QUESTIONS RAISED ABOUT DRUG WAR AID

WASHINGTON (AP) - Their ammunition spent, 13 Colombian police officers
raised their hands and surrendered to rebels who had attacked a mountain
town. One by one, they were shot to death.

Just miles away, U.S. Black Hawk helicopters provided to the police for
anti-drug missions remained on the ground. They were never called in to
help the officers.

The failure to call for helicopter support has raised delicate questions
after last month's approval of a $1.3 billion Colombian anti-narcotics aid
package: Can U.S.-provided anti-drug helicopters be used for missions that
aren't directly related to drugs? If so, could that push the United States
deeper into Colombia's civil war?

The July 15 police killings prompted the chairman of the House
International Relations Committee, Benjamin Gilman, to write to Secretary
of State Madeleine Albright, expressing concern that the helicopters hadn't
been used because of U.S. restrictions.

U.S. and Colombian officials denied that was the case. Colombian National
Police Chief Ernesto Gilibert said helicopters hadn't been deployed because
they weren't equipped to fly at night. A U.S. official, speaking on
condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that U.S. policy allows
Colombia to use the helicopters "for humanitarian purposes to prevent a
loss of life and to provide evacuation."

The issue is sensitive from two sides.

On one side is Gilman, who supports Colombian aid and wants to see the
United States help the Colombian National Police . On the other side are
opponents of the U.S. aid, skeptical that it can be limited to the drug
fight without dragging the United States into Colombia's 36-year war with
leftist guerrillas.

The aid package signed by President Clinton on July 13 will provide
helicopters and other assistance to Colombian army counter-narcotics
battalions to fight guerrillas, who are financing their insurgency by
protecting drug producers.

The package also will shift the focus of U.S. aid from the police, who
primarily fight drugs, to the army, which mainly battles guerrillas. U.S.
officials insist they will not cross the line between fighting drug
trafficking and fighting the rebels.

The July 15 attack in the southwestern Colombia town of Roncesvalles did
not appear to be tied to any counternarcotics operation. The officers spent
27 hours fighting off an attack by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (FARC), according to police. When they ran out of ammunition, they
tried to surrender. Each officer was shot point-blank in the head.

John Mackey, an aide to Gilman, said Colombian police officials told him
they were reluctant to use the Black Hawks because they thought they were
restricted to counternarcotics operations.

But the Colombian police chief said there was no question they could have
been used.