US sees no "Vietnamization" of Colombia

The Clinton administration has insisted that its plan to send US military advisers to Colombia does not represent a deeper, Vietnam-style involvement in the country's civil conflict.

President Clinton's national security adviser, Sandy Berger, told a news conference in Washington that the US aid was not designed to support a counterinsurgency effort, but to combat drug-traffickers.

Mr Berger said that the US government did not believe there was a military solution to Colombia's guerrilla war, and for that reason was backing the Colombian president, Andres Pastrana, in his dual attempt to fight drugs and bring peace.

Mr Clinton, who authorised a one-point-three billion dollar aid package for Colombia, is due to visit the country next week.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service