ALBRIGHT SEEKS $1.3 BILLION TO AID COLOMBIA IN FIGHTING DRUG WARS

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Madeleine Albright proposed a two-year,
$1.3 billion additional aid package Tuesday to help Colombia regain control
of two southern provinces controlled by drug traffickers and rebels and to
accelerate the eradication of coca.

The administration proposal - a four-fold increase over existing aid to
South America's second-most-populous country - represents a potential
turning point in Colombia's civil war, in which drug traffickers and armed
rebels have partnered in a lucrative protection racket in the Amazon
jungle. But first the administration must overcome congressional resistance
among Democrats and Republicans who fear U.S. involvement in a
Vietnam-style quagmire in Colombia. And some human rights activists equate
the Colombian military with a history of abuses.

President Clinton, in Arizona, urged Congress to approve the package.

He called it "very, very important" to the United States.

At a White House briefing Tuesday, Albright emphasized that the United
States will remain on the sidelines in Colombia's civil war and that
increased aid reflects U.S. security interests at a time of vastly
increased production of coca and poppy in the region. Coca is used to
produce cocaine and poppy to produce heroin. According to administration
estimates, Colombia is the supply source or transit point for an estimated
80% of cocaine used in the United States.

"This is not a counterinsurgency program. It is a counternarcotrafficking
program," Albright said.

However, increased aid is sure to provoke opposition from the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC, which controls about 10,000 troops
in Colombia and has been at war with the Colombian government since 1964.

Luis Oganes, a strategist with financial firm J.P. Morgan, says, "Given
that there is a strong link between the role of the guerrillas and the drug
cartels, it is obvious that in trying to fight the drug business, you have
to address the problem of guerrilla activity in Colombia."

The administration package would allocate $ 600 million in its first year
for material and training for the Colombian military, including 30
Blackhawk helicopters and 33 Huey helicopters. Heightened air power would
increase Colombia's efforts to regain control over its skies in the south,
near Ecuador, Peru and Brazil, and heighten intelligence capabilities.

That would be accompanied by $ 96 million in aid to the Colombian National
Police to accelerate the eradication of coca and poppy fields and followed
by $ 145 million in economic aid to Colombian farmers who grow coca and
poppy. An additional $ 93 million in the first year would go to
improvements to the Colombian judiciary and banking system.

Colombian Ambassador Luis Moreno termed the proposal "a turning point in
our relations."

"Colombia has been alone in the fight against drugs for a very long time,"
Moreno said. "We got support from (Washington), certainly, but never at
this level."

Colombian President Andres Pastrana plans to visit Washington this month to
seek the support of congressional leaders.

"It is critical for Colombia to have bipartisan support," Moreno said.