Free Trade, honest governments and democratic principles: the final day focus at Americas Conference. (Special Advertising Feature).

Coral Gables, Fl (Oct. 14) Warning that the conflict in Colombia has the potential of spreading and causing havoc across Latin America, President Alvaro Uribe on Tuesday asked for international assistance in the four-decade battle against insurgency groups that are now profiting from drug trafficking and committing violent acts likened to terrorism.

"We need help to get rid of the violence," Uribe said during a keynote address the final day of the Miami Herald Americas Conference. "We are fighting terrorists."

Uribe's plea came during a satellite transmission from Bogota. Uribe said "Today, no one disagrees that lack of investment and unemployment have a lot to do with violence, that is why we are committed to providing security, economic stability, clarity and transparency...so that nationals and foreigners can trust in Colombia as a place to live, work and invest."

Assistant Secretary of State Otto Reich in his keynote address said, "The challenge to Latin America is for the leadership class to challenge the inertia of the old ways of doing business. There are still too many in elite positions who are still addicted to power. There are far too many who have yet to learn that they are there to serve the people and not the other way around." Reich added, "There is a virtuous dynamic between a free economy and a free society."

When asked to explain US plans for Argentina and Brazil should upcoming political changes produce governments opposed to US policies, Reich responded, "The people of Brazil will make a sovereign decision about who is going to lead their country and we will try to work with the freely elected president of Brazil as we have tried to work with any democratically elected government with which we have differences of opinion."

Reich also emphasized that, "The only system that works is one that is based on individual freedom and the rule of law."

Kenneth Dam, Deputy Secretary US Treasury Department, reiterated the Department of the Treasury's August decision to support an expanded International Monetary Fund (IMF) lending package to Brazil. "Brazil will get the majority of the IMF loan only if it adheres to sound policies such as maintaining fiscal prudence and taking concrete steps to reform major impediments to growth such as the current tax code," said Dam.

"He added," Commitments by the two major candidates reaffirming support for the program have helped reduce the uncertainty going forward."

Dam also voiced President George Bush's commitment to supporting the poorest countries in the hemisphere and helping them climb out of debt. He said that grants will be targeted towards HIV/AIDS programs, natural disaster reconstruction and those countries that are debt vulnerable, facing post-conflict situations, or extremely poor.

Florida Governor Jeb Bush closed the two-day conference by reiterating Ambassador Robert Zoellick Monday announcement that the 2003 round of ministerial negotiations for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) will be held in Miami.

"Miami has long been considered the Gateway to the Americas - serving as a cultural, economic, and political hub for Latin America and the Caribbean," said Bush. He added, "The 2003 ministerial negotiations provide us yet another opportunity to showcase our state and why Miami would be the ideal location for the FTAA Permanent." The selection of the Permanent Secretariat will be made in 2005.

Ambassador Reich called the Americas Conference which concluded Tuesday, "Quite a testament to the Herald's ability and drawing power. The Herald does a very good job drawing attention to the issues in the hemisphere on a daily basis and I think the conference is a compliment to the Miami Herald."

The Americas Conference was designed as an opportunity for an exchange of views for the whole hemisphere. "We succeeded," said Miami Herald publisher, Alberto Ibarguen. He added, "What also has happened is that it has become a place to announce initiative. For example, President Toledo announced his call for Andean Country Foreign Ministers to take up the issue of Venezuela. He also called for a new monetary fund focused on social progress instead of purely financial policy and said that IMF President James Wolfenson would discuss that in an upcoming trip to Peru."

More than 600 business leaders, government officials and members of the press from Latin America and the United States gathered at the historic Biltmore Hotel I Coral Gables for the 6th Annual Miami Herald Americas Conference, a two-day summit covering economic, a two-day summit covering economic, political, business the public policy issues of importance to the hemisphere.