LATIN NATIONS NAMED ALLIES IN U.S. WAR ON DRUG TRADE

Colombia, Mexico Singled Out For Challenges

WASHINGTON - The White House on Wednesday certified all Latin American
countries as allies in U.S. drug-fighting efforts, but it singled out
Colombia and Mexico out as nations that "face daunting drug control
challenges."

The Asian nations of Burma and Afghanistan were the only nations punished
by the White House with economic and trade sanctions for their failure to
meet international drug control standards. In Latin America, Haiti and
Paraguay also failed to make the grade, as did Nigeria and Cambodia, but
all four were spared sanctions because "the vital interest of the United
States require certification of these countries," said White House drug
czar Barry McCaffrey.

Citing national interest, President Clinton kept the same four countries
off the decertification list last year.

UNDER FIRE

The certification process has come under fire by some for promoting
conflict and breeding resentment among U.S. allies, and McCaffrey admitted
that it "ill-serves our national purpose." He said he hoped it could be
replaced with a cooperative drug-fighting efforts.

McCaffrey said the recent assassination of Police Chief Alfredo de la Torre
in the Mexican border town of Tijuana "shows the boldness of the Mexican
cartels that is being fed by continuing violence and corruption."

A State Department report released to coincide with the White House's
annual drug certification announcement said Mexico continues to be the
principal transit route for up to 60 percent of the cocaine distributed in
the United States and is a significant source of marijuana, heroin,
methamphetamine, "designer drugs," steroids and black-market pharmaceuticals.

But McCaffrey praised Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo's efforts in
eradicating drug crops, saying they have reduced the nation's opium poppy
crop by half and slashed marijuana cultivation to a record low.

NEW STRATEGY

Colombia, which produces and distributes more cocaine than any country in
the world and is a growing source of heroin, was spared sanctions because
of President Andres Pastrana's new $7.5 billion drug- and
guerrilla-fighting strategy.

As for Haiti, McCaffrey called it "a growing drug control challenge"
because of the nation's political problems. He said drug seizures last year
amounted to only about 430 kilograms of the 67 tons of cocaine thought to
have been shipped through the island, but said a national-interest
certification for Haiti "best supports U.S. efforts to consolidate
democracy in Haiti and end the ongoing political battle."

McCaffrey also criticized Paraguay's drug-fighting efforts, saying its
government seized only less than 1 percent of the 15 metric tons of cocaine
shipped through the country last year and failed to prosecute any major
drug traffickers. Yet he said that denial of certification would "put at
risk our ability to strengthen the country's democratic institutions."

Here's what the Clinton administration said about narcotics control in
other Latin American nations:

Despite a location that makes it a "logical transshipment point," Cuba is
not a major drug transit country, the State Department said. However, the
"lack of authoritative information" from Fidel Castro's government "makes
it difficult to assess the severity of Cuba's drug use and smuggling
problems," it concluded.

Cocaine seizures in Venezuela increased from 8.6 million metric tons in
1998 to 13.1 metric tons last year. But Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder
said there was "room for progress" and hoped Venezuela would follow though
on promises to extradite drug traffickers to the United States.