Gates praises Colombia as 'exporter of security'
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates offered high praise to Colombia today as an ``exporter of security'' that, by sharing lessons learned in its crackdown against a leftist insurgency and drug-trafficking cartels, provides a model for the region.
Colombia has ``a serious security problem'' which generates concern in the rest of the world, although the situation ``has improved a lot'', director of the National Planning Department, Esteban Piedrahita, admitted Thursday.