COLOMBIAN DRUG FARMERS IN FLUX

VISTA HERMOSA, Colombia -- Despite U.S.-backed efforts to stamp out
cocaine production in Colombia, the drug trade flourished inside a
vast southern region that was ceded to leftist rebels in 1998 as an
incentive for peace talks.

When the rebels moved in, the area's economy quickly turned from
cattle ranching to coca farming. Now, with the return of government
troops, farmers who have become dependent on illegal crops are
fearful about the future.

"The only thing that makes money here is coca," said one Vista
Hermosa grower, who agreed to be interviewed on the condition that
his name not be used. "It's how people survive here now."

In other parts of Colombia, the United States has spent millions to
fight the drug war, by providing equipment to Colombia's military,
training the country's soldiers and spraying pesticide over illegal
crops. Until last week, the area occupied by the rebels was exempt
from the drug eradication effort.

A frustrated President Andres Pastrana called off talks with the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia on Feb. 20, and ordered the
military to recapture their territory. His decision followed the
brazen guerrilla hijacking of a domestic airliner and kidnapping of a
senator.

The rebels have since abandoned the five towns inside the zone and
launched attacks in other areas, targeting civilians and government
infrastructure.

Pastrana, whose term ends in August, set peace as the goal of his
administration. When he handed the FARC the Switzerland-sized
territory as a site for the negotiations he set a precedent. Never
before had a country created a sanctuary for insurgents prior to
peace talks.

But the nation's sacrifice came at a price.

"Before the demilitarized zone was created, 20 percent of the crops
in Vista Hermosa were coca," said mayor Leonel Castano. "Now 80
percent is coca. Vista Hermosa really became a drug trafficking
center during the last three years."

"If the coca is eliminated, we are going to see a terrible quantity
of unemployed farmers here," he added.

Colombia, which produces 80 percent of the world's cocaine, is
fighting its 38-year leftist insurgency largely in the shadow of the
massive U.S. counter-narcotics aid. Though the money -- nearly $2
billion in the last two years alone -- is restricted by U.S. law to
fighting drugs, the battles are closely intertwined because the FARC
have long financed their insurgency by taxing and protecting the drug
trade.

The FARC have broadened their drug operation recently, trying to sell
drugs on the international market last year, Klaus Nyholm, the U.N.'s
top counter-drug official in Colombia, said Tuesday.

The coca grower, speaking in the town plaza a few feet from police
officers who arrived with the troops Sunday, said the rebels kept a
tight hold on the drug market while they held the zone. So many
farmers began producing coca, the price of the crop fell.

"The first thing that changed here when the demilitarized zone was
created was the market was taken over by the rebels," he said.

He has a 10-acre coca field at his farm outside of town, where he
employs 20 people, he said. But he plans to stay in Vista Hermosa
until the situation calms.

"A lot of the coca growers are here in town now," he said. "We don't
want to get caught in a firefight."

Gen. Gustavo Socha, head of the anti-drug police, said officials were
planning to resume fumigation flights over the former rebel territory
"soon," but he wouldn't say when.

The prospects of the government again attacking the drug crops in the
region has many here worried.

"Many peasants neglected their cattle to get involved in coca," said
Daniel Valencia, a rancher. "Now people are worried the government is
coming. What will happen to the coca crops."

Castano, the town's mayor, hopes the government might offer loans to
help farmers switch to legal crops. But a U.S.-financed program to
promote alternative crops has had little success, according to a
congressional investigation released Monday.

Pastrana has sought greater U.S. assistance in fighting the rebels.
The Bush administration is reviewing options to increase aid, but no
combat role is envisioned for U.S. forces.

In rebel attacks Tuesday, four police officers and a child were
killed, and 19 civilians were kidnapped at a roadblock, though nine
women and children were later freed. Power and telephone service was
cut to dozens of towns after the rebels dynamited electrical towers.

There was no word Tuesday on the fate of presidential candidate
Ingrid Betancourt, who was kidnapped Saturday along with her campaign
manager. Five members of congress have also been abducted. The rebels
reportedly have suggested trading the hostages for captured
guerrillas -- an idea the government has ruled out.