COLOMBIA WELCOMES U.S. `CERTIFICATION' AS DRUG-FIGHTING ALLY

Colombia breathed a sigh of relief Thursday after the Clinton
administration said it would lift 2-year-old economic sanctions because the
country has made gains in the war on drugs in the last year.

The decision, part of the annual "certification" of nations the
U.S. considers allies in the drug war, came as a surprise, considering that
relations between the two countries have been on ice since Colombian
President Ernesto Samper was linked to drug money.

But the U.S. did not certify Colombia as fully cooperating because
officials believe its anti-narcotics effort has serious shortcomings.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, in making the announcement in
Washington on behalf of President Clinton, praised the Colombian police and
counter-narcotics forces for an "effective eradication and interdiction
effort."

While Colombia rejoiced, other nations, including Mexico, took the
opportunity to once again criticize the process.

Although Clinton certified Mexico, against the wishes of many in Congress,
the Foreign Ministry said it rejected "the so-called `certification
process' due to the fact that it is a unilateral process and is contrary to
the spirit of international cooperation."

Critics also charge that the certification process is hypocritical, because
Americans are among the world's biggest consumers of illegal drugs,
spending an estimated $50 billion a year.

Of 30 countries formally evaluated by the U.S., most were expected to be
"certified" as fully cooperating with U.S. anti-narcotics efforts.

Colombia had joined Afghanistan, Burma, Nigeria and Iran on the list of
decertified countries ineligible for most U.S. assistance.

The primary effect of decertification has been the humiliation of appearing
on Washington's list of pariah narco-states.

Decertification also means the U.S. may deny requests for loans and other
financial aid.

Waiver of the sanctions on Colombia means there will be fewer impediments
to U.S. assistance to the country's anti-drug efforts.

Colombia, the world's top cocaine producer and a big supplier of heroin and
marijuana, also will be spared economic penalties.

Clinton administration officials believe that Samper took $6.2 million from
the Cali drug cartel to finance his 1994 presidential campaign.

Samper recently offered to step down six months ahead of schedule to
improve relations with the U.S., but it was not clear if he was serious or
if it was a ploy to gain certification.

In any case, Samper's term in office expires in August and that made the
U.S. decision to waive sanctions easier. Presidential elections are set for
May.

Foreign Minister Maria Emma Mejia called the U.S. decision a triumph "for
the country, which has suffered greatly, which has lost a lot of lives (in
the war on drugs) and for the president, of course, who has helped us
emerge from this predicament we've had for two years that did not serve us
well."

Despite claims of successes in the drug war, U.S. law enforcement officials
say the flow of drugs reaching the U.S. from Colombia and Mexico continues
unabated, about $30 billion worth of traffic a year.

Officials say the smuggling of drugs from Mexico is becoming increasingly
difficult to detect because narco-traffickers are using sea routes and
avoiding closely watched border crossings.

For Mexico, the certification process has reached the point of predictability:

Weeks before the March 1 deadline, reports surface in the American press
alleging weak government efforts to fight drugs the previous year. Mexican
officials object, the Clinton administration certifies Mexico, and all is
forgotten for a year.

Earlier this month, a report surfaced in a Washington newspaper tying
Mexico's newly appointed interior minister, Francisco Labastida Ochoa, to
narco-traffickers, charges the Mexicans vehemently denied.

Some Mexican officials think the negative press reports come from opponents
of Mexico in the U.S. who think the country should be decertified.

"I think people exist who are not moral," said Mexico's drug czar, Mariano
Herran Salvatti.

"I can't say whom, but people always exist who try to damage relations
between our two countries."

Last year, Clinton came under intense pressure to decertify Mexico, with
opponents in Congress pointing to rampant corruption at the highest levels
of the Mexican government.

It didn't help that just weeks before the deadline, Mexico's drug czar,
Gen. Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, was arrested on charges of protecting one of
the nation's most powerful drug lords in exchange for money, cars and an
apartment.

The spin from Mexican and Clinton administration officials was that the
arrest marked a new era in Mexico, with the authorities cracking down on
corruption.

Before, they argued, the general would have been allowed to retire.

This year, Clinton administration officials praised the nation's
drug-eradication efforts, as well as a newly announced bilateral strategy
aimed at fighting the drug war.

"Mexico destroyed more drugs than any other country in the world last
year," a U.S. official familiar with the certification process said.

"They're cooperating."

Under the joint drug strategy, the U.S. and Mexico plan to strengthen
cooperation among law enforcement, intelligence agencies and prosecutors.

The idea is to crack down not only on narco-traffickers, but also on
money-laundering and gun-running, which help prop up the drug trade between
the two countries.