As peace talks resume between the Colombian government and left-wing rebels, the American Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, is preparing for a visit to discuss proposals to fight the country's drugs trade.

A BBC Washington correspondent says Mrs Albright's trip - the first by such a senior US diplomat in a decade - reflects growing concern about the power of the rebels and their close links with drug-traffickers.

Eighty per cent of the cocaine entering the US comes from Colombia, and production has shot up in areas controlled by guerrilla groups fighting to topple the government.

Earlier this week, the United States unveiled a package of aid worth more than one and a half billion dollars to help in the counter-narcotics effort. Our correspondent says that with the rebels and the drugs trade so closely intertwined there are fears that Washington could get drawn into a foreign war.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service