US PRAISES COLOMBIA'S DRUGS FIGHT

Three of Colombia's Armed Factions Are on a US Terrorism List

Colombia's president is in Washington to try to secure more US funding
and military aid to fight drug-traffickers and rebels in his country.

Alvaro Uribe, who is meeting President George W Bush, is also aiming
to reach a bilateral free-trade accord.

The US on Monday praised Colombia for cutting production of coca, the
raw material for cocaine, by 21% last year.

The announcement seems likely to herald a further grant of US aid,
albeit with conditions attached.

Amazon fields

Announcing results from a US-sponsored fumigation programme, the state
department said there had been a "dramatic" decline in coca
cultivation in Colombia.

"Thanks to President Uribe's superb leadership, substantially less
coca is being grown in Colombia and real progress is being made
against the scourge of cocaine," said Robert Charles, Assistant
Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law
Enforcement.

But the BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Bogota says the US report glosses
over the fact that coca production is up in Bolivia and that farmers
in Colombia are changing the nature of coca cultivation.

They are sowing far smaller fields and moving deeper into the Amazon
jungle to avoid the attention of crop-spraying aircraft.

Expanded powers

Mr Uribe's government says that the left-wing rebels and
paramilitaries involved in Colombia's 40-year civil conflict use drug
money to finance their operations.

He wants an extension of Plan Colombia, a $2.6bn mainly military aid
package that aims to tackle the illegal drugs trade and insurgents.

It is due to expire next year; he wants it extended to
2009.

With three of Colombia's warring factions on the US terrorism list and
the Andean nation exporting some 800 metric tons of cocaine every
year, President Bush will listen very seriously to whatever Mr Uribe
has to say, our correspondent says.

But some members of the US Congress are concerned about Colombia's
human rights record.

Under Colombia's anti-terrorism laws, the military now has expanded
powers of search and arrest.