As Air Force One swooped over the Andes Mountains toward Bogota, Colombia, for the first time in a quarter-century, President Bush and his aides sat in the front compartments with a message about improved security after decades of civil war and narcotrafficking.

But the optimistic message didn't make it to a rear compartment for Secret Service agents for the first U.S. president to visit Bogota since 1982. "Colombia presents the MOST SIGNIFICANT THREAT ENVIRONMENT of this five-country trip!" the monitor in the compartment warned starkly. The terrorist threat, it went on, was "HIGH."

The divergent themes dominated Bush's whirlwind trip yesterday, a seven-hour stay that was meant to showcase progress in Colombia but that unavoidably underscored continuing problems. Bush told a story of success that was aided by billions of U.S. dollars as he lent support to President Alvaro Uribe, his closest ally in the region. Sharpshooters on the roofs and rock-throwing protesters on the streets told another story.

"You have come to Colombia at a time of unrest because of the peace process that is taking place," Uribe told Bush during a joint appearance. But the leader cited gains in his campaign to eliminate drug lords, Marxist rebels and right-wing paramilitaries that have torn the country.

"We are actually making progress," Uribe said.

Bush said he was impressed.

"We come during a period where your country has come through very difficult times, and now there's a brighter day ahead," the president said during an exchange of toasts. He later said, "This Colombia government continues to make progress that is going to earn greater confidence from all its citizens and greater respect in the international community."

Although Bush and his predecessors have visited Colombia, no president has come to Bogota since Ronald Reagan in 1982. The city is safer than most places in the country but is considered tricky to defend against attack. Uribe's 2002 inauguration, for instance, came under rocket assault. Colombian police reported Marxist guerrillas were planning attacks during Bush's visit.

What resulted was an extraordinary security effort even for the president. Colombia put 21,000 police officers on duty, lining every road traveled by Bush and shutting down much of downtown. Authorities closed the airport, banned alcohol sales, put cameras along Bush's motorcade route, and canceled the normal Sunday practice of reserving major streets for bicycling and jogging. The city prohibited motorcyclists from carrying passengers to thwart would-be drive-by assassins.

Those in Bush's motorcade caught just a glimpse of a protest against his visit, spotting riot police in the distance and a yellow flag that said, "Yankee Go Home." What Bush did not see was its violent climax, as some of the 2,000 protesters attacked police with bricks, stone, sticks and metal barricades. Shield-bearing police responded with blasts of water cannon and tear gas. Storefront windows were smashed, while tires, furniture and U.S. flags were burned in the streets.

Bush stopped in Colombia during a six-day Latin America tour to support his "personal friend" Uribe, now mired in scandal over the paramilitary ties of some allies, and to press Congress to extend Plan Colombia, a program that has sent more than $5 billion since 2000 to kill drug crops, combat insurgents and prosecute cocaine moguls. Bush wants another $3.9 billion over the next seven years. He also wants Congress to approve a free-trade agreement with Colombia, although that appears unlikely because of Democratic concerns over human rights abuses and labor issues. Democrats want to redesign Plan Colombia to steer more money to social programs.

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By PETER BAKER

The Washington Post