CANADA WILL SEND THE MOUNTIES TO HELP COLOMBIA FIGHT DRUG TRADE

CARTAGENA, Colombia (CP) - Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy has committed
Canada to help Colombia in its struggle against the drug trade.

Axworthy emerged from talks yesterday with Colombian President Andres
Pastrana and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to tell of several
Canadian initiatives he said he hopes will contribute to stability and
security in the strife-torn country.

Under an agreement signed Friday, an unspecified number of RCMP officers
will be sent to Colombia to help train police in human-rights issues and to
help in the fight against drug-trafficking and money-laundering, Axworthy
said in a telephone interview.

The agreement calls for Canada and Colombia to "exchange experiences and
practices" to deal with drug trafficking, the chemicals used to produce
illicit drugs, and money-laundering.

The two countries will also co-operate on promoting treatment and
rehabilitation for Colombians affected by the drug trade.

"Illicit drug-trafficking is a major challenge facing all of us in the
Americas," Axworthy said.

He added that increasingly, countries that supply illicit drugs are "being
infected as much by the drug traffic" as the consuming countries.

Axworthy said Canada will provide an as-yet undetermined amount of funding
for more community programs designed to wean Colombian youth away from the
drug culture and retrain them.

He said the Canadian International Development Agency is reviewing its
programming in Colombia, where it spends about $15 million to $20 million a
year already. Canada also contributes to U.N. programs in Colombia.

Axworthy said Canada also hopes to be able to help with negotiations between
the Colombian government and guerrillas to end a civil war that has gone on
for more than 30 years and has killed an estimated 35,000 people and created
1.2 million refugees.

He said the Canadian contribution would be similar to its efforts in
Northern Ireland, where Gen. John de Chastelain heads the disarmament
commission to dispose of weapons of paramilitary organizations.