COLOMBIA ASKS U.S. TO GIVE $1.5 BILLION FOR DRUG WAR

WASHINGTON -- Colombian President Andres Pastrana visited Capitol Hill
Wednesday morning to enlist congressional support for a three-year, $7.5
billion program to fight drug traffickers and their leftist guerrilla allies.

Pastrana, who met with House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., is asking the
United States to contribute $1.5 billion to the package, which would pay for
training and equipping the Colombian military and police as well as for
economic development and social programs. Colombia would contribute $4
billion, and the remainder would come from other foreign sources.

World Bank President James Wolfensohn said that while no figure was
mentioned when he met with Pastrana Tuesday night, the bank wants to help
Colombia "deal with the social impact of the anti-drug campaign and the
country's other economic programs."

U.S. officials are deeply concerned about Colombia, where cocaine
cultivation has doubled over the last several years and well-armed
guerrillas control an estimated 40 percent of the countryside.

Pastrana received support from President Clinton on Tuesday in New York for
his plan, which also would involve negotiating peace with leftist guerrillas
behind the drug trafficking. But Clinton made no aid commitment, U.S.
officials said. Despite U.S. pressure on Colombia, coca and opium poppy
production are up sharply.

Colombia is already among the top U.S. aid recipients, getting $300 million
this year for its anti-drug efforts. U.S. officials have said the bulk of
financing for Pastrana's three-year plan would have to come from Colombian
sources and international lenders.

On Capitol Hill, Pastrana's plan has been greeted with some skepticism,
particularly among Republican lawmakers who fear that the United States
could get dragged into the conflict between the government and guerrillas. A
Republican congressional aide described the reaction to Pastrana's plan as
"very cautious."

Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., among those meeting with Pastrana, criticized his
government's contacts with the FARC leftist rebels, who are also linked with
the drug trade.

"The utopian solution President Pastrana and the State Department are
searching for does not exist," said Burton.

In a meeting with reporters and editors from The Washington Post Wednesday
morning, Pastrana acknowledged that "people are concerned" about the
prospect of deeper U.S. involvement in Colombia. For that reason, he said,
much of the U.S. military assistance would be channeled to a special army
battalion trained to assist police in counter-narcotics operations, rather
than battling guerrillas. But he also said that Colombia needs U.S. help --
including sales of armed Blackhawk helicopters -- to improve its overall
military capabilities.

"We need also to modernize our armed forces," he said. "If we hit
narco-trafficking, directly or indirectly we're going to hit the guerrillas."