Clinton Delivers Funds For Drug War

COLOMBIA RECEIVES $1.3 BILLION IN U.S. AID TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING

CARTAGENA, Colombia -- In a country beset by decades of violence, President
Clinton delivered a $1.3 billion U.S. aid package Wednesday that he said
would help Colombia defeat its drug traffickers without getting the United
States into a Vietnam-like quagmire.

"We will not get into a shooting war'' with Colombian guerrillas, he said,
standing alongside Colombian President Andres Pastrana.

Clinton also said there must be an end to human rights abuses by the warring
factions in Colombia, and that includes security forces as well as the
rebels.

There were reminders, during Clinton's half-day visit to Cartagena, of the
fear and violence that bleeds this Andean nation.

Police said they discovered and deactivated a 4.4-pound bomb found five
blocks from a neighborhood Clinton planned to tour.

Officials said the bomb was intended to spread rebel pamphlets and would
have been unlikely to cause harm.

In an unusual display of bipartisan support, Clinton was accompanied by
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and 10 other members of Congress.

Hastert was instrumental in pushing the aid package through Congress,
despite misgivings by some who feared the United States would get drawn into
the guerrilla conflict fed by drug profits and help an army long criticized
for human rights abuses.

The U.S. assistance is part of Pastrana's $7.5 billion "Plan Colombia,''
designed to end decades of civil war, fight drug trafficking, strengthen the
judicial system and revive an economy in the doldrums.

Pastrana called the U.S. assistance "a recognition that the menace of
illegal drugs is truly international and therefore requires a concerted
global response.''

Security was heavy for Clinton's entourage wherever it traveled in this
Caribbean port city.

Snipers stood atop buildings at the airport, and armed security guards stood
watch in patrol boats along the shoreline.

But those concerns didn't prevent Clinton from mingling with a crowd of
thousands that lined the streets in a poor neighborhood where he visited a
freshly painted community justice center, a one-stop shop for Colombians
needing help resolving criminal and civil problems.

"Clinton, Clinton,'' the crowd chanted.

There were also demonstrators throughout the city.

After night fell, Pastrana escorted Clinton and his entourage on a walking
tour of Cartagena's historic district, during which the President, with
daughter Chelsea at his side, cheered street dancers and tried on one of
their straw hats.

The largest part of the $1.3 billion U.S. contribution to Plan Colombia is
for military assistance, including 60 helicopters to be used mostly by the
Colombian army in eradicating the lucrative drug crop.

Among the components:

* 16 Black Hawk and 30 Huey helicopters and training for Colombian army
counternarcotics battalions: $403.7 million.

* Assistance for Colombian National Police, including two Black Hawk and 12
Huey helicopters: $115.6 million.

* Interdiction efforts, including radar, aircraft and airfield upgrades:
$113 million.

* The United States already has about 100 soldiers -- mostly members of the
Army's 7th Special Forces Group from Fort Bragg, N.C., -- in Colombia to
train counternarcotics battalions of the Colombian army.