Plan Colombia

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright arrived in Colombia on Friday to press the administration's $1.6-billion plan to combat illegal drugs in this South American nation. The visit, which includes meetings with President Andres Pastrana and other officials, comes amid signs that anti-drug efforts by some of Colombia's neighbors have led to an increase in coca cultivation here.

"Colombia on the Upswing" (editorial, Aug. 4) paints a rosy picture of trends in Colombia under President Alvaro Uribe. Unfortunately, some trends are not so rosy. The negotiation process between the government and the right-wing paramilitary terrorists has received a lot of attention lately. But it's like the boss negotiating with his employees. The paramilitary groups campaigned for Uribe's election using violence or the threat of violence. In some cities and regions with a heavy military presence, the paramilitaries are the de facto government.

Colombian President Andres Pastrana was among the first foreign dignitaries to visit Washington under the new administration, spending four days late last month discussing his nation's seemingly intractable drug and guerrilla troubles with President Bush and members of Congress. What Pastrana sought was assurance that the so-called Plan Colombia endorsed by the Clinton administration and backed with $1.3 billion in U.S. assistance will be supported.

The CIA has obtained new intelligence alleging that the head of Colombia's U.S.-backed army collaborated extensively with right-wing militias that Washington considers terrorist organizations, including a militia headed by one of the country's leading drug traffickers. Disclosure of the allegation about army chief Gen. Mario Montoya comes as the high level of U.S. support for Colombia's government is under scrutiny by Democrats in Congress.

Colombia's foreign minister resigned Monday, the latest casualty in the country's growing investigation into ties between right-wing paramilitary forces and top politicians. Maria Consuelo Araujo, a favorite of President Alvaro Uribe and a member of a powerful clan, stepped down following the arrest Thursday of her brother and four other lawmakers for alleged links to illegal paramilitary fighters. Araujo, 35, had not been tied to paramilitary forces or the charges against her brother.

A request for political asylum by Ecuador's former leader has put Colombian President Alvaro Uribe in an awkward position as he tries to mend deteriorating relations with his southern neighbor. Colombia has not decided whether to grant asylum to former President Lucio Gutierrez, who arrived unexpectedly in Bogota, the Colombian capital, last week.

The first high-level Bush administration visit to Colombia wrapped up Friday amid the most serious crisis in the peace process here since the effort started anew nearly three years ago. U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman headed a who's who delegation of government Andean specialists for three days of meetings with top Colombian officials and a look at U.S.-backed drug-eradication efforts.

Although the U.S. government was supposed to have final authority on any plan to rescue three American contractors held by guerrillas, it was kept in the dark by the Colombian military until a week before the July 2 operation to lessen the chances the Bush administration would veto the effort, said a top official close to the operation.

From his dugout canoe in the Napipi River, Jefferson Rojas spotted what he was after: a 40-foot-high jagua tree, its canopy dotted with dozens of thick-skinned fruits the size of tennis balls. Rojas pulled his boat to shore, macheted his way through thick foliage and with his telephone lineman gear quickly scaled the tree. He lopped off the fruits, which fell with thuds to the floor of the jungle. Why did Rojas go to such lengths for a fruit that isn't even ripe?

In the second embarrassing incident involving U.S. troops here in a little more than a month, Colombian police have detained two U.S. soldiers on suspicion of arms smuggling near a large military base in this nation's heartland, officials said Wednesday. The soldiers, whose names, ranks and duties were not disclosed, were arrested Tuesday in a condominium near the town of Carmen de Apicala with a "big quantity" of ammunition, Colombian Police Chief Jorge Daniel Castro told local radio. The U.S.