    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [April 18, 2002]
    [Pages 626-630]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following Discussions With President Andres Pastrana of Colombia and an Exchange With Reporters
    April 18, 2002

        President Bush. Before the President and I will answer a couple of
    questions from both the U.S. side and the Colombian side, I do want to
    welcome my friend Andres Pastrana back to the White House.
        President Pastrana is a--has taken on a huge task in his country.
    One is to defend democracy and the institutions of democracy, and he's
    done a great job at that. Secondly, is to fight--is to fight
    narcotrafficking. He has led a valiant effort at eradicating coca
    fields, standing strong against the narcotraffickers.
        And as well, he fights terrorism in his country. He fights well-
    organized, well-funded groups that are out to destroy democracy in
    Colombia. And he has been strong in his support for democracy not only
    in his own country but in the region. We had a good discussion about a
    variety of issues about how to change the focus of our strategy from
    counternarcotics to include counter-terrorism. I explained to him that a
    supplemental I sent up to the United States Congress would do just that.
        As well, we talked about the need to get the Andean Trade Preference
    Act passed out of United States Senate, reconciled if there's any
    differences with the House of Representatives, and to my desk as quickly
    as possible. I am a strong supporter of trade with the Andean--with our
    Andean friends. The President knows first hand how important that trade
    is, not only for commercial reasons but also as a way to help fight
    against narcotrafficking, provide opportunities for people in his
    country.
        This is a good friend, and it's my honor to welcome him back to the
    White House.
        Mr. President.
        President Pastrana. Thank you very much, President Bush. Once again,
    thank you for having us here in the Oval Office. I think you've said
    everything.
        The only thing that I wanted to say is, first of all, thank you for
    your help, for your leadership in helping Colombia and helping the
    world. At the end, we are fighting a common enemy that is
    narcotrafficking and narcoterrorism. We have full support of President
    Bush and the Government, first in trying to, as you said, Mr. President,
    in change of authorities--the use of the military equipment sent by the
    United States to Colombia to

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    be used against also narcoterrorism, not only against narcotrafficking.
        Secondly, as you said, you have been a big supporter of ATPA. The
    Andean preference act is fundamental for us. It's commerce. As we said,
    we don't want aid; we want commerce. And that's what we need in
    Colombia, also, as one of the big components of the social side of Plan
    Colombia; that is, social investment. And social investment is jobs,
    better jobs and well-paid jobs.
        So I think that with the help of the Government, but the most
    important, with the help of the U.S. Congress, we will have ATPA before
    the end of May. And that's going to be fundamental to continue our fight
    on drugs.
        So thank you very much, Mr. President, for all your help.
        President Bush. De la AP, Senor Fournier [Ron Fournier, Associated
    Press].
        Q. I think that's you, Ron. [Laughter]

    Venezuela

        Q. Mr. President, if I could ask you about another Latin American
    issue. Your administration was slow to condemn the Venezuelan coup. How
    does that square with your war on terrorism rhetoric, that America will
    always stand up for democratic values?
        President Bush. My administration was very clear, when there were
    troubles on the streets in Venezuela, that we support democracy and did
    not support any extraconstitutional action. My administration spoke with
    a very clear voice about our strong support of democracy.
        It is very important for President Chavez to
    do what he said he was going to do, to address the reasons why there was
    so much turmoil on the streets. And it's very important for him to
    embrace those institutions which are fundamental to democracy, including
    freedom of press and freedom for--the ability for the opposition to
    speak out.
        And if there's lessons to be learned, it's important that he learn
    them.
        Mr. President, care to comment on that?
        President Pastrana. Yes. First of all, I think there's no doubt in
    Latin America of the support and promotion of President Bush on
    democracy in the region. I think that's something that nobody could put
    in doubt of your support in promotion of democracy in the whole region.
        As you said, what we're expecting is that President Chavez said in
    his speech that he's going to be a--try to look for a reconciliation
    inside Venezuela, that he is going to correct many mistakes. And we hope
    that what he's going to correct is toward strengthening democracy,
    respect, as you said Mr. President, civil laws, give guarantees to the
    opposition, the freedom of the press, respect of human rights. And
    that's what all Latin America are supporting and what we want in the
    case of President Chavez.
        In our case, for example, I think one of the mistakes was regarding
    the presence of the guerrilla groups in Venezuela. Yesterday,
    unfortunately, Mr. President, the media, national and international, we
    had information that Mexico closed the office of the narcoterrorist
    group in Mexico. And the first information is that they could be in
    Venezuela.
        So that's why today, Mr. President, I'm sending a letter through my
    Minister of Foreign Affairs to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of
    Venezuela, asking if there is the FARC--these members of the FARC are
    present in Venezuela or not; that we need that information. We approved
    a very clear resolution in the Group Rio meeting in Costa Rica last
    week, supporting what you promote in the Security Council, ban any
    presence of terrorists in any countries. And that's what we want to do
    in Latin America.

    Northern Command

        Q. Mr. President, how do you respond to the reaction of Canada and
    Mexico to participate with troops in the Northern Command that was
    announced yesterday by Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld? Do you

    [[Page 628]]

    think Mexico and Canada will, in the future, participate with troops in
    the Northern Command?
        President Bush. Well, I think that the restructuring of our command
    structure really represents that we're in a new world and that we face
    new threats. Our relationships with Canada and Mexico will not change as
    a result of restructuring. It's a better way for us to organize against
    an enemy that is willing to strike at America and our neighborhood. And
    that's what this reflects. It reflects the ability to coordinate a
    possible response against an enemy that's fearless.
        And these are killers. They're coldblooded killers. And they've hit
    us before, and they want to hit us again. And so the unified command
    structure now is going to reflect the true threats that we face.
        We used to not face these threats in the past. We thought two oceans
    would keep us safe. We thought there's no way that an enemy could
    possibly strike America again after Pearl Harbor. And were we wrong. We
    were really wrong.
        And so that----
        Q. Mr. President----
        President Bush. Excuse me for a second, please. And so therefore, it
    is very important for us to make sure that we prepare our military, as
    well as our respective homeland securities, against attacks. So not only
    are we looking at how--for a new command structure for military, we're
    also working very closely with Canada, y tambien Mexico--on making sure
    that our border is more secure, on making sure that we've got better
    intelligence sharing, on making sure that cooperation at all levels is
    as good as it can possibly be.
        And it is as good as it can possibly be. I'm real pleased with the
    efforts we're making with our neighbors.

    Venezuela/War on Terrorism

        Q. Mr. President, do you believe, as President Pastrana said, that
    Colombian guerrillas are operating from Venezuelan territory? Is there
    anything that the United States can do to help him fight that?
        And you mentioned freedom of the press when you were talking about
    things President Chavez should do. What other specific things do you
    think he should do following this coup?
        President Bush. Well, first, the reason I mentioned freedom of the
    press is because when things got hot in Venezuela, he shut the press
    down. I want you all--I've never thought about doing that, no matter
    how--what kind of questions these guys ask here. [Laughter]
        Mr. President, I've always believed in a free press. I don't care
    how tough the questions are, or as significantly, how they editorialize
    in their news stories, but nevertheless--because I respect the press,
    and so should President Chavez. It's essential
    he do that.
        And so there's a good example of what I'm talking about. When the
    pressure gets on, leaders should not compromise those institutions that
    are so important for democracy. The right for opponents to speak out is
    essential. There is--one of the things that is essential is that people
    be given the liberty of expressing their opinion without fear of
    reprisal.
        The first part of your question was whether or not FARC is utilizing
    Venezuela to strike our friend. I'll let our friend speak to that. He's
    a man who has to live with this problem. We discussed this very issue. I
    am--and by the way, it's not just FARC basing in Venezuela to strike
    Colombia; it's as well FARC striking Venezuelan ranchers that aren't
    protected by the Venezuelan Government.
        But why don't you speak to that, Mr. President?
        President Pastrana. Thank you, Mr. President. I think that, as you
    remember some weeks ago, there was--announced that FARC was using the
    Venezuelan territory to attack the Colombian militaries. And these were,
    as you remember, 2 or 3 days before all the crises in Venezuela. The
    chief

    [[Page 629]]

    commander of the army, General Vasquez, personally said to President
    Chavez that FARC was using Venezuelan territory to attack Colombia.
        So that's why we had a meeting last week, the 10th of April, between
    the Foreign Minister of Colombia and the Foreign Minister of Venezuela,
    because we are asking questions and we want answers of what was
    happening. And we proposed the creation of a binational commission
    between Colombia and Venezuela to study all these reports that were
    putting on the press and on the media by journalists of Colombia and
    Venezuela, of the presence of the FARC on Venezuelan territory.
        That's why we sent the letter yesterday, asking the Venezuelan
    Government if it's true that members of the FARC that were turned away
    from Mexico--the office of the FARC was closed in Mexico--we were
    asking, and we want answers, if these guys are or not in Venezuela.
    That's what we're expecting of the answer of the Foreign Minister of
    Venezuela.
        Q. Mr. President, what will be your message, then, for countries--in
    this case, Venezuela--or other countries that might open their doors to
    so-called terrorists?
        President Bush. Well, we've spent a lot of time talking about--these
    aren't ``so-called'' terrorists; these are terrorists in Colombia. And
    the reason they're terrorists is because they're using murder to try to
    achieve political ends. They tried to blow up the recent--recently tried
    to blow up the man running for President. They've captured people.
    They're after Andres.
        And so my message is that we will work with you to rout out terror.
    We've put FARC, AUC, on our terrorist list. We've called them for what
    they are. These are killers who use killing and intimidation to foster
    political means. And we want to join, with Plan Colombia's billions of
    dollars, to not only fight the--and by fighting narcotrafficking, by the
    way, we're fighting the funding source for these political terrorists.
    And sometimes they're interchangeable.
        And we've got to be strong in the fight against terror. And the
    United States--listen, my biggest job now is to defend our security and
    to help our friends defend their security against terror. That's what I
    spend a lot of my time doing. And each area of the world requires a
    different response--that in some parts of the world, we'll do it
    militarily; in some parts of the world, we'll help our friends to deal
    militarily; in some parts of the world, perhaps, we can rout out terror
    through just simply cutting off money; in other parts of the world,
    diplomacy seems to have an effect. We're working with our friends in
    Europe to use their law enforcement officials to arrest known Al Qaida
    killers hiding in their country, or plotters.
        We've been at this now for 7 months. Colombia has been at this for a
    lot longer period of time. And we're beginning to make a lot of
    progress. They key to success is not to grow tired in the fight against
    terror. And I can assure you I won't. I know this good President is
    dedicated to fighting terror.
        And it's essential for Colombia to succeed in this war against
    terror in order for her people to realize the vast potential of a great,
    democratic country. Colombia is an essential part of a peaceful South
    America. Colombia has got a fantastic tradition, a noble tradition of
    democracy. It's led the way. And I'm confident that with the right
    leadership and the right help from America, the kind of leadership
    Andres is providing now, that Colombia can succeed. And it's in
    everybody's interests that she does succeed.
        Listen, thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:50 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to President Hugo Chavez of
    Venezuela; FARC, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia; and AUC,
    the

    [[Page 630]]

    United Self-Defense Forces/Group of Colombia. President Pastrana
    referred to Foreign Minister Guillermo Fernandez of Colombia and Foreign
    Minister Luis Alfonso Davila of Venezuela.