GUATEMALA LAX IN ANTIDRUG FIGHT, U.S. SAYS

Washington (Reuters) - The United States has decided Guatemala is not doing
enough to fight the illegal drug trade but will waive penalties against it
for national-security reasons, a U.S. official said friday.

"Basically, they have failed to provide the type of cooperation that we
look for," said the U.S. official of the decision to "decertify" Guatemala
from the list of countries deemed to be U.S. allies against drug trafficking.

In Guatemala, government officials rejected the decision , saying it was
not up to the United States to make such rulings on its Own.

"We don't agree with certification of decertification because it is a
unilateral mechanism that violates principles of the legal equality of
nations," Foreign Minister Edgar Gutierrez said.

The U.S. official, who asked not to be named, said the United States had
decided on national-security grounds to waive the penalties against
Guatemala, which otherwise would have become ineligible for most types of
U.S. aid.