ILLEGAL COLOMBIAN PARAMILITARY SOLDIERS PATROL A ROAD NEAR THE VILLAGE OF SAN BLAS, 2002-08-21 (photo)

Illegal, right-wing paramilitary fighters patrol a road way near the village of San Blas in Bolivar province. Now, Colombia's new president, Alvaro Uribe, is turning his attention to the country's ungoverned reaches with a plan to create a secret network of civilians who would feed tips to security forces on rebels and far-right paramilitary outlaws. The idea might sound reasonable on paper, critics say, but fails to take account of the shadowy alliances that many towns have formed with one or the other of the illegal forces, alliances that have restored civic life and brought a degree of security to residents. In the case of San Pablo, paramilitaries have stepped into the vacuum left by the state. Picture taken August 21, 2002. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz JMG/GN