DONORS VOW DRUG WAR AID FOR COLOMBIA

BOGOTA, Colombia (Bloomberg News Service) -- Colombia will receive $871
million in funding to help combat drug production, following U.S.
prompting, from a group of donors led by Norway, Japan, Spain, multilateral
banks and the United Nations.

Foreign Affairs Minister Guillermo Fernandez de Soto said the aid would go
to fund drug crop substitution programs, as well as investing in
infrastructure projects in poor areas where drug traffickers and left-wing
guerrillas operate.

"This is cash that will help us complete efforts to eradicate drug
trafficking from our country for good," said Fernandez during a speech that
was broadcast by radio.

The minister was in Spain, where he led the Colombian delegation that met
representatives of the European Union, Canada and Japan.

The United States repeatedly has called on European and other countries to
help fund Colombia's war against drugs. The United States recently approved
$1.3 billion worth of aid.