US Backing for Colombia Drug War Criticized: "On Wednesday, Colombian police announced the arrest of two U.S. Army soldiers for allegedly attempting to sell thousands of rounds of stolen U.S. ammunition to right-wing paramilitary death squads. They are in custody of U.S. officials and face court-martial in the United States.

In April, rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, launched an offensive in the Andes Mountains of southwest Colombia. It followed a string of rebel attacks across Colombia that killed dozens of Colombian troops. 'The intensity of the attacks are clearly a concern,' Wood said.

In March, five American soldiers in Colombia were accused of smuggling cocaine to the United States aboard a U.S. military plane. They were whisked off to the United States, where they were arrested. Some Colombian lawmakers called for their extradition to Colombia.

The White House reported in March that, despite a massive aerial fumigation offensive against cocaine-producing plantations in 2004, coca cultivation increased slightly to 281,323 acres as farmers quickly replanted."