Cartagena, Colombia
Leftist rebels reportedly targeted President Bush for assassination during his recent visit to Colombia. Jorge Uribe, Colombia’s defense minister, said this week that informants had told government agents that rebels were under orders “to make an attempt against President Bush.” It was not clear how far any such plot might have advanced. In addition to the U.S. Secret Service, 15,000 Colombian soldiers and police provided security during Bush’s four-hour visit to Cartagena, a port city on the Caribbean coast. The country’s main guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, last year declared U.S. soldiers to be targets in its war against the government. Hundreds of Americans have been sent to the South American country to train Colombian soldiers to fight insurgents and drug traffickers.
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