COCA FIELDS GROWING, CIA SAYS

U.S. Officials Say Aid Package Should Curb Drug Production

BOGOTA - Preliminary CIA estimates show that coca fields have expanded
wildly in southern Colombia, growing by more than 50 percent in a year, a
U.S. official said Thursday.

"It's exploded there. You can't fly down there without seeing coca fields
all over," White House deputy drug czar Thomas Umberg told U.S. reporters
in a briefing at the American Embassy.

But Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera, who joined Umberg in the briefing,
said a $1.3 billion U.S. aid package proposed for Colombia last week may
lead to "dramatic results in 18 months" in eradicating coca, the raw
material in cocaine.

The CIA will release a report in mid-February on estimated cocaine
production in Colombia that will show "a dramatic increase" of more than 50
percent, Umberg said. Drug traffickers have planted more coca, increased
yields and improved jungle laboratories that process coca leaves into
cocaine, he said.

U.S. officials say Colombian drug gangs produce or smuggle 80 percent of
the cocaine that enters the United States. The drug gangs are also
expanding the country's role as a producer of heroin from opium poppies.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced that
Colombian cocaine production will reach 330 to 440 tons this year, up from
220 tons last year, compared to 192 tons Peru will produce and the 55 tons
Bolivia is expected to process.

Colombia's booming drug trade prompted President Clinton to announce a
massive infusion of new assistance to Bogota last week, amounting to $1.3
billion over two years, far above last year's $289 million in aid. The
request must be approved by Congress.

Earlier Thursday, Caldera applauded recent improvements in the Colombian
army's human rights record, which once drew international condemnation, but
said further effort is needed.

"Real headway is possible if every soldier, down to the lowest-ranking
private, appreciates that due process and respect for human rights are
fundamental to the military's larger mission, and understands that any
violations will have severe legal and professional repercussions," Caldera
told officers in a speech at Colombia's War College.

He also exhorted officers to open their doors to legislators, reporters and
private civic groups to alleviate suspicions about growing military strength.

Creating Benchmarks

In the meeting with U.S. reporters, Caldera and Umberg said Washington
plans to create guidelines to determine whether the aid package is
successful in fighting narcotics.

"We're working on establishing what the benchmarks are," Caldera said.

Umberg said such benchmarks might include how much coca-growing land is
yanked from drug traffickers' control, how many coca plants are eradicated
and whether planes spraying coca crops with herbicide can penetrate deeper
into the jungle.

Caldera said the huge aid package will not mean a significant increase in
U.S. military personnel in Colombia, nor would U.S. soldiers accompany
Colombian counternarcotics battalions on their missions.

About 100 U.S. troops are currently in Colombia and the number may rise to
160 or 170 during further training, "but we don't expect the number to go
any higher," an aide to Caldera said.

The Pentagon hopes to begin training two new counterdrug battalions, to
join an existing 950-man unit, as soon as April, the aide said.

Umberg declined to say when the existing unit might begin launching raids.

Copter Questions

In a news conference with local news media, Caldera denied reports that
Washington is sending the South American nation helicopters in bad shape or
in need of spare parts.

"We are not interested in giving Colombia equipment that does not work,"
Caldera said.

Republican legislators in Washington have accused the State Department of
giving Colombia old helicopters or failing to arm and equip them
sufficiently for the perilous flights over jungle coca plantations, where
the aircraft often take ground fire from leftist guerrillas.

Caldera said about $600 million of the U.S. aid package will be used for 30
Blackhawk and 33 Huey helicopters, 18 of which have already been delivered.

"The aircraft will radically increase your anti-narcotics airlift and
enable you to access the region where the greatest expansion in drug
cultivation is occurring," Caldera told the War College.