Sticking with Uribe

The Financial Times looks at U.S. support to Colombia.

President George W. Bush's visit to Cartagena today may last only a few hours but it will highlight the strategic importance of the US's relationship with Colombia. In a region marked by anti-Americanism, Colombia's rightwing president, Alvaro Uribe, is both pro-American and popular.

Helped by the biggest US military aid to any country outside the Middle East, Mr Uribe is making progress in the war against leftwing guerrillas and rightwing paramilitaries. However, he is far from military victory and, more importantly, winning the peace. He needs long-term backing from the US.

Since President Uribe's election victory in 2002, the Colombian government has taken a more aggressive approach to the long-running war. It is now safer to drive on main roads and Colombians are less likely to suffer kidnapping. In the first nine months of 2004, the number of kidnappings fell by 42 per cent compared with the same period of 2003. Less land is given over to coca, the raw material for cocaine, and the number of cocaine seizures has increased by more than 50 per cent during the same period.