Experts say the Bush administration must decide whether to maintain the Clinton administration's program, or re-engineer aid and look for other ways to bolster the Colombian state.

The Colombian state has been accused of human rights violations in Ataco[1].

In Barranquilla are the most important regional headquarters of many Colombian state entities, which are intended to develop programs and strategies defined by national guidelines.

So much for those who would resist the warlords who are replacing the Colombian state.

"The Colombian state is in crisis and needs to be reinforced," Mr. Cardoso said.

Perhaps no Colombian state has suffered through the violence and political manipulation of the paramilitaries as much as Magdalena.

The smallest-ever stamp - 0.4in by 0.3in (9.5mm by 8mm) - was issued in 1863 by the Colombian state of Bolivar.

Like other Colombian states, Santander issued its own postage stamps between 1884 and 1905, with a provisional stamp appearing in 1907.

In 2007, the Third Section of the Council of State ordered the Colombian state to pay damages to the victims' families.

They have however also been employed by the Colombian state to assassinate trade unionists, left-wing priests and any others deemed to be leftist sympathists.