujimori administration, the press association said.

Other IAPA honors include In-Depth Reporting awards to reporters from three
newspapers:

Four reporters for El Comercio in Lima, Peru, were honored for an
investigative story on the falsification of signatures for submission to
the Peruvian Electoral Board, which enabled Fujimori to run for a third
presidential term last summer. Fujimori fled Peru a few months later during
a corruption scandal and resigned.

Three members of La Prensa in Managua, Nicaragua, were honored for an
investigation in Nicaragua, Panama and the United States that uncovered
corruption, political favoritism and political pressure in the tax office.

Eduardo Auler of Extra in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was honored for reporting
on how public schools in Brazil are involved in drug abuse.

Tim Golden of the New York Times and Alfredo Gutierrez of Clarin in Buenos
Aires, Argentina, shared the news coverage award. Golden won for his
coverage of the Elian Gonzalez affair, and Gutierrez covered allegations of
bribery in the Argentine Senate.

Martin Acosta of Clarin won the photography award for capturing the joy of
the Argentine women's hockey team after scoring in the 2000 Summer Olympics
in Australia.

The awards will be presented during the press association's 57th annual
general assembly Oct. 12-16 in Washington, D.C.

The IAPA honors excellence in journalism dealing with Latin American
issues. Each award consists of a cash prize of $2,000 and a plaque or diploma.