DRUGS IN COLOMBIA

The issue: President Clinton visited Colombia with support for a plan to
cut back on drug trafficking.

Our view: The effort is worthwhile but must go beyond Colombia's borders to
be effective.

NINETY percent of the U.S. supply of cocaine and a quarter of the heroin
comes from Colombia, so American assistance in Colombia's efforts to reduce
coca production is justified. But the effectiveness of that program is
complicated by Colombia's ongoing guerrilla war and the potential movement
of drug traffickers into other countries.

Colombian President Andres Pastrana is the first to acknowledge that his
government alone cannot make a dent in international drug trafficking.

"Colombia can put a stop to drugs here at some point," Pastrana says, "but
if the demand continues, somebody else somewhere else in the world will
produce them. We are already getting intelligence reports of possible
plantings in Africa."

President Clinton's visit to Colombia with $1.3 billion in aid to the
country's anti-drug brigade was a boost to Pastrana, midway through his
four-year term as president. The Colombian army and police are fighting not
only drug producers but also Marxist guerrillas who now control up to half
of the country's territory and provide the drug traffickers with protection.

U.S. aid to Pastrana's $7.5 billion "Plan Colombia" includes 60 military
helicopters and training for a new army brigade to support police efforts
in eradicating coca fields. Clinton declared Colombia a national security
priority. But warnings against being drawn into a Vietnam-like quagmire
must be heeded.

Even if Plan Colombia is successful in reducing coca plantings by half in
five years, that may not significantly reduce the U.S. drug problem.
Efforts eventually must be directed across Brazilian, Ecuadoran and
Peruvian borders, perhaps even as far afield as Africa, in addition to the
consumer end of the drug trafficking map. It is not an easy fix.