Pubdate: Sat, 04 Dec 1999
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 1999 The Seattle Times Company
Contact:  http://www.seattletimes.com/
Author:  Tod Robberson, The Dallas Morning News

U.S. TO AID ATTACK ON TRAFFICKERS

BOGOTA, Colombia - The Colombian army plans to open a U.S.-backed military
onslaught against leftist insurgents and drug traffickers soon, U.S.
officials said, adding that the operation is almost certain to plunge the
country into a new round of bloodshed.

The attacks are being planned for the southern province of Putumayo, where
the U.S. military is training and outfitting a new, 900-member Colombian
army counter-narcotics battalion, the officials said.

Using 18 U.S.-supplied helicopters and other weaponry, the battalion will
attack drug laboratories, clandestine airstrips and cultivation fields,
taking particular aim at the insurgents who protect them, U.S. officials said.

Officials of both countries hope next week's inauguration of the new
battalion - the first of its kind in Colombia - will mark a turning point
in a war on drugs that neither government claims to be winning so far.

U.S. officials forecast a doubling or tripling of cocaine production from
Colombia in the next two years over 1998 levels. Proceeds from coca
cultivation are helping finance the explosive growth in firepower and troop
strength of Colombia's biggest insurgent groups.

"I think perhaps the seriousness of the situation has begun to become known
in Washington," a U.S. Embassy official said, adding that the government
has known for years about an expected, sharp increase in cocaine
production. "I don't mean to play it lightly that we saw it coming, but
it's a major, big deal."

The anti-drug battalion's performance also could determine whether the army
begins receiving a greater share of the nearly $300 million Colombia
receives in U.S. counter-narcotics support. The army has been blocked from
receiving most U.S. aid because of questions about human-rights abuses and
alleged collusion between army officers and right-wing paramilitary groups.

The Clinton administration says it wants to boost aid for Colombia to as
much as $1.5 billion next year. But much will depend on the new battalion's
success as well as resolution of apparent disagreements between the U.S.
and Colombian militaries over additional battalions.

Putumayo is a major stronghold of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia, or FARC, and also is one of the country's most-entrenched zones
for drug-trafficking activities.
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