Britain Getting Involved In Columbian War

Britain is secretly stepping up military assistance to Colombia as the war on drug trafficking becomes increasingly entangled in the effort to defeat leftwing guerrillas and drive them back to the negotiating table.
Despite continuing reports of serious abuses by the security forces and the concerns of human rights groups about President Alvaro Uribe's tactics, Tony Blair has encouraged the Foreign Office to hold an international conference on support for Colombia, beginning today.

A Guardian investigation can identify a number of key areas of UK support.

· SAS training of the narcotics police, the Fuerza Jungla.

· Military advice to the army's new counter-guerrilla mountain units.

· A surge in the supply of military hardware and intelligence equipment.

· Assistance in setting up an intelligence centre and a joint intelligence committee.

The UK is now the second biggest donor of military aid to Colombia, a security analyst with close ties to the Colombian defence ministry has suggested. "The British like to keep a low profile here," he said.

The US defence department website openly gives details of the $2bn aid given under Plan Colombia to fight what the administration calls "narco-terrorists".