Pubdate: 24 August 1999 Source: Guardian, The (UK) Copyright: Guardian Media Group 1999 Contact: http://www.guardian.co.uk/ AMAZON TRIBES COERCED INTO DRUG TRADE BY CARTELS Brazil's Amazon Indians face possibly their biggest threat yet from Colombian drug traffickers, Brazil's drug secretary warned yesterday. Cocaine traffickers - harassed by mounting military operations along their air routes - have moved to the ground, "using the Indians to transport coca paste directly to clandestine laboratories in Colombia," Walter Maierovitch said. Indians with their knowledge of the jungle are able to move by foot, mule and canoe with little police interference, Brazilian officials say. "They are being harassed into transporting drugs," said Roberto Lustosa, a spokesman for the national Indian foundation, Funai. "Some tribes are having their first outside contact with traffickers." For years, Colombian drug runners flew coca leaf and paste from secret air strips in Peru to Colombian laboratories for processing. But Peru's crackdown on drug planes has forced the traffickers to find alternative routes. The Clinton administration may soon increase economic and military aid to Colombia to fight narcotics trafficking, a state department spokesman said yesterday. The statement followed separate visits to Colombia by the White House drug policy director, Barry McCaffrey, and an undersecretary of state, Thomas Pickering. "Colombia's needs are critical and we are exploring every avenue to provide assistance," a state department spokesman said. But he would not say how much additional aid Colombia might get. - --- MAP posted-by: manemez j lovitto