U.S. PROPOSES TO GIVE COLOMBIA $1.6 BILLION TO FIGHT DRUG LORDS

WASHINGTON -- The Clinton administration will ask Congress to provide $1.6
billion in financial aid to Colombia to help that country fight narcotics
trafficking.

The aid will be split over two years with an additional $954 million being
earmarked in a supplemental budget request for fiscal year 2000 and $398
million being set aside in fiscal year 2001, said Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright and General Barry McCaffrey, who heads President
Clinton's anti-drug fight. They made the announcement at the White House
Tuesday afternoon.

Previously, the White House had asked Congress to supply only $150 million
in aid in both years.

Ms. Albright said the White House has pushed others to provide Colombia
with financial assistance. She said the International Monetary Fund has
agreed to extend a $2.7 billion loan to Colombia and the World Bank will
provide Colombia with $3 billion.

The U.S. money will only be used by Colombia to combat narcotics
traffickers and won't be used to help Colombia fight leftist insurgents who
control large portions of the country. However, General McCaffrey conceded
that the leftist guerrillas are funding their fight against the government
through drug sales.

"This is not a counter insurgency program," Mr. McCaffrey said.

The aid package will have five facets, Ms. Albright said.

The first will be an effort to help push counter-narcotics police into
southern Colombia which is dominated both by the guerrillas and the
narco-traffickers. The U.S. will supply $512 million for this effort in
2000 and $88 million in 2001 and the money will be used, in part, to pay
for 30 Blackhawk helicopters and 33 Huey helicopters.

Ms. Albright said the newly formed counter-narcotics police units will be
carefully screened to make sure that no prospective police officers have
been implicated in past human rights abuses.

The second facet of the program will be to upgrade Colombia's ability to
halt the flow of drugs out of the country by upgrading Colombia's radar
systems, its aircraft and improving its intelligence gathering abilities.
This will cost the U.S. $238 million in 2000 and $102 million the following
year.

The third facet of the program will be to boost coca and opium poppy crop
eradication programs. The U.S. will spend $68 million in 2000 and $28
million the following year on these efforts.

The fourth facet will be economic development aid to Colombia. As part of
the effort, the U.S. will also help Colombian farmers with alternative
crops. These programs will be funded with $92 million in 2000 and with $53
million in 2001.

The fifth facet of the program will be to help Colombia improve its human
rights record and to promote the peace process. As part of this effort,
Colombia has promised to crack down on money laundering and to increase the
efficiency of its judicial system.

Ms. Albright repeatedly emphasized that the program wasn't formulated by
the U.S. government alone. Instead, she said Colombian President Andres
Pastrana took the lead in forming the program, and the U.S. largely acceded
to his requests for assistance.

"Our plan is based closely on the Pastrana plan," Ms. Albright said.

Ms. Albright said she expected Congress will approve the aid package
although it may undergo some alterations before it becomes law.

Ms. Albright said the U.S. was willing to help Colombia with the extensive
aid package because of the administration's conviction that Colombia can
become a fully functioning democracy if it can overcome both the guerrillas
and the narco-traffickers.