WASHINGTON — Even as its $1.3 billion anti-drug program for Colombia is off to a sputtering start, the United States is making plans to expand its aid and cooperation to combat a "spillover effect" of drug trafficking and guerrilla activities in neighboring Latin American countries, Clinton administration officials say.
Consideration of the broader approach comes as neighboring countries, which are already feeling the effects of Colombia's war, voice rising concern that the aid plan will only inflame the conflict further and spread instability throughout the region as American helicopters and American-trained counternarcotics battalions deploy in coming months.
If pursued by the next administration, the broader plan would greatly increase Washington's investment in nations from Panama to Peru, most of which are struggling with political or economic turmoil and are seen as vulnerable to the organized crime, paramilitary groups and drug-financed rebels that currently rattle Colombia.
Consultations with Colombia's neighbors are still in the early phases, officials say, and there are few specific commitments so far to provide aid, training or equipment. But Latin American diplomats said they expect the American aid in coming years to dwarf the $180 million in regional help approved by Congress this year; Ecuador is seeking $400 million for four years.
Clinton administration officials say they are merely extending their approach to reflect the reality that the effort in Colombia cannot succeed without regional support. "I think this is evolving now into not just a pure Colombia issue, but an Andean regional issue, something it has always been," said Under Secretary of State Thomas R. Pickering.
The administration felt compelled to focus on Colombia — and make it the third largest recipient of American foreign aid behind Israel and Egypt — because it was "in such startling difficulty," Pickering said.
But he added, "I think in future years there will be a broader regional aspect to this as we plan and propose to the Congress new budgets for this kind of activity."
Whether Congress will sustain a regional approach is not clear. Republican leaders have been vigorous in their support for what is called Plan Colombia and have repeatedly pressed the administration to free up funds and equipment.
But so far Congress has cast the effort narrowly as a fight against drugs, even as some members warn that American troops could be drawn into combat with antigovernment guerrillas who have alliances with the narcotics traffickers.