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Before Congress votes to override President Clinton's
certification of Mexico, it may want to look farther south.
Colombians were outraged by Mr. Clinton's decision Feb. 28
to decertify Colombia as a drugfighting partner for the
second year in a row. But rather than vowing to step up the
war on drugs, last week Colombia announced it was
temporarily suspending its drug croperadication program.
Colombia's reaction led observers to wonder: Does the
certification process really work? If its only result is
the suspension of drugeradication programs and
footdragging on the part of Colombia, is it helping to
stem the flow of drugs to the US? "The [Colombian]
government is wondering why, if we worked together during
the entire year, the American government didn't recognize
the special efforts made by the Colombian government," said
Joaquin Polo, director of Colombia's national drug policy,
last week. On Monday, an agreement that the United States
would provide $ 22 million for Colombia's antidrug effort
helped get drug cropdusting planes back off the ground.
But the money likely won't compensate for decertification,
which President Ernesto Samper Pizano said last week had
"poisoned" USColombian relations. Colombian politicians
have branded decertification hypocritical because the US
remains the world's largest drug consumer. "The decision to
decertify Colombia is arbitrary and unjust and discredits a
mechanism which has been severely criticized even in the
United States," Colombian Vice President Carlos Lemos
Simmonds said. Colombians point to their successes over
the past year, including the seizure of the largest illegal
drug lab in history. In addition, Bogota oversaw the
dismantling of the Cali cartel and shepherded several
important antidrug laws through Congress. Last week's
suspension of croperadication flights appeared to be the
first concrete demonstration of Colombia's anger and
unleashed a tense exchange between Colombia and the US,
with US State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns hinting
at sanctions. The croperadication program is jointly
operated by the US and Colombia and was one of the areas
Frechette praised. This fueled speculation that suspension
was a retaliation by Bogota. In an interview with the
Miami Herald Friday, Mr. Samper said he wouldn't retaliate
against the US. But in the same interview, he said he
doubted, in light of US pressure, that Colombia's Congress
would be inclined to pass an extradition treaty with the
US. Extradition remains a key US demand.