McCain in Colombia to discuss trade, drugs, rights

By Jeff Mason

CARTAGENA, Colombia (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain arrived in Colombia on Tuesday for talks on trade, drugs and human rights in a visit aimed at showcasing his foreign policy experience over that of Democratic rival Barack Obama.

McCain, an Arizona senator who has secured his party's White House nomination, is meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and other officials in the first leg of a three-day journey that will also include Mexico.

"We want to talk about drugs to a large degree. We want to talk about the progress that they've made against the FARC," McCain told reporters about the goals of his visit, referring to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), an outlawed leftist guerrilla group.

Free trade will also be on the agenda, he said during the flight to the South American nation.

Human rights -- an issue that critics encouraged him to bring up -- will be on the table as will Uribe's call for a new election.

"Wherever there's a single abuse of human rights, it concerns me," McCain said.

"I will also add that there has also been significant improvement (in Colombia) and I want to see that improvement continue."

McCain has highlighted Obama's opposition to a free trade agreement with Colombia as a key difference between their respective candidacies, and though he pledged not to criticize the Illinois senator on foreign soil, he pushed for the pact.