JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: For the second time in a year, Colombia's president is visiting the U.S. trying to build congressional support for a massive aid package. CNN's Andrea Koppel joins us now with the latest -- Andrea.</s>ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Judy, that $1.6 billion aid package is in trouble. It's on hold in the Senate. And today, Colombia's president huddled with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and with drug policy director Barry McCaffrey to compare notes and to again urge Congress together to move quickly to help Colombia battle drug trafficking. Drug traffickers are now responsible for exporting more than 80 percent of the world's cocaine from Colombia, much of it here to the United States.</s>BARRY MCCAFFREY, U.S. DRUG CONTROL POLICY DIRECTOR: It's genuinely an emergency facing the American people as well as our Colombian, Peruvian, and Bolivian allies. So I want to see it moved expeditiously through the system. This is to protect U.S. national, vital interests.</s>KOPPEL: There are those within the human rights community and on Capitol Hill, however, who fear that, that money if it goes to Colombia's military will be used to fight not just drug traffickers, but also Marxist rebel insurgents who now control 40 percent of Colombia. They are charges that President Pastrana denies.</s>PRES. ANDRES PASTRANA, COLOMBIA: We need the money because we need to invest not only the eradication programs, but also investing in the alternative development programs, and we need to work as soon as possible.</s>KOPPEL: Tomorrow, President Pastrana will travel to Capitol Hill and meet with U.S. Senate majority leader Trent Lott, who has so far prevented the Colombia aid package from reaching the floor of the Senate where it would be considered as quickly as possible -- Judy.</s>WOODRUFF: CNN's Andrea Koppel at the State Department, thanks. Search CNN.com CNNSI.com CNNmoney.com The Web
Colombian President Looks to U.S. Congress For Support of Massive Aid Package