PARAGUAY SUGGESTS POLITICS BEHIND U.S. DRUGS POLICY

ASUNCION, Paraguay, March 1 (Reuters) - Paraguay's government attacked U.S.
drug policy on Monday, suggesting political considerations lie behind its
practice of certifying countries' fight against illegal narcotics.

On Friday the United States decertified Paraguay as an ally in the war on
drugs although it waived any penalties to preserve national U.S. interests.
Peru, Bolivia, Colombia and Mexico where all certified.

"I suppose they don't consume any drugs in the United States because they
haven't caught any big criminals there for the last 20 years," Paraguay's
President Raul Cubas told journalists.

"On the other hand, there are other countries that are producers (of drugs)
which are certified. I think there is something else behind this."

On Friday, Paraguay's government reacted angrily to the U.S. decision but
said it understood Washington's concerns as the United States is the
largest drug market in the world.

The United States said it decertified Paraguay largely over its view that
the South American country was not doing enough to stop the flow of
smuggled Bolivian cocaine through its borders.

Washington said Paraguay's efforts to fight drug smuggling were paralysed
in 1998 due to presidential elections.

Opposition politicians said Cubas' government has irked the United States
with its refusal to put former Gen. Lino Oviedo behind bars for an
attempted coup in 1996.

The Supreme Court has ordered that Oviedo serve a 10-year prison sentence
for the coup attempt, but Cubas has refused to obey the order to jail his
one time political mentor.