ANTI-DRUG EFFORT CRITICIZED

WASHINGTON - Four governors from coca-growing areas of Colombia criticized
the U.S.-backed drug war on Tuesday, contending that the effort has
escalated violence, uprooted peasants and caused environmental damage.

Gov. Ivan Gerardo Guerrero, of Putumayo province, called for approval of a
"social pact" under which, with government help, coca farmers would be able
to farm and market alternate crops.

"This is the time to redirect the struggle against drugs," he said,
speaking through a translator.

Guerrero was critical of pesticide spraying targeted at coca, the plant
used to produce cocaine. He said a census shows that about half of the
75,000 acres sprayed were planted with basic food crops.

Joining Guerrero at the news conference were governors from Tolima, Cauca
and Narino provinces, and all agreed with Guerrero that the U.S.-Colombian
counternarcotics effort must undergo drastic revisions.