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Pubdate: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 Source: Wall Street Journal (US) Copyright: 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Contact: 200 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10281 Fax: (212) 416-2658 Website: http://www.wsj.com/ Author: David I. Oyama POWELL OUTLINES COLOMBIA ANTIDRUG FUNDS The Bush administration has asked Congress for $731 million to finance the campaign against drugs in Colombia and neighboring countries in 2002, Secretary of State Colin Powell said. The request, submitted to the Senate Budget Committee, includes $399 million for Colombia, $156 million for Peru, $101 million for Bolivia and a combined $75 million for Colombia's four other neighbors -- Brazil, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela. The total amount is similar to that allocated this year, including aid for Bogota's drug-fighting Plan Colombia, but the money is less concentrated on Colombia, reflecting the Bush administration's new regional approach to the drug problem. For the fiscal years 2000 and 2001, the State Department allocated $1.02 billion to Plan Colombia. The U.S. also gave Colombia's neighbors smaller amounts of aid to fight cocaine. Bolivia, the largest recipient, received $110 million. The shift to a regional approach reflects complaints from Colombia's neighbors that a crackdown on production of coca in Colombia would probably push the problem over the border. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth