This report discusses President Bush's 2002 requests for new funding and additional authority to provide assistance to Colombia and six regional neighbors in a continuation of the Andean Regional Initiative (ARI) launched in 2001.

This report discusses President Bush's 2002 requests for new funding and additional authority to provide assistance to Colombia and six regional neighbors in a continuation of the Andean Regional Initiative (ARI) launched in 2001.

Under the populist rule of President Hugo Chávez, first elected in 1998, Venezuela has undergone enormous political changes, with a new constitution, a new the unicameral legislature, and even a new name for the country, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Although Chávez remained widely popular until mid-2001, his popularity eroded considerably after that, amid concerns that he was imposing a leftist agenda. In April 2002, massive opposition protests led to the ouster of Chávez from power for a brief period, but the military restored him to power after an interim the government resorted to such hardline measures as dismantling the National Assembly and suspending the Constitution.

This report discusses the funds and material support the U.S. has contributed to help Colombia and the Andean region fight drug trafficking since the development of Plan Colombia in 1999.