According to El Tiempo (George W. Bush reitera su compromiso para trabajar con Colombia contra el narcoterrorismo), Bush arrived at 11:55am local time to being his visit to Colombia.

Via the Miami Herald: Bush arrives in Colombia

President Bush touched down today in Colombia, where he hopes that his staunchest ally in Latin America will prove more friendly after his preceding visits to Brazil and Urugay drew a barrage of protests.

Source: El Espectador

But with a huge security contingent, more street protests and a scandal surrounding President Alvaro Uribe, Bush is unlikely to get a reprieve on this, the midway point in his week-long, five-country tour through Latin America.

Bush will stay in Colombia for only six hours, meeting with President and Afro-Colombian community leaders, and trying to avoid any attack by leftist insurgents who have been battling the government here for more than four decades.

I guess that says it all about the confidence the administration has in terms of security in Colombia: the trip is only six hours in length. It begs the question as to whether it was even worth going.

Source: El Espectador

According to El Espectador, Bush was given military honors and reviewed the assembled troops. Then Bush and Uribe spent an hour at the Casa de Nariño (the Colombian White House) discussing “trade, the second phase of Plan Colombia, the fight against terrorism and the development of biofuels.” The second phase in question is the $3.5 billion from the US to Colombia for intelligence and training assistance.

Street protests in Bogotá, source: El Tiempo

Technorati Tags: Colombia, Alvaro Uribe, George Bush, Latin America