COLOMBIA ACTIVATES US-SPONSORED BATTALION TO FIGHT DRUG TRADE

BOGOTA - In an attempt to undercut the guerrillas who profit from the drug
trade, Colombia yesterday activated a new antinarcotics battalion, trained
and equipped by the United States.

Analysts say the army unit signals that the military is taking a more
aggressive stance toward the guerrillas - and could propel the nearly
40-year-old conflict into a more violent phase.

Heavily armed leftist rebels control vast tracts of the jungle where drug
crops are cultivated and earn tens of millions of dollars annually in
protection money from narcotics producers in this country, which exports
the bulk of the world's cocaine.

Washington's sponsorship of this 950-man battalion demonstrates its growing
commitment to help Colombia's besieged government take the offensive
against the guerrillas.

''With the actions of this new contingent we will save the lives of human
beings around the world,'' President Andres Pastrana declared at the
inauguration ceremony at the Tolemaida military base just south of Bogota.

The United States is giving Colombia $289 million in anti-drug aid this
year and is working to put together an additional emergency package based
on Bogota's request for $500 million more.

The United States is equipping the battalion with everything from 18 UH-1N
helicopters to night-vision goggles. And it sent about 50 Special Forces
instructors in April to train the unit.

US Ambassador Curtis W. Kamman looked on during yesterday's ceremony as six
army helicopters hovered above the parade ground as 15 Colombian soldiers
climbed up ropes into the choppers.

Until this year, US anti-narcotics aid to Colombia went exclusively to the
police, an effective investment until the country's big drug cartels were
dismantled and guerrillas and right-wing paramilitary groups increased
their role in the industry.

Since 1996, guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia have
consolidated their control over some 40 percent of the countryside, making
it perilous for helicopter-borne police alone to destroy drug crops and
laboratories. Over the past two years, coca cultivation has increased by
170 percent, said Colonel Leonardo Gallego, the anti-narcotics commander.

The battalion will be based in the heart of that zone at Tres Esquinas, a
base where the military is creating a Joint Intelligence Command with US
guidance. It is expected to be running by October.

While there is scant evidence that the rebel groups have evolved into
drug-trafficking organizations, there is no doubt the drug trade has made
them stronger, officials say.

In accordance with US law on military aid to Colombia, only soldiers with
clean human rights records were permitted into the battalion, officials
said. Colombia's military has a history of supporting paramilitary death
squads, although Pastrana this year fired three generals accused of such
links.