MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US support for Colombian president Uribe

United States certified the Colombian military's compliance with human rights standards, freeing up 62 million US dollars in aid to fight drug traffic and leftist guerrillas, said Colombian vice president Francisco Santos.

Funds were approved by U.S. Congress for fiscal years 2004 and 2005 under Plan Colombia, the anti-drug and counterinsurgency operation mounted since 2000 by US administrations.

Santos said the US government decision acknowledged the commitment of Colombia and the fact that Colombia "is a democracy that respects human rights".

However Colombian armed forces have been repeatedly criticized by rights activists for abuses.

"Colombian Armed Forces have historically maintained close ties to paramilitary groups, and have been implicated in the commission of atrocities in collusion with such groups. However, the government has yet to take credible action to break these ties" Human Rights Watch told the U.N. Human Rights Commission last April.

"Impunity, particularly with respect to high-level military officials, remains the norm," the group said.

Mr. Santos said certification "will allow us to continue working to protect more Colombians, destroy coca fields and fight the armed groups that finance themselves with drug trafficking".

US support is conditioned to "clear and convincing achievements in the area of human rights, and the State Department must review the reports issued by various entities of the Colombian state and human rights organizations" the office of President Alvaro Uribe said in an official statement.

"With this disbursement of funds and certification, Colombia will be able to continue financing, equipping and training its armed forces, which are vital to continuing the fight against drugs and terrorism," Santos said.

President Uribe is scheduled to meet Thursday with his U.S. counterpart, George W. Bush, in Crawford, Texas.

On April 27, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced in Bogota that Washington would contribute 600 million US dollars to Colombia's anti-drug fight this year, the same dollar amount provided - on average - over the past five years under Plan Colombia.

The 3 billion US dollars handed to Bogota over that period has made it by far the biggest recipient of U.S. aid in Latinamerica.