REBEL TO MEET COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT

BOGOTA, Colombia. The leader of Colombia's largest rebel group today
accepted President Andres Pastrana's offer of a face-to- face meeting aimed
at thawing frozen peace talks.

In a letter to Mr. Pastrana, Manuel Marulanda, commander of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, agreed to meet, but no
earlier than Thursday, said Alfonso Cano, a top rebel leader. Security
arrangements will take several days, he said.

Mr. Marulanda suggested that the two speak about the government's efforts
against right-wing death squads, the state of the peace talks and the large
United States aid package aimed at curtailing Colombia's coca crop, Mr. Cano
told reporters.

There was no immediate response from Mr. Pastrana, who had called for a
meeting before Sunday. The men have met two other times, in 1998, when Mr.
Pastrana was running for president, and in 1999.

In a televised speech on Wednesday, Mr. Pastrana offered a four-day
extension of the safe haven that the government provides to the rebels in
southern Colombia so he and Mr. Marulanda could "decide once and for all if
we are going to continue the peace process." The territory, twice the size
of New Jersey, was ceded to the rebels in 1998 as a refuge for peace talks.

A top Colombian Army commander announced today that the rebels'
second-in-command, Jorge Briceno, had been killed, either shot by a fellow
rebel or in an accident. Mr. Briceno, known as El Mono Jo-Joy, is considered
FARC's military strategist and a hard-line rebel figure.

Mr. Cano, speaking to reporters inside the demilitarized zone, denied the
report of Mr. Briceno's death.