BOGOTA, Colombia (AP)  The United
                  States will send Colombia millions of dollars
                  in antinarcotics aid that was held up by that
                  nation's decertification as a drug war ally,
                  the U.S. State Department said Friday.

                  Associated Press, 07/11/97 22:30 

                  BOGOTA, Colombia (AP)  The United States will send
Colombia millions
                  of dollars in antinarcotics aid that was held up by that
nation's decertification
                  as a drug war ally, the U.S. State Department said Friday. 

                  But U.S. officials have said they won't give aid to the
Colombian army until
                  they get assurances it won't commit human rights abuses or
divert the
                  material from the drug fight to a decadesold rebel war. 

                  Republican lawmakers urged the White House at a Wednesday
hearing to
                  release $30 million of weapons and materials to Colombian
forces. They said
                  failure to send the aid is hurting Colombia in its fight
against drug trafficking. 

                  A State Department spokeswoman who requested anonymity
said aid not
                  earmarked for the army will be released, but did not say
when. It was not
                  clear how much of the $30 million will be withheld. 

                  In February, the United States branded Colombia as
uncooperative in the
                  drug war, denying it some aid. The ruling did not affect
antidrug aid, but a
                  bureaucratic hurdle held up delivery of the $30 million.