COLOMBIAN INDICTED BY U.S.

Right-Wing Militia Chief Accused Of Drug Trafficking

Bogota, Colombia -- The United States announced the indictment of the
leader of Colombia's feared paramilitary army on drug charges Tuesday, the
first time such a high-ranking figure in the outlaw group has faced the
possibility of U.S. justice.

Attorney General John Ashcroft said the United States would seek the
extradition of Carlos Castano and two other leaders of the right-wing
paramilitary United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC, for allegedly
transporting nearly 15 tons of cocaine into the United States since 1997.

Ashcroft told a news conference that the AUC was not the "freedom fighters
they claim to be" but "criminals . . . who poison our citizens and threaten
our national security."

His announcement, coming during an important visit to Washington by newly
elected Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, increases pressure on Colombian
authorities to act against Castano.

The Colombian government has long been accused of working closely with
Castano, whose group is responsible for massacring thousands of civilians.
The two share a common enemy in Colombia's leftist guerrilla groups, who
want to overthrow the government and replace it with a Marxist regime.

The cooperation between the Colombian government and Castano's group has
become the chief obstacle to closer relations between the United States and
Colombia. Democratic lawmakers have insisted that Bogota take concrete
steps against the AUC before receiving more military or anti-drug aid. The
United States has supplied Colombia with nearly $2 billion in aid over the
past several years.

Castano faces more than 90 charges in Colombia, ranging from his role in
massacres to torture to murder. Colombian authorities have never managed to
capture him, although he frequently gives media interviews and has had
contact with top political and religious figures.

Colombian officials said they would carefully study the extradition request
but made it clear they would send Castano to the United States if he was
captured. The government "must verify that the formal requirements are
completed," said Fernando Londono, the justice and interior minister.

Human rights groups welcomed the move, saying the United States is
belatedly sending a clear message to Colombians to capture Castano.

Castano has long admitted that his group relies at least partly on the drug
trade to finance operations for an army of an estimated 10,000 fighters.
Recently, however, the AUC has split over just how involved it should be in
narcotics, leading to concerns about a split into numerous smaller private
armies.

In a summit with paramilitary leaders held in a secret location earlier
this month, Castano reportedly demanded that the paramilitary fighters
restrict their activities to charging "taxes" on the production of cocaine,
leaving behind protection of drug production or the transport of cocaine.

Colombia is the source of 90 percent of the cocaine on U.S. streets and
most of the heroin available on the East Coast.

Joaquin Perez, Castano's Miami-based attorney, proclaimed his client's
innocence and said Castano had come to believe that drugs had corrupted
Colombian society.