ALBRIGHT SEEKS $1.3 BILLION TO AID COLOMBIA IN FIGHTING DRUG WARS

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Madeleine Albright proposed a two-year, $1.3 billion additional aid package Tuesday to help Colombia regain control of two southern provinces controlled by drug traffickers and rebels and to accelerate the eradication of coca. 

The administration proposal - a four-fold increase over existing aid to South America's second-most-populous country - represents a potential turning point in Colombia's civil war, in which drug traffickers and armed rebels have partnered in a lucrative protection racket in the Amazon jungle.  But first the administration must overcome congressional resistance among Democrats and Republicans who fear U.S.  involvement in a Vietnam-style quagmire in Colombia.  And some human rights activists equate the Colombian military with a history of abuses. 

President Clinton, in Arizona, urged Congress to approve the package. 

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