U.S. DRUG CZAR SHOWERS PRAISE ON PERU'S ANTI-DRUG EFFORTS

LIMA, Peru - U.S. drug policy chief Gen. Barry McCaffrey lauded
Peru's anti-narcotics efforts on Thursday and called for greater
regional cooperation to fight drug trafficking.

The war on drugs "will not move forward by binational confrontation
but by multinational cooperation," McCaffrey told reporters, ending a
day-long visit that included a meeting with President Alberto Fujimori.

McCaffrey praised what he called Peru's three-year, 56 percent
decrease in the production of coca, the raw material used to make cocaine.

"It's easy for me to sound laudatory dealing with the Peruvians," he
said. "They've accomplished something that I don't think has
historical precedent."

The director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy said
his visit was prompted by heightened U.S. concern over Colombia, where
cocaine production is providing "enormous resources" to leftist rebels
who control 40 percent of the countryside and have more automatic
weapons than Colombia's army.

He said regional nations must insure that "Colombia does not stand
alone."

McCaffrey repeatedly stated his "admiration for President Fujimori's
leadership," and said he commended national security advisor Vladimiro
Montesinos the Peru's intelligence services' success against narcotics
trafficking.