U.S. FORCES FACING THREAT IN COLOMBIA

LARANDIA ARMY BASE, Colombia -- U.S. special forces stationed in this
sprawling army base near large concentrations of leftist guerrillas
yesterday faced renewed threats from the insurgents.

But a general in Colombia said he has sufficient forces to repel any threat
to the U.S. forces who are training troops in a U.S.-aided drug war.

Concerns about the safety of the 85 elite American soldiers at Larandia
were highlighted after Andres Paris, a commander of the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia, or FARC, was quoted as saying that "all Colombian or
foreign military personnel who are in the combat zones will be military
targets."

The U.S. Army Green Berets and members of the 720th Special Tactics Group
from Pope Air Force Base, N.C., are training two counter-narcotics army
battalions under a $1.3 billion U.S. aid package.