SPRAYING CUTS COCA CROP

BOGOTA -- A U.S.-financed campaign to fumigate cocaine-producing crops has hit
Colombia's illicit drug industry hard, cutting coca cultivation by a third from
January to July, a UN report said Wednesday.

The United States has given Colombia almost $2 billion in aid since 2000, much
of it aimed at coca eradication. U.S.-trained Colombian troops also fly in
U.S.-supplied helicopters as escorts for the spray planes.

The spraying program, however, has angered environmental groups and Indian
communities, who are concerned about its long-term impact on the environment
and human health.

Despite the decline, Colombia still exports most of the world's cocaine, as
well as the heroin consumed in the United States.