ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tuesday, 24 August 1999
 

U.S. May Increase Aid to Colombia

WASHINGTON -- The Clinton administration is looking for ways to help Colombia, which is struggling through a civil war while plagued with narcotics trafficking, human rights abuses and a declining economy.

The hint Monday of increase economic and military aid followe separate visits to the South American country by White House drug policy director Barry R. McCaffrey and Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering.

``Colombia's needs are critical, and we are certainly exploring every avenue to provide assistance,'' deputy State Department spokesman James Foley said.

``Colombia is working on a comprehensive strategy to address the interrelated problems confronting it,'' he said. ``And we are going to be studying that strategy closely with an eye toward providing assistance where we can.''

Colombia defense officials last month requested $500 million in military aid over the next two years. This year Colombia already is due to receive $289 million in counterdrug assistance.

Foley declined to say how much additional aid Colombia may get.

``It certainly is premature to discuss specific amounts at this point,'' he said. ``We are considering a wide gamut of possible areas of assistance, but any assistance package we do come up with will be heavily weighted towards counternarcotics.''

``Our vision is that the United States must be prepared to provide resources, equipment, training and intelligence but the most important thing is to provide political support,'' McCaffrey said Monday at a news conference in Brazil, the first stop on a four-nation visit to Latin America.

McCaffrey has talked about a $1 billion regional supplement but Pickering said last week that any such proposal is premature in the absence of a specific program the United States could support.

Pickering also said it would be a mistake to overestimate the strength of FARC guerrillas, the dominant rebel group in Colombia, despite recent battlefield successes.

Speaking to reporters on his visit to Bogota a week earlier, Pickering said Colombia ``is not in danger'' of being taken over by the guerrillas, who number between 20,000 and 25,000 and who finance their activities by working in league with narcotraffickers.