EMBASSY DRUG PROBE WIDENS

Officials Suspect Cocaine Smuggling Via Colombia Post

U.S. officials are investigating six to eight American Embassy employees and
dependents in Colombia for possibly using the mission's postal system to
smuggle illegal drugs or other contraband to the United States, according to
knowledgeable sources in Washington and Bogota.

The investigations began after the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division
charged the wife of the Army officer in command of the U.S. military's
counter-drug efforts in Colombia with illegally shipping cocaine to the
United States via the seldom-inspected government mail system.

Embarrassing for U.S.

The new inquiries were triggered during a follow-up review of embassy
mailing records and have not yet led to criminal charges. But U.S. officials
described them as particularly embarrassing, because Colombia produces 80
percent of the world's cocaine and most of the $289 million in annual U.S.
aid to the South American country goes to combat drug trafficking.

Officials in Washington said the expanded investigation has added to concern
about the U.S. Embassy in BogotE1, which already was under scrutiny because
of what several officials described as a dangerous, bunker-style mentality
that is hampering implementation of new policy initiatives.

"Their performance has been very poor," said one official who deals with
Colombia on a regular basis. "They are shutting down; they seem unable to
drive forward with any new policy initiatives. It is an embassy that sees
itself as being under siege, and it is acting like that."

Internal confusion

Several officials went out of their way to praise Ambassador Curtis W.
Kamman as an able career diplomat. But they said the embassy as a whole,
grappling with growing security concerns from a Marxist-led guerrilla
movement, often seemed paralyzed by internal disputes, interagency fighting
and management problems.

Several months ago, the inspector general's office in the State Department
began a congressionally requested review of the department's Colombia
program, according to congressional and State Department officials.

It is unclear whether the individuals being investigated for possible
contraband shipments are suspected of acting on their own or were involved
in the previously disclosed case of Laurie Hiett, wife of U.S. Army Col.
James Hiett. She was arraigned in Brooklyn on Aug. 5 on a charge of
conspiracy to distribute narcotics, and released on $150,000 bond. She is
accused of sending at least six packages, each containing about 2.7 pounds
of cocaine, estimated by U.S. officials to be worth a total of $235,000.

While acknowledging mailing the packages, Laurie Hiett denied knowing what
was in them. Her chauffeur, Jorge Alfonso Ayala, told U.S. investigators
that Hiett abused cocaine, a charge she denied. Hiett said she mailed the
parcels at Ayala's request, not knowing what was inside.

Hiett's husband has been cleared of any knowledge of the crime, but he asked
to be reassigned and has left Colombia, U.S. military officials said.

Col. Hiett was in charge of the estimated 200 U.S. military personnel in
Colombia involved in training Colombian troops for counter-drug operations
and protecting three large radar bases used primarily to track drug flights,
one of the most important commands in Latin America.