Bogota Will Get $65 Million in Emergency Aid

President Bush on Friday unveiled a $65-million program of emergency aid to fortify Colombia’s war against drug kingpins, offering helicopters, assault boats, machine guns and mortars for that nation’s “courageous challenge to these insidious forces.”

Administration officials said the equipment, along with a small contingent of U.S. advisers, will be dispatched to Colombia in the next few days and weeks to help Colombian forces strike back at drug terrorists, who have staged a series of assassinations and bombing attacks on government and political officials.

“Our only motive is to do as much as you can as fast as you can,” White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said. “I think you’ll see this equipment put into use very rapidly, within a matter of days.”

‘War Situation in America’

Referring to cocaine’s rising social toll in both countries, he said, “We have a war situation in America, let alone in Colombia.”

Administration officials portrayed the new package, drawn up after consultations with top Colombian leaders, as a boost for the Colombian military’s ability to raid drug processing operations and move against leading traffickers.

However, one senior Bush aide said, “Nobody’s anticipating any immediate victory. . . . Everyone recognizes this is a long haul. The sustained commitment is what is needed.”

The funding represents a sharp increase in overall U.S. assistance for the Latin American nation. Fitzwater said Colombia received $17.5 million from the United States in 1987, $15 million in 1988 and $29.6 million this year.

Helicopters, Other Hardware

The new assistance, to be paid for with uncommitted foreign aid funds, will include 20 UH-1 Huey helicopters, to be used for transporting troops and military equipment, a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter useful for medical evacuations and, later, a yet-undetermined number of airplanes valued at $8.5 million.

The shipments also will include small arms, ranging from anti-tank weapons and grenade launchers to machine guns, and shallow-draft assault boats used for landing troops and equipment.

Analysts have cited Colombia’s greatest military need in its anti-drug offensive as transport equipment for ferrying assault forces to remote areas for quick attacks on drug lords’ outposts and hiding places.

Key figures in the nation’s Medellin cocaine cartel, who are believed to have well-armed guard forces and large explosives stockpiles, earlier this week declared “total and absolute war” on the government because of President Virgilio Barco Vargas’ new campaign to round up and extradite drug suspects.

Fitzwater said that initial shipments will begin within one to two weeks, that the contingent of 25 to 30 Drug Enforcement Administration agents in the nation would be beefed up and that more U.S. intelligence on drug operations would be provided to the Colombians.

He said that no U.S. troops would take part in the drug crackdown, noting that Colombian officials had not sought such help. However, he said that a small number of advisers--fewer than “dozens”--would be sent to train the Colombians in the use of the weapons and aircraft.

“We intend to work closely with the Colombian government to bring to justice those responsible for the scourge of drug trafficking and will . . . assist the Colombian effort to provide protection for judges and other Colombian officials who are on the front line of the war against drugs,” Bush said in his statement, issued from his Maine vacation home.

He expressed “complete confidence” in the Colombian authorities’ ability “to deal with this situation.”

In addition to the $65-million program, Fitzwater said, the President will propose spending “a considerable sum” on anti-drug efforts in Colombia next year when he announces his Administration’s strategy for the U.S. drug war in a nationally televised speech Sept. 5.

Politician’s Assassination

The flurry of Administration activity that produced the emergency package in the midst of Bush’s vacation was triggered by the assassination of Colombian presidential candidate Sen. Luis Carlos Galan on Aug. 18.

Fueled by international outrage, the Colombian government staged major raids on drug operations, and Barco issued a special decree providing for the extradition of Colombian drug fugitives wanted in the United States. But the drug traffickers struck back with the series of bombings and arson attacks on police officials’ homes and on political party offices.

The Galan assassination, said a senior White House official, “represented a new escalation of the terror and made it clear that further assistance was needed to be expedited.”

In choosing what would be included in the package, drawn from a list of supplies and alternatives drawn up by the Pentagon, top Administration officials conferred with Colombian leaders. These talks included a telephone call Monday evening between Bush and Barco.

The senior official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that Bush is eager to provide significant aid without inflaming nationalist sensibilities in the ally nation.

“A friendly government was doing its best to fight their becoming subject to that kind of terror. Of course we should stand ready to help. It’s not a matter of pressure. It’s in our national interest,” the official said.

DRUG ENFORCEMENT AID TO COLOMBIA

EN ROUTE OR DELIVERED: Assorted gear bought by Colombia, including 20 Huey and 5 Blackhawk helicopters. The State Department is lending 2 additional helicopters. AMONG FISCAL 1989 APPROPRIATIONS: $10 million in general assistance for drug war. $5 million to protect judges, including $500,000 for armored cars and other equipment and $2 million for training court security guards. Related: $6 million in general military assistance and $1 million for military training. ANNOUNCED FRIDAY: $65 million from presidential discretionary funds under Foreign Assistance act, of which a first shipment of $20 million worth of assorted hardware, including 8 Huey transport helicopters, will be sent next week. Other items in first shipment: machine guns, mortars, ammunition, 4-wheel-drive vehicles, ambulances, communications equipment, anti-tank guns. FUTURE REQUEST: President Bush will propose additional aid to Colombia in his scheduled drug-fighting speech Sept. 5, his spokesman says. Source: Associated Press