Colombian leader faces stiff challenges
Rebels greeted Alvaro Uribe’s first inauguration as president in 2002 with an audacious mortar attack on the governing palace. But violence and crime are down sharply as Washington’s closest ally in Latin America gets sworn in for a second term Monday. The improved security helped Uribe trounce his rivals in May’s election, and he appears set to use his popularity and a Congress packed with supporters to push an agenda including tax reform, more social spending and further pursuit of leftist guerrillas. Full Story