BOGOTA, COLOMBIA — President Bush paid a symbolic and tightly policed visit to Bogota on Sunday aimed at shoring up conservative Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and highlighting the improved security he has brought to this violence-scarred capital city.
As Air Force One descended on Bogota, reporters aboard saw the following warning displayed on the aircraft monitors: "Colombia presents the MOST SIGNIFICANT THREAT ENVIRONMENT of this five-country trip!"
On the ground, 21,000 police officers manned checkpoints, standing a few yards apart along the route of Bush's motorcade to the presidential palace. Museums were shuttered and cellular phone service was blocked in some areas. The Secret Service drove two motorcades, one a decoy, through the city to deter terrorist attacks.
The purpose of Bush's visit was to support a government that is his firmest ally in Latin America and the recipient of more than $700 million in U.S. aid this year for Plan Colombia, a program to combat drug trafficking.
Bush is the first U.S. president to set foot in Bogota since Ronald Reagan visited in 1982. Political and drug-related violence had since made the city a no-go zone for U.S. heads of state, but a public works campaign by city leaders and Uribe's crackdown on rebel groups have greatly decreased the threat here and revived this high-altitude capital's reputation.
Bush was accorded full military honors when he arrived at Casa de Narino, the presidential palace. His limousine was escorted by mounted police, and he was greeted with a military band and honor guard in the palace courtyard.
"The most important function of a state is the ability to provide security for its people," Bush said after an hourlong meeting and working lunch with Uribe. "I appreciate your steadfast strength. I'm looking forward to working with you on the next stage of Plan Colombia."
Bush is unpopular in Colombia, and he was greeted by protests here, as he was during stops in Brazil and Uruguay on his Latin America tour. About 500 protesters chanting "Bush Out!" marched near Bogota's bullfighting ring, and police broke up a second rally with a water cannon and tear gas. About 35 marchers were held.
"Plan Colombia is doing nothing but defending the interests of North America while the spraying is killing our environment, nature, water and culture," said one protester, architecture professor Maria Gomez, referring to the campaign's aerial fumigation of coca plants. "We're here to wake people up."
