Albright adds Bolivia to South American tour

Albright

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has added Bolivia to her tour of South America next week, the State Department said on Thursday.

Between August 15 and 19, Albright will now visit Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Ecuador.

Spokesman Richard Boucher told a daily briefing that the aim of the tour was to "strengthen the commitment we share with our hemispheric neighbors to democracy, market economies, rule of law and environmental protection."

State Department officials said they expected the visit to the Bolivian capital La Paz to come towards the end of the tour, either immediately before or after her visit to Ecuador.

Albright is the second high-ranking U.S. official to visit South America in advance of President Bill Clinton's planned visit to Bogota on August 30. U.S. drug czar Barry McCaffrey traveled to Colombia on Wednesday to meet with President Andres Pastrana and review a U.S. aid program to help Colombia fight drugs and rebels.

Washington's aim is to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and shore up Colombia's democratically elected government.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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