Frechette told Bogota's El Tiempo newspaper U.S. military aid, currently
provided only for use in antidrug operations, could be employed to fight
rebels who were running drugs.

The United States has repeatedly played down claims by the Colombian military
that the main guerrilla movement, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC), is heavily involved in drug trafficking and that the lines between
counternarcotics and counterinsurgency have become blurred.

But in his remarks to El Tiempo, Frechette conceded that ``a high number'' of
members of the FARC and the National Liberation Army (ELN) were involved in
the drug trade. The FARC and ELN are Cubaninspired groups founded in the
1960s.

``Perhaps up to two thirds of the columns of the FARC and 35 percent of the
columns of the ELN are involved (in drugs),'' Frechette said.

``The Colombians can use the aid that we give them to defeat those narcos
that, by luck of the draw, also happen to be guerrillas,'' Frechette said.

However, he said that, despite growing pressure from Republicans in
Washington, there would be no change in White House policy of making aid to
Colombia's military contingent on a commitment to clean up its human rights
record.

``The Leahy law, which is policy when it comes to any type of antinarcotics
assistance, demands that no aid be given to the security forces of countries
that face credible and convincing accusations of serious human rights
violations,'' he said, referring to an amendment authored by Vermont Sen.
Patrick Leahy, a Democrat.

Bans on such assistance can only be lifted if the government shows it is
taking forceful steps to crack down on abuses in military ranks, Frechette
said. He added that Colombia had failed to do so.

Republican lawmakers last week accused the Clinton administration of
contributing to a recent series of defeats suffered by Colombia's armed
forces at the hands of leftist rebels by maintaining the ban on military aid.

Frechette presided over a ceremony at Bogota's El Dorado airport on Saturday
at which the United States handed over 40 tons of ammunition and other
equipment to the antinarcotics division of Colombia's militarycontrolled
National Police.

At least some of the new aid was likely to wind up in the hands of the
military, which provides key logistical support for counternarcotics
operations, government sources said.

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