Alvaro Uribe

President Alvaro Uribe, the United States' closest ally in South America, is on the verge of signing a bill whose chief beneficiary would be himself: a constitutional amendment that would allow him to run for reelection. Presidents have been barred from serving consecutive terms since 1991, a prohibition hailed as a step forward for democracy in a region dragged down for years by strongmen unwilling to cede power.

Washington and Mexico City are unsure whether Mexico today resembles Colombia's insurgency of 20 years ago. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton thinks it does; some Mexicans and, maybe, President Obama think not ("The wrong solution in Mexico," Opinion, Sept. 10). As the American ambassador in Colombia when the notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar was at riding high, and later when he was defeated, I side with Clinton in seeing many parallels. The parallels begin with the Colombia of the Escobar days being a large, progressive democracy with a vibrant economy.

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!"

In his Aug. 5 Times Op-Ed article, " U.S. needs to reevaluate Plan Colombia ," Milburn Line raises some important issues about the U.S.-Colombia alliance. Unfortunately, in questioning the progress Colombia has made under former President Alvaro Uribe in fighting insurgencies and curtailing the drug trade, Line presents an uninformed point of view. That Colombia has undergone an impressive transformation over the past decade is inarguable. The dramatic reduction in violence — with homicides having dropped by 45% between 2002 and 2009 — has yielded crime rates throughout our nation that are lower than those in many U.S. cities.

To hear his critics tell it, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe ought to be in trouble. The foundation of his mandate, a promise to tame this nation's unrelenting civil war, is tottering. Attacks by leftist rebels have surged since the beginning of the year, and hundreds of soldiers have died. Accusations of cronyism and nepotism have dogged his administration, while unemployment and poverty remain stubborn challenges throughout the country. Cocaine continues to be a major export.

Riding in a taxi in the coastal Colombian city of Cartagena some months ago, I was chatting with a Colombian colleague about whether the country's president, Alvaro Uribe, should be allowed to run for an unprecedented third term. Abruptly, our taxi driver turned and interjected: "You don't know what it was like here before Uribe. Taxi drivers like me were attacked and assaulted all the time. Now we have security."

The nation's highest court has stripped President Alvaro Uribe of emergency powers he took last year to battle leftist rebels. Uribe will respect the decision, a statement said. The measures had been due to expire Monday. The ruling annuls special militarized zones Uribe had created and takes away his ability to issue special decrees.

President Alvaro Uribe withdrew his offer to negotiate a prisoner exchange with leftist rebels after blaming the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia for a car bomb that injured 23 people. Uribe said in a speech that intercepted phone calls established that the attack at a military university was planned by a top leader of the group, known as FARC, which has been fighting the government for more than four decades.

COLOMBIA * Colombian President Alvaro Uribe declared a state of emergency early today to fight what the government described as a "regime of terror" after a surge of violence. Uribe also decreed an emergency tax to raise $778.5 million to fund a military buildup. Interior and Justice Minister Fernando Londono announced the state of emergency at a news conference in the capital, Bogota, but did not say what it would entail.

Left-wing rebels dismissed as a farce Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's release of about 200 jailed guerrillas, a gesture he had hoped would persuade guerrillas to free hostages they have held for years. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia demanded a demilitarized zone as a condition for any talks on freeing hostages, who include three Americans and a French-Colombian politician.

If you seek a monument to the security gains Colombia has made under President Alvaro Uribe's eight-year administration, the newly inaugurated JW Marriott Hotel here is a good place to look. Improved security, the dynamic economy and some tax breaks are attracting the major international hotel chains that for decades shied away from Colombia. Uribe, who leaves office Saturday, officiated at the 264-room Marriott's ribbon-cutting ceremony last week. "I don't have words to express my thanks for the confidence you show in Colombia," Uribe said to executives of Marriott and Grupo Poma, the El Salvador-based firm that owns the new hotel under a franchise agreement.

It's no surprise that voters in Colombia chose a tough former defense minister to succeed outgoing President Alvaro Uribe, who is leaving office after two terms. A resounding 69% of those who cast ballots opted for continuity, replacing Uribe, who made serious headway against the leftist guerrillas seeking to overthrow the government, with the man who helped him do it, Juan Manuel Santos. Santos' military's successes against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia included a daring operation in which rebels were duped into freeing high-profile hostages, and a cross-border raid into Ecuador in which the FARC's No. 2 was killed.

If Colombian voters could have their way in next month's election, Alvaro Uribe would return to the Casa de Narino -- the presidential palace -- on the strength of his 70% approval rating. But the country's Constitutional Court determined that he could not seek a third consecutive term, and in weeks will come the end of an era. Most of the contenders to replace Uribe, including the front-runner, former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos, promise to maintain his hard-line approach to battling the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

Colombia's constitutional court dealt a death blow Friday to President Alvaro Uribe's hopes of running for a third term, ruling that a referendum proposed by his supporters to open the way for another candidacy would be illegal. The highly anticipated ruling comes before a presidential election scheduled for May 30, opening the way to an exciting, compressed campaign with no clear front-runner. Candidates include former Medellin Mayor Sergio Fajardo, former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos, Sen. Gustavo Petro and previous presidential candidate Noemi Sanin.

Reacting to a deal that gives the Pentagon use of seven bases in Colombia for flights to combat drug trafficking and insurgency, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said this month that his country should prepare for war with its neighbor. It was only the latest belligerent statement directed at his Colombian counterpart, Alvaro Uribe. Should Chavez be taken seriously? Yes, says Maruja Tarre, former international relations professor with a degree from Harvard Kennedy School and now a Caracas-based consultant to multinational firms.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has cleared the last legislative hurdle to running for a third term, a prospect that his U.S. allies look upon with ambivalence. By a vote of 85 to 5, the lower house of Congress late Tuesday greenlighted a voter referendum early next year that could pave the way for Uribe to be on the May presidential ballot. The Senate approved the measure last month. If so, it would be the second time Uribe has circumvented a constitutional ban on reelection, a measure many Latin American countries put into law to prevent the ascension of caudillos , or political leaders who have kept themselves in power.

A bag containing explosives and bomb-making materials was found outside a ranch where President Alvaro Uribe was staying, a presidential spokesman said Saturday. The military-grade C4 explosives, detonator cords and other bomb-making materials were found Friday night after a neighbor reported a suspicious bag on a road near the president's family ranch near Monteria, 310 miles northwest of Bogota, the spokesman said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Uribe is a close U.S.

Mourners in ragged clothing wept and placed flowers Friday over the caskets of 14 Colombians who were killed when a rebel mortar shell struck Bogota's skid row just before this week's presidential inauguration. Hundreds of people milled around the caskets, which were placed on the sidewalk of this impoverished neighborhood. Seven of the coffins contained bodies that had not been identified. One woman looked among them for the body of her son, who was apparently decapitated in the blast.

Riding in a taxi in the coastal Colombian city of Cartagena some months ago, I was chatting with a Colombian colleague about whether the country's president, Alvaro Uribe, should be allowed to run for an unprecedented third term. Abruptly, our taxi driver turned and interjected: "You don't know what it was like here before Uribe. Taxi drivers like me were attacked and assaulted all the time. Now we have security."

President Alvaro Uribe has thrown Colombia into political turmoil after a Supreme Court decision questioning the legitimacy of his 2006 reelection led him to ask that voters have an opportunity to redo the vote. Uribe said he would press Congress to approve a referendum asking voters whether they want to repeat the 2006 presidential election. Sen. Hector Eli Rojas of the opposition Liberal Party accused Uribe of seeking the plebiscite as "an excuse for a third term."