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Clinton Pledges Support to Colombia
The United States supports the Colombian government in its war against drug trafficking, in its peace process and in the reactivation of its economy, said President Bill Clinton Wednesday in Cartagena.
Clinton reaffirmed that the "Plan Colombia" is made by Colombians for the Colombians and that "what we do is to help the Colombians in its implementation."
The Plan Colombia, he said, is aimed at strengthening the war against drugs, which has brought catastrophe for the United States and for Colombia alike, to destroy this scourge, uniting the efforts of the two countries.
This is why the Plan Colombia is not a military strategy, but a commitment for peace, he said.
He underscored the interests of the United States in Colombia in the economic and political fields and in the war against drug trafficking and the process of peace, saying that his country will always be on Colombia's side.
Clinton arrived Wednesday morning in Cartagena for a nine-hour visit, with three themes in his agenda: the Plan Colombia, bilateral free trade and human rights.
Clinton's visit is designed to express solidarity with Colombian President Andres Pastrana and his 7.5 billion-dollar anti-drug plan, to which the United States is contributing 1.3 billion dollars.
However, local analysts and Latin American sources said the U.S. aid constitutes an intervention in Colombia's internal affairs.
The U.S. aid package includes the provision of 60 military helicopters and personnel training for two special army battalions that will protect Colombian police missions to destroy drug plantations and laboratories in guerrilla-controlled areas in southern Colombia.
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