PARAGUAY ANGRY WITH US DECERTIFICATION IN DRUG WAR

ASUNCION, - Paraguay reacted angrily on
Friday to the U.S. decision to decertify it as an ally in the war on
drugs, but said it understood the concerns of a nation with a huge
appetite for illegal narcotics.

The United States said it decertified Paraguay largely over its view
that Asuncion was not doing enough to stop the flow of smuggled
Bolivian cocaine through its borders. Washington said Paraguay
suspended anti-smuggling efforts in 1998 because of presidential elections.

However, the Clinton administration waived any penalties against
Paraguay to preserve U.S. national interests.

"The government of Paraguay doesn't recognise any other state's power
to judge or condemn another state although it understands the concerns
of the United States for being the largest drug market in the world,"
a presidential statement said.

The statement also rejected the U.S. process of unilaterally
certifying countries, saying it: "Flagrantly contravenes the principle
of legal equality between nations."

Paraguay, a poor Latin American country, is notoriously corrupt. Its
$10 billion official economy dwarfed by a black-market economy centred
on the smuggling town Ciudad del Este on the border with Brazil and
Argentina. One study has valued smuggling in Paraguay at $12 billion a
year.

However, the United States said Paraguay has had some success in
fighting the drug war, particularly in a joint operation with Bolivia
last year.

Ricardo Villamayor, Paraguay's anti-drugs chief, called Friday's news
a "wake up call" for better coordination and harder work in the war on
drugs. The government's statement also said the U.S. decision would
have no bearing on its continuing efforts to fight drugs.

Paraguay, last certified in 1997, fell into the same category as
Nigeria, Cambodia and Haiti -- judged as uncooperative but not
punished. Burma and Afghanistan were decertified and face economic
sanctions. Mexico and Colombia were certified as cooperating partners.