Colombia's president tried to rally support on Tuesday for putting more U.S. troops in his country to combat drug-running guerrillas, though regional leftist leaders fear his plan could hurt stability in South America, Reuters reported.
Alvaro Uribe, Washington's main ally in the region, is working to reach a deal this month with the United States to let it relocate its drug interdiction flight operations to Colombia after it was kicked out of neighboring Ecuador.
The plan could give U.S. forces access to seven Colombian bases and increase the number of U.S. troops in Colombia above the current total of less than 300 but not above 800, the maximum permitted under an existing pact, officials have said.
At his first stop on a seven-country tour to ease diplomatic tensions, Uribe won the support of conservative Peruvian President Alan Garcia, one of his few friends in South America.
"President Uribe is here to talk about issues that are important for the continent, about difficult situations that have victimized Colombia and should not occur," Garcia said.
Funded by the cocaine trade, rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, have waged an insurgency against the state for 45 years in a conflict that has killed or displaced thousands of people.
Though Garcia backs him, Uribe will likely run into resistance at subsequent meetings this week as nearly all left-wing and moderate presidents in the region have said more U.S. military in Colombia is a bad idea.
Leftist Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez accuses the United States of wanting to set up a military platform in Colombia from which to "attack" its neighbors.
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