Colombian politicians, miffed by U.S. delays in passing a free-trade bill, are threatening to pull out of Plan Colombia, a multi-billion-dollar, U.S.-funded campaign to prevent drug trafficking.

The Los Angeles Times reported May 23 that Sen. Carlos Garcia, an ally of President Alvaro Uribe and head of Uribe's political party, said that if Congress doesn't pass a Colombian free-trade agreement, his country may stop participating in Plan Colombia, which has cost U.S. taxpayers $5 billion over the past seven years.

"If the U.S. Congress does not support Colombia in expanding its markets, there is absolutely no reason to accept Plan Colombia aid," said Garcia. "That's just one component of the solution. The best way out of poverty and the cultivation of illegal crops is the marketplace."

Uribe's government expected the free-trade pact to be approved as payback for the country's role in fighting drugs. Many in Colombia have portrayed the bill's failure as a slap at national dignity. Colombia has become the United States' strongest ally in South America under Uribe's rule, but some in Congress have grown disenchanted with his government over concerns about links to paramilitary groups, environmental policy, and the killings of labor-union leaders.

"The Uribe government paid very little prosecutorial attention to these labor union murders when the Republicans were in control of Congress. But they had an election in November and the Democrats took charge and they want labor on their side," noted University of Miami political scientist Bruce Bagley. "For that reason I don't see a free-trade bill passed before the 2008 elections."

The U.S. has seen few practical benefits from Plan Colombia, with cocaine supplies and prices remaining steady over the years.