Jeremy McDermott BBC correspondent in Medellin

Colombia has welcomed the actions of President Alvaro Uribe as he travelled to the war-torn province of Choco to oversee a military operation to rescue 24 tourists kidnapped by Marxist rebels.

The visit came as the country's top anti-kidnapping pressure group, Free Country, released a report describing the previous administration's record on kidnapping as the worst in history.

Steven Rojas is reunited with his mother

The publicity value of Mr Uribe's visit to Choco was cemented when he took a 10-year-old boy, Steven Rojas, a witness to the kidnapping, back home on the presidential plane.

Mr Uribe insisted that the boy tell his family that he was doing everything possible to get the hostages back home.

Reactions to Mr Uribe's actions were broadcast on national television and were overwhelmingly positive - his approval ratings have gone through the roof.

Mr Uribe knows that he will need to show results on innumerable fronts, but especially kidnapping.

Unreported abductions

The report by Free Country is highly critical of the record of Mr Uribe's predecessor, Andres Pastrana.

Uribe knows he must deliver results

It shows that over the past four years kidnapping has enjoyed an explosive growth.

More than one abduction is reported every three hours and many more go unreported.

Mr Uribe has so far managed to get away with introducing unprecedented measures in the first two weeks of his administration.

He has established a limited state of emergency, imposed new taxes and implemented unorthodox security measures to fulfil his campaign pledge of establishing democratic authority in Colombia.

But Colombians are soon going to start demanding results, starting with the rescue of the 24 kidnapped tourists.

The rebels are sure to be working to undermine Mr Uribe using new attacks to try to undermine the public support for his hardline policies.