MAKING THE GRADE.

The Clinton Administration gave Latin America a good report on its drug-fighting efforts, but serious problems persist. The assassination of Tijuana Police Chief Alfredo de la Torre M[acute{a}]rquez by suspected drug lords prompted U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow to call Mexico the world's narcotrafficking headquarters. In Colombia, opium-poppy cultivation jumped 23% in 1999; some 80% of the cocaine and heroin entering the United States still comes from or through Colombia And Haiti and Paraguay failed to meet drug fighting standards, although they were awarded national interest waivers" for certification because of troublesome domestic circumstances.

Clinton certified Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.