COLOMBIA SEEKS U.S. MONEY BACKING

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Colombia's finance minister traveled to Washington
on Monday to seek U.S. support for a $1.2 billion bond offering needed to
cover government expenses.

The trip follows a request during President Clinton's visit last week for
U.S. tariff exemptions on Colombian textiles and clothing as a complement
to a $1.3 billion U.S. anti-narcotics aid package.

Colombia has argued it needs economic help in addition to military aid to
successfully combat drug trafficking -- the top U.S. policy priority in the
South American country that produces 90 percent of the world's cocaine.

Finance Minister Juan Manuel Santos was scheduled to meet Tuesday with
Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers and request his help in convincing
lenders including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to
back the planned bond sale.

A U.S. nod of approval will help "dispel doubts in international markets
about Colombia's ability to pay its future debts," Santos told the local
Caracol radio station.

The trip aims to "restore confidence" among international organizations in
the Colombian economy, said a statement released Monday by Santos' office.

A severe recession in Colombia has cut into tax revenues, and some analysts
believe the government will be unable to pay some of its estimated 800,000
workers by the end of the year without new funding.

The opposition-led congress, however, opposes tax increases, public pension
cuts and state-owned enterprise selloffs proposed by President Andres
Pastrana, claiming these would unfairly punish the poor.

Amid escalating violence in a 36-year guerrilla conflict, Colombia has seen
its currency sharply devalued during the past year, foreign investment
shrink and the country's debt ratings downgraded.

U.S. political support was critical to Colombia obtaining $6.9 billion in
credits a year ago from the IMF, the World Bank and the Inter-American
Development Bank.

During Clinton's one-day visit, Pastrana said U.S. tariff exemptions on
Colombian products would create thousands of jobs for workers who might
otherwise find employment in the drug trade.