FRONT LINES OF MEXICAN DRUG WAR A DANGER ZONE

CHILPANCINGO, Mexico, Feb 18 (Reuters) Anti-drug agents spraying herbicides
on poppy plantations in the rugged mountains of Mexico's main
opium-producing region say the war on drugs puts them under potential attack
365 days a year.

Last year, farmers protecting their poppy and marijuana plots shot at 39
helicopters from Mexico's anti-drug agency, known by its Spanish acronym
FEADS, officials told Reuters on Wednesday during a flight to spray
herbicides on poppy fields.

"They left one helicopter like a sieve. They shot it 11 times," said Camilo
Vega Rivera, FEADS' general director of poppy and marijuana eradication.

One Mexican helicopter pilot was saved by his bullet-proof vest, and
airborne anti-drug crews always are in danger of wires strung by poppy
growers to disable helicopter blades.

The front lines of Mexico's drug war are far from Washington, D.C., where
the White House and Senate lawmakers will decide in the coming weeks whether
to certify Mexico as an ally in the fight against illegal narcotics.

According to U.S. estimates, roughly two-thirds of the cocaine that enters
the country comes through its border with Mexico, and there are some U.S.
lawmakers who want the Clinton administration to blacklist the Zedillo
government.

The weeks preceding U.S. "certification" have become an annual ritual in
which Mexico slams the process as one-sided and reported drug seizures pick
up notably. Decertification in the drug war can be politically humiliating
and can mean a loss of financial and other assistance from the United
States.

U.S. drug czar Barry McCaffrey praised Mexico's drug eradication campaign at
this week's Mexican drug summit attended by Mexican President Ernesto
Zedillo and U.S. President Bill Clinton.

But Mexico is still expected to come under intense criticism by some in the
U.S. Congress because drug seizures are down compared to last year, and
there are questions about whether Mexico is really committed to fighting the
problem.

On Feb. 4, Mexican officials unveiled plans to spend up to $500 million over
the next three years to stem the flow of narcotics through the country.

Officials also say Mexico is at the "top of the world in the task of
eradicating illicit plantations," with 43,100 acres (17,449 hectares) of
opium destroyed in 1998.

Mexico has roughly 123,500 acres (50,000 hectares) of opium poppies and
marijuana plantations, according to government figures. Even though FEADS
destroys about 85 percent of that a year, Herran said the growers replant
immediately.

During the flight on Wednesday, agents sprayed the herbicide paraquat on
several farms near Chilpancingo, the capital of the Pacific coast state of
Guerrero, the country's main opium-producing state. The dry, scrubby, rugged
terrain, warm climate, and sparse population of Guerrero make the area ideal
for poppy growing.

Vega told Reuters more than two dozen helicopters and airplanes are in the
air every day, with army choppers hovering nearby to provide cover from
hostile growers.

Fumigation is the easiest way to attack the crops, but helicopters must make
two to three low passes over fields to be effective. More than half the
eradication programme is done by agents on the ground.

Agents in Mexico's drug eradication programme are trained by U.S. drug
officials.

Mexico supplies only about five percent of the world's combined marijuana
and opium, partly because the national eradication campaign is successful,
Vega said. Vega said CIA satellite photos prove the eradication programme is
highly successful.