COLOMBIAN SOLDIER PATROLS A BRIDGE DURING "PEACE CARAVANS" IN COLOMBIA, 2002-12-21 (photo)

A Colombian soldier patrols a bridge near Guayabetal, Cundinamarca province during a "Peace Caravans" along of the main road between Bogota and Villavicencio on December 21, 2002. With more than 3,000 kidnappings a year, mainly by the guerrillas, many urban Colombians had felt they were prisoners in their cities, only able to travel by air. President Alvaro Uribe, who took power in August promising to get tough with the outlaws of far-left and far-right who lord it over about half the nation's territory, created the "peace caravans" to give people the sensation that they were reconquering their own nation. On long weekends and major holidays, the police and army escort hundreds of Colombians along major routes. REUTERS/Jose Miguel Gomez FOR FEATURE STORY COLOMBIA-VACATIONS JMG