PANAMA ANTI-DRUG CENTER TALKS CONTINUE - U.S. GOV'T

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - The United States is still trying to establish
an anti-drug center at Howard Air Force Base in Panama, U.S. officials
said Wednesday despite reports the Panamanian government had pulled
out of talks on the issue. "There has been no formal agreement to end
talks and we remain in contact with Panamanian officials regarding
this issue," U.S. embassy spokesman Joao Escodi said. Panama's foreign
ministry was unable to comment on a report from Spanish news agency
EFE in Portugal Tuesday that top-level Panamanian officials had
abandoned talks on the Multilateral Counter-narcotics Center (MCC).

Checked-by: Patrick Henry