COLOMBIA'S DRUG WAR:

Leftist Guerrillas Awash In 'Taxes' On Narcotics

San Vicente del Caguan, Colombia -- They are one of the world's few
remaining bands of Marxist guerrillas.

But unlike Fidel Castro's rag-tag army of Cuban peasants in the 1950s
or leftist insurgents dodging around Central America in the 1980s, the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia are flush with cash.

The FARC, as it is known by its Spanish acronym, have tapped a 1990s
source of revenue: drug money.

Outfitted with AK-47 rifles, black berets, new uniforms and knee-high
black rubber boots, these guerrillas have become a battle-proven force
of soldiers in the field.

They control huge swaths of the Colombian countryside, and buy their
guns and equipment with tribute paid by poor farmers who raise coca
and poppy, as well as drug traffickers who process and smuggle the
contraband destined for the streets of Europe and the United States.

They also make millions by kidnapping, holding their victims ---
sometimes children --- for ransom.

But their connections to Colombia's notorious drug industry are what
have propelled the FARC from a backwater group to powerful military
force with a sophisticated propaganda machine. Its top negotiators now
hobnob with visiting diplomats and recently toured several European
countries with a delegation aiming to bring peace to Colombia. It even
has its own Web site.

GROUP HAS 'SAFE HAVEN'

Its opponents, however, bristle at the notion that the FARC is
anything more than ruthless, ideologically driven killers.

"They don't answer to anybody on this earth or in the next life," said
Gen. Mario Montoya, head of a new Colombian anti-narcotics task force
that will spearhead a campaign funded by a $1.3 billion U.S. anti-drug
package. "They make huge amounts of money from the drug trade. Coca
grows like a weed here, and they are the middle men."

Although the bulk of its forces still hide in the mountains and the
jungles, the FARC now has its own territory where it walks the streets
free from fear of attack by government forces.

Seeking to jump-start peace talks, Colombian President Andres Pastrana
pulled his troops out of a Switzerland-sized area in southern Colombia
in January 1999, in effect creating a safe haven for the FARC.

But after starting amid great hopes, the peace talks have made little
progress, with the two sides barely able to agree on a rough list of
topics to discuss.

Meanwhile, the FARC has consolidated its hold on its turf, turning San
Vicente --- a town of about 15,000 --- into something of a rebel showcase.

Few tourists venture to the town, which can be reached by regular
commercial airline service. Guerrilla checkpoints dot all roads
leading into the enclave, with armed FARC soldiers ordering riders out
of cars for searches and questioning.

But in recent months the guerrillas have welcomed journalists, perhaps
eager to tell their side of the story.

"We have confidence that we can construct a new government for
Colombia," said Fidel Rondon, a member of the FARC commission holding
peace talks with government negotiators in a rural village called Los
Pozos, about 40 minutes from San Vicente. "We want a better future for
all Colombians. This nation has been ruled by a violent political
class. The people of Colombia no longer believe in this
government."

NEW RULERS, NEW PEACE

San Vicente is the largest of five small towns in the FARC-held
territory. A muddy farm center on the banks of the Caguan River, it
hums with activity --- from farmers buying supplies for nearby cattle
ranches, children running through the streets and residents scooting
past on small motorcycles, the favored form of local transport.

The town government still functions as it did before the FARC came,
collecting taxes and providing services. But the National Police left
with the army, and while there is a new municipal force of
baton-wielding local cops, the FARC guerrillas with shouldered
automatic rifles and hand grenades clipped to their belts are clearly
the real power in town.

The local courts collapsed when the judges fled, and they've been
replaced by a FARC system of justice that includes a complaint center
where citizens bring gripes about everything from disputes with
neighbors to domestic squabbles. There are numerous reports that a
separate FARC tribunal deals sternly with those accused of spying for
the government, sometimes imposing death sentences.

FARC billboards urge the people toward 'a new Colombia,' and extol the
'Bolivarian Movement,' a campaign named after South America's
revolutionary hero, Simon Bolivar. There are also banners decrying
government torture and crop fumigation aimed at the coca plots that
support many poor farmers --- as well as the FARC.

There is even a rebel information office just off the town square,
where an attractive young woman dressed in fatigues and a beret takes
requests from visiting journalists, holding court in a spotless room
decorated with photos of Marx, Lenin and Latin America's modern
leftist hero, Che Guevara.

Townspeople shrug when asked about their strange status, many
reluctant to talk openly about their de facto rulers. But they admit
there is now peace in San Vicente --- which, before the FARC, suffered
attacks from all sides in the long-running civil war.

"Before the guerrillas came, nobody wanted them to come," said Jorge
Solis, a longtime resident. "But now we have had peace, so everybody
is happier. The economy is good, people have work, and there aren't
bodies in the streets like before. Most people don't favor one group
over the other. They just want peace and to be able to work."

INSURGENTS WELL-FUNDED

The FARC was born in the rough countryside outside San Vicente in the
1950s, when Colombia was torn by political violence between its
dominant political parties. The group formed to advocate for the poor
peasants caught in the middle.

Over the years, FARC power waxed and waned. Almost written off 15
years ago, the group has transformed itself into Colombia's most
powerful insurgent force through money earned from the drug trade.
Colombian media estimate the group earns hundreds of millions each
year through 'taxes' imposed on drug growers and smugglers, and the
FARC now boasts around 20,000 soldiers in the field.

Critics, however, say the guerillas rule by terror, forcing young
peasant youths into their ranks or seducing them with the promise of a
gun, comradeship and a monthly salary of 400,000 pesos ($200), more
than double the average wage.

STRONG-ARM TACTICS BLASTED

In recent months, international diplomats and Colombia's media have
blasted the FARC --- as well as other guerrilla bands and right-wing
paramilitary groups --- for their reliance on kidnapping. Across
Colombia, there is growing outrage that some 200 children were among
the estimated 3,000 kidnapping victims nationwide last year.

FARC leaders deny kidnapping children, although they admit taking
adults for ransom to raise funds. They also steadfastly deny
involvement in the growing or shipping of cocaine and heroin, although
they admit 'taxing' those who do.

"We condemn narco-trafficking," said Andres Paris, one of the group's
top negotiators. "It's not of the guerrillas. It's an economic and
social reality in Colombia. We charge taxes on the biggest business in
our area. It's a political tax to finance the war."

Whatever the future holds for Colombia, it's clear the FARC have now
become a powerful, well-financed guerrilla machine that can't be
ignored and won't easily be defeated in battle.

Far from being chastened by the demise of many Marxist regimes around
the world, FARC leaders seem more committed and confident than ever.

"You can't compare us to Russia," said Rondon, who once taught school
in rural Colombia. "We have taken the ideas of Marx but applied them
to Colombia. As the crisis between the rich and poor in Colombia has
grown, we've grown. And as the army of Colombia has modernized, so
have we."

Mike Williams is based in Miami as a correspondent for Cox News
Service.

ON THE WEB : For more information on Colombian Pres. Andres Pastrana,
in Spanish only: www.presidencia.gov.co/webpresi/index2.htm

Website of the FARC, in Spanish only: www.contrast.org/mirrors/farc/