Number: RS21242
Title: Colombia: The Uribe Administration and Congressional Concerns
Authors: Nina M. Serafino, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division 
Abstract: On August 7, 2002, President-elect Alvaro Uribe Velez, age 49, is scheduled to take office amid an intensifying conflict. His election has been widely attributed to his law-and-order campaign promises to pursue the guerrillas vigorously by increasing Columbia's military budget, doubling the size of the military, and creating a one-million man civilian militia to aid the Colombian military, as well as the worsening security situation in Colombia. In the U.S., the election of a "hardliner" poses new questions for Members of Congress, especially as Congress considers whether to broaden the scope of U.S. aid to Colombia to provide funding for actions against Colombia's leftist guerrilla and rightist paramilitary forces.
Pages: 6
Date: Updated June 14, 2002