U.S. withholding Colombian aid

BOGOTA, April 19 (UPI) -- Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has blocked U.S. aid to Colombia because Colombian security forces allegedly collaborated with right-wing paramilitaries.

Leahy blocked the disbursement of funds and called on the U.S. State Department -- which freed the funds earlier this month -- to explain the certification of $55 million earmarked for Colombia, The Miami Herald reported Thursday.

The State Department said Colombia has met its requirements on human rights.

The Los Angeles Times reported last month that Colombian Gen. Mario Montoya worked with right-wing gunmen -- considered by the United States to be a terrorist group -- in the military's battle against left-wing rebel groups, also classified by the U.S. State Department as terrorists.

Right-wing paramilitaries and left-wing rebel groups both use drug trafficking to fund a more than four-decade-old civil war.