COLOMBIAN REBELS FACE DRUG CHARGES

Prosecutors Say 3 Conspired To Deliver Cocaine To U.S.

WASHINGTON - A U.S. grand jury has indicted three members of a
Colombian rebel group on cocaine charges, alleging what Attorney
General John Ashcroft described as an "evil interdependence" between
drug-trafficking and terrorism.

Prosecutors said Monday the three were members of the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and conspired to deliver
"planeloads" of cocaine into the United States since 1994.

The three include Tom=B7s Molina Caracas, described by the government
as the commander of the FARC's 16th Front, which operates in eastern
Colombia and controls a key airstrip near Barranco Minas that is
essential for carrying processed cocaine out of the rural region. The
U.S. government has labeled the FARC a terrorist organization.

In addition to the three FARC members, the indictment named four
others, believed to be Brazilians. Only one of the seven people
listed in the indictment, Luis Fernando Da Costa, is in custody. All
were charged with conspiracy to import at least 5 kilograms of
cocaine.

Mr. Ashcroft declined to say whether U.S. military forces would try
to arrest the other six. The Colombian government has fought the FARC
for years.

"We'll use every appropriate measure at our disposal," Mr. Ashcroft said.

A grand jury in Washington returned the indictment earlier this
month, but it was kept under seal until witnesses could be protected,
authorities said.