U.S. AID PLAN FLOUNDERING IN COLOMBIA

WASHINGTON - Three months after the United States approved a huge aid
package for Colombia, the overarching $7.5 billion plan to stabilize that
nation and thwart its guerrilla movements and drug traffickers is showing
signs of disarray, officials and experts say.

European nations participating in the aid plan have balked at providing
donations to help Colombia address its social problems; Latin American
leaders are voicing concerns about creeping U.S. militarism; and the
government of Colombian President Andres Pastrana has been reluctant to
promote the plan at home or to dedicate domestic funds to it, American
officials concede.

In a report to Congress last week, the General Accounting Office warned that
``the Colombian government has not demonstrated it has the detailed plans,
management structure and funding necessary'' to meet the plan's goals, and
international financial support from beyond the United States ``has yet to
materialize.''

Pastrana announced Plan Colombia as an initiative of his government a year
ago. But the skepticism it has met reflects a concern abroad that the plan
was drafted by the United States as a way to ease its own drug crisis, and
not as a coherent strategy to lift Colombia from a quagmire involving two
guerrilla insurgencies, right-wing death squads, a faltering economy and a
crisis of confidence in government.

``They see it as something that was cooked up in Washington,'' said Michael
Shifter, a senior fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue, a forum for leaders
from the hemisphere. ``If other countries saw this was moving in the
direction of being more responsive to Colombian concerns, they would support
it.''

Pastrana set a goal of reducing the coca cultivation and distribution of
Colombian narcotics by 50 percent over six years. Pledging $4 billion in
Colombian funds to the effort, he asked for an additional $3.5 billion from
the United States, Europe and international lenders to advance Colombia's
efforts to promote economic development, reform the judicial system and
fight drug traffickers.

The Clinton administration in July approved $1.3 billion in mostly military
aid to Colombia - including more than a dozen Black Hawk helicopters - to
help the Colombian army strike into southern territories under the control
of drug traffickers and guerrillas.

American officials acknowledge the plan cannot succeed without international
support for the ``softer'' programs to raise Colombians' living standards
and provide alternatives to drug trafficking and war.

European nations have not pledged funds at hoped-for levels.