DATE=8/25/1999 TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT TITLE=U-S-LATAM-COLOMBIA NUMBER=5-44130 BYLINE=BILL RODGERS DATELINE=BRASILIA CONTENT= INTRO: U-S drug czar Barry McCaffrey is visiting several South American nations this week to discuss increased cooperation in the fight against drugs, but also to outline U-S concerns over the situation in Colombia. VOA's Bill Rodgers has more from the Brazilian capital - which was Mr. McCaffrey's first stop Monday in his four-nation swing. Text: The Clinton Administration and the Congress have turned their attention to Colombia - under siege by leftist rebels and rightwing paramilitary groups, all of which have ties to drug traffickers. The situation - where the rebels control 40 percent of Colombia's territory and the paramilitaries another 15 percent - has Washington worried about the future of Colombia's democracy and the stability of the region. U-S drug policy director Barry McCaffrey sounded the alarm bells last month - warning that these groups represent a growing menace because of the huge amounts of money they receive from the drug trade. Speaking in Bogota and later at a congressional hearing, Mr. McCaffrey said the protection provided to drug cartels by the rebels and paramilitaries has contributed to an increase in drug production and trafficking. It is a warning he is making again this week as he meets with top officials in four South American nations. Speaking to several American reporters at the end of his visit to Brazil Monday, Mr. McCaffrey said he will discuss Washington's concerns about the Colombian situation. ///McCAFFREY ACT/// Part of my purpose is going to be to share our own impressions of what's going on in Colombia, and to note that the solution is not a narrow one - it's not simply enhanced aid to the police or the armed forces but that indeed that it involves broad based approach of support for the judicial system, the economy, alternative economic development and indeed we have argued that it is not just a Colombian problem, but a regional problem. /END ACT// The Clinton Administration and Congress are discussing a substantial increase in security assistance to Colombia - which already is the third-largest recipient of U-S aid in the world after Israel and Egypt. There are proposals to raise the current 289 million dollars in aid to over a billion dollars - money that would be used in large part to help train and equip new anti- drug units in the Colombian army. While not citing any figures, Mr. McCaffrey says various assistance proposals will be examined in Washington later this year after the Colombian government outlines its own needs. But the U-S drug czar says whatever proposal is adopted must go beyond simply providing equipment to Colombian security forces. ///McCAFFREY ACT/// I hope by Christmas we all have a better idea of how to stand with an endangered democratic partner. But I don't think we know yet what is the right answer. For sure, it isn't ten helicopters to the police...we have to get more serious about this. This is a giant nation of 37 million people being menaced by 25-thousand people with automatic weapons, 120 millimeter mortars and they're conducting nationwide attacks. It's a dangerous situation. /// END ACT /// Similar comments by Mr. McCaffrey in the past have fueled concern in Latin America that the United States is preparing to intervene militarily in Colombia. But the U-S drug czar and other top U-S officials have categorically ruled this out. Colombian President Andres Pastrana has also rejected the notion. Still, his trip to Brazil, Bolivia, Peru and Argentina this week is viewed by many as a prelude to a shift in U-S policy toward Colombia and the region. What remains to be seen is how the views of the leaders Mr. McCaffrey meets with will shape the new American policy. (Signed) NEB/WFR/KL 25-Aug-1999 08:48 AM EDT (25-Aug-1999 1248 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .