Pubdate: Sat, 08 Jul 2000
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2000 San Jose Mercury News
Contact:  750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, CA 95190
Fax: (408) 271-3792
Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/

FOREIGN DONORS PLEDGE MILLIONS TO DRUG FIGHT

International donors pledged $621 million on Friday to help fund Colombia's 
multibillion-dollar project to combat cocaine production and revitalize the 
country's economy.

Colombia is trying to gather $3.5 billion from foreign donors to add to its 
own contribution of $4 billion to the project, which includes plans to beef 
up military action against the drug trade, protected by Colombia's powerful 
rebel movement.

The pledges from the one-day conference, which gathered 27 nations and 
several international agencies in Madrid, Spain, ``forms the first 
contribution from the international community to the peace process'', said 
Enrique Iglesias, head of the Inter-American Development Bank, which is 
presiding over the Colombia Plan. 
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