Powell Visits Colombia to Reinforce Ties

U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell flew here Tuesday to demonstrate support for an embattled ally, just as Colombia has taken on a U.N. role that could enable it to help the Bush administration’s efforts to keep pressure on Iraq.

Powell said he made his first official visit to the country -- after twice canceling plans for earlier visits -- to show solidarity with the government of President Alvaro Uribe. Since taking office four months ago, Uribe has embarked on an aggressive campaign to confront the leftist rebels and right-wing paramilitary forces who have waged civil war for 38 years.

This week “seemed a good time to reinforce our commitment to Colombia,” Powell told reporters on his plane.

In an interview with a Colombian newspaper on Monday, Powell said he expects to see Colombia take an active role this month as temporary president of the U.N. Security Council, a post that includes overseeing the debate on how Iraq is complying with weapons inspections. Baghdad faces a Sunday deadline to release a declaration of any chemical, biological and nuclear materials.

“December could be a very important month in the Security Council, and I expect Colombia would be an active chair -- in making sure the council deliberates with utmost seriousness on the elements of the declaration,” Powell told the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo.

He also said he was preparing to ask Congress next year for a continuation of the Colombian aid that has totaled nearly $2 billion over the last several years.

The visit is considered overdue by Colombian officials, who have privately lamented that the U.S. has not been able to pay enough attention to their country because of the war on terrorism and the confrontation with Iraq.

Since he was sworn in last August, Uribe has sharply stepped up military activities against the rebel forces, instituted emergency measures to make arrests and prosecutions easier, and arranged to levy a new tax that will funnel nearly $1 billion into the armed forces.

Some human rights advocates have expressed concern that the new government could go too far, but the Bush administration has so far expressed general agreement with the approach.

Powell noted in his remarks to reporters that U.S.-trained forces have recently increased their aerial spraying to destroy coca plants, from which cocaine is derived. And he noted that last week, the large paramilitary group United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC, announced a unilateral cease-fire after secret talks with the government.

“I think we’ve got some good things going,” Powell said.

But Powell will not be able to immediately deliver what Colombians seem to want most, which is a resumption of U.S. intelligence aid to help Colombian and Peruvian authorities track down drug-carrying aircraft by using high-tech surveillance planes.

The CIA-directed program was suspended in April 2001 after a U.S. missionary and her infant daughter were killed when the aircraft carrying them was mistakenly shot down by the Peruvian air force.

American and South American officials have since been working to retool the program to ensure that personnel are properly trained and supervised.

Powell said he was “anxious to get it started as soon as possible,” though he declined to predict when the program could resume. Experts on Colombia said Colombian officials are especially eager to restart the program because they believe it can be highly effective in interrupting drug trafficking.

“This is the itch they want to scratch,” said Phillip McLean, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.