Washington – Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said here Friday after a meeting with Condoleezza Rice that the U.S. government is “very committed” to supporting the second phase of the drug-war and counterinsurgency initiative known as Plan Colombia.
“As of now there is an expressed willingness to move forward with the second phase of Plan Colombia and what’s being finalized are the details,” Uribe told reporters after his talks with the secretary of state, who did not appear with her visitor or comment on the discussion.
Under Plan Colombia, Washington has given Bogota more than $3 billion over the past five years to eradicate coca and opium poppies, train the Colombian military to fight insurgents – who control much of the drug trade – and to improve public institutions.
The huge program has made Colombia by far the biggest recipient of U.S. aid in Latin America, surpassed worldwide in that category only by Israel and Egypt.
Even so, Uribe, who met Thursday with President Bush, wants to see an explicit pledge from Washington to go on supporting the initiative for a multiyear period, rather than leave the plan hostage to the annual appropriations process.
Yet Colombia continues to fare pretty well under the existing arrangement, as it is set to receive nearly a third of the just over $1.4 billion in aid the U.S. State Department plans to give to all of Latin America in the 2007 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
Though the overall total is $50 million less than in fiscal 2006, the biggest single program, directed at eradication of drug crops in the Andean nations, is suffering only a minimal reduction.
Colombia’s share of that account will be $465 million, roughly the same as this year’s figure, while Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador will all see less money.
Some influential figures in Congress say Bogota should get even more.
In a letter released Wednesday, the chairman of the House International Relations Committee, Illinois Republican Henry Hyde, urged Rice to boost the aid package for Colombia by enough to replace the 22 aircraft the Colombian narcotics police have lost since 2000 to accidents or hostile fire.
Uribe met Thursday with Hyde and the Republican chair of the subcommittee on Latin America, Dan Burton of Indiana, who added his backing to the bid to increase funds for Colombia.
Separately, the head of the Colombian team in negotiations with the United States on a free-trade accord said here Friday that the parties were unable to resolve the remaining contentious issues and will have to continue talks into next week.
Hernando Jose Gomez told Colombian business leaders who had traveled to Washington in the expectation of a positive announcement that disagreements over agriculture remain the stumbling block.
While Bogota wants to delay fully opening its market to U.S. imports of maize, rice and chicken, Washington is seeking limits on imports of Colombian sugar to shield growers in Florida and Texas from competition from lower-cost producers in the Andean nation.
Gomez held out hope that the next session, set for Tuesday after the President’s Day holiday, might pave the way for an agreement.
He also said that Uribe, who is scheduled to leave Washington on Saturday for Colombia, could conceivably return to the U.S. capital next week if a deal is reached.
