On the plus side, the report said an aggressive eradication program coupled with drought in the principal drug cultivation areas of Mexico resulted in record low levels of opium poppy production. On Colombia, the world's largest producer of cocaine, the report said a U.S.-backed aerial eradication program was successful last year, treating some 47,000 hectares of coca and 9,000 hectares of opium poppy. A hectare is about 2.5 acres. The report added that the eradication program appeared to be having an impact, noting that coca cultivation growth rates have slowed substantially. As for the certification process, Mexican President Vicente Fox has been an outspoken critic.
Certification is more than an affront to Mexico and to other countries.
President Bush has given Fox his blessing for Mexico's counterdrug policy. Bush, hoping to please Fox, endorsed a move in Congress to set aside the certification process, but the lawmakers failed to act ahead of yesterday's deadline. Proponents hope to take action before the March 2002 deadline. Afghanistan was decertified for another year even though U.N. drug control officers reported two weeks ago that the ruling Taliban militia had virtually wiped out opium production since banning poppy cultivation in July. The State Department report acknowledged the Afghan effort but said that as of the end of 2000, it was too early to make an assessment of its effectiveness.