VENEZUELA'S CHAVEZ CHANGES, BACKS PLAN COLOMBIA

CARTAGENA, Colombia -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez turned from
strident opponent to supporter of the U.S.-backed ''Plan Colombia'' on
Wednesday, saying he had clarified his doubts on the hefty military
component of Bogota's offensive on cocaine trafficking.

In a surprise about-face, the former paratrooper appeared to reject his
recent claims that the more than $1 billion in mainly U.S. military aid
would spark a ''medium intensity conflict'' in the region as Colombia's
37-year-old war spills into neighboring nations.

''What we had warned about, not against Plan Colombia but against its
military component, that chapter has been closed,'' Chavez said. ''Doubts
that existed in any instance regarding Plan Colombia have now been clarified.''

Chavez' remarks came after meetings in Cartagena where he agreed alongside
the presidents of Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia to hatch a joint
strategy to tackle drug trafficking. He said the proposal will be presented
to U.S. President George W. Bush at the Summit of the Americas in Quebec
this weekend.

Earlier this month, the Bush administration proposed more than doubling aid
to neighbors of Colombia, the world's top cocaine producer. Although drug
growers, like Peru and Bolivia, would see the bulk of the aid, Venezuela
would also get $10 million -- even though Chavez has refused to allow U.S.
planes on anti-drug missions into his country's air space.

The leftist leader did not say whether he would change his policy on U.S.
aircraft. He did stress his steadfast support to the social component of
Pastrana's $7.5 billion Plan Colombia, which also promotes development in
war-torn rural areas while pushing crop-substitution to wean peasants away
from the lucrative cultivation of coca - the raw ingredient of cocaine.

''We have always said we support the social action that Plan Colombia has
implemented,'' Chavez said. ''Today, when I saw in detail the intense
diagnostics work at the provincial and municipal levels... who wouldn't
applaud this social action.''

Colombia's war has claimed nearly 40,000 lives in just the past decade and
sent Colombian refugees spilling over the porous 1,400 mile (2,250 km)
border separating the two nations. Venezuelans in the border area have
become targets of rebel violence and kidnappings, while Venezuelan
army-issue weapons and uniforms are being smuggled to Colombian guerrillas.

The presidents of Venezuela and Colombia have to mend tattered relations in
recent weeks, with Chavez voicing his support for crack-downs on rebels and
saying his nation had ''an important role to play'' in Colombia's peace
process.

But actions will have to follow the pleasantries to patch up diplomatic
ties. Last month, Chavez infuriated Bogota by freeing a Colombian guerrilla
wanted for the hijacking of an Avianca plane with 41 people on board. In
1998, the populist leader declared himself ''neutral'' in Bogota's war
against the 17,000-member FARC, the country's largest insurgent force.