U.S. to send drugwar gear to Colombia

BOGOTA,ColombiaThe United States has approved sending more than $50
million in equipment to help Colombia's military fight guerrillas involved
in drug trafficking in the south,deepening its involvement in a country
that it has held at arm's length for years.

The aid was granted after the military promised to improve its protection
of human rights. Colombia is grappling with increasingly violet rebels who
have formed alliances with drug traffickers across the country, especially
in the south.

While the United States stipulated that the aid, approved this summer, be
used solely to fight drug trafficking, the commander of the Colombian armed
forces says the materiel all considered to be nonlethal could be used
to fight insurgents anywhere in the area identified by U.S. officials,
essentially the southern half of the country.

In an interview here, the commander, Gen. Jose Manuel Bonett, said the aid
could be used against guerrillas in the zone whether or not they are
involved in drugs.

Approval for the aid came through special presidential authority and is
contingent on confirmation that the units getting the materiel have not
been accused of violating human rights. The confirmation is to be provided
by the Colombian military.

Gen. Barry McCaffrey, architect of the White House antidrug efforts, who
visited here this week, said the aid did not represent a policy change.
Colombia normally would be ineligible for military aid because President
Clinton has ruled that it is not fighting drugs with vigor.

In September 1996 and again last summer, Clinton invoked special authority
to provide equipment and supplies for antidrug efforts in Colombia. He
also waived a ban on military sales on the ground that it was important to
U.S. national security. But that aid also was contingent on an agreement by
the Colombian police and armed forces to observe human rights.