COLOMBIA WANTS U.S. ALLY STATUS

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Anti-American sentiment could take over Colombia's
presidential election if the United States does not certify the nation as
an ally in the war on drugs, the foreign minister said Friday.

Colombia has earned certification, Foreign Minister Maria Emma Mejia said,
citing tougher sentences, a law re-establishing extradition of drug
traffickers and the successful use of herbicide to destroy the coca and
poppy crops used to make cocaine and heroin.

``Any certification decision that isn't positive for Colombia is going to
cause an internal political earthquake ... and cause more opposition to the
United States,'' Mejia said.

The United States decertified Colombia as a partner in the fight against
drugs for two straight years, blocking millions of dollars in
non-drug-related aid. The move came after evidence emerged that President
Ernesto Samper took money from the Cali drug cartel to win office in 1994.

The United States must decide no later than March 1 whether to certify
Colombia and other drug producing and transport countries as allies in the
drug war. The first round of Colombia's election is May 31.

``I think we will be certified because we have, finally, made important
advances (in the drug fight),'' Mejia said.

Gen. Rosso Jose Serrano, commander of the national police and a U.S.
favorite, also called for certification, saying a rejection will hurt his
troops' morale.

``I hope that the international community, particularly the United States,
the world's principal drug consuming country, recognizes the efforts we
have made,'' Serrano said in comments published Friday in Bogota's El
Tiempo newspaper.

But Washington has strongly criticized the extradition bill because it is
applicable only to future crimes - meaning Cali kingpins jailed in Colombia
will probably never appear in U.S. courts, where they face life sentences
if convicted.

Colombia has long denounced the certification process as insulting and
politicized, and questioned Mexico's certification last year despite high-
level drug corruption and the rising power of Mexican drug cartels that
smuggle tons of drugs to the United States each year.

Despite allegations by top campaign leaders that Samper took drug money, he
was absolved by Congress in June 1996.

Copyright 1997 The Associated Press.