U.S. ACCUSED OF MISTREATING JAILED COLOMBIANS

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Hundreds of Colombians held on drug charges
in U.S. jails receive poor medical treatment and often serve time
beyond their sentences, a congressional delegation charged Friday.

The allegations, made by five Colombian lawmakers who recently took a
U.S. trip, coincided with President Andres Pastrana's plans to
extradite dozens of jailed drug suspects to the United States.

Rep. Benjamin Higuita was one of the legislators who returned to
Colombia on Sunday after a two-week visit to federal and local prisons
in Miami, New York, New Jersey, Houston and Boston, where he said
nearly 4,950 Colombians were serving time -- 95 percent of them on
drug charges.

The group met with 400 prisoners, the majority of whom complained of
deficient medical attention, Higuita told The Associated Press.

"And many Colombians finish their sentences, but then have to wait an
additional six months before being deported to Colombia."

Moreover, Colombian consulates in the United States are not always
notified about arrests in time to provide legal assistance to
Colombians who are detained, the lawmaker added.

Higuita did not provide detail on any specific cases, but said the
group would issue a full report in January.

Officials at both the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons and the U.S.
Immigration and Naturalization Service were unavailable for comment
Friday due to the Christmas holiday.

Higuita said the congressmen would seek a diplomatic accord allowing
drug criminals who've completed most of their U.S. sentences to finish
out those terms in Colombia. More than half of the Colombians jailed
abroad are in the United States, he said.

U.S. officials argue this country's corruption-plagued justice system
is incapable of handing down stiff sentences and preventing
jailbreaks. Some of the biggest mafia bosses have lived luxuriously in
Colombian prisons.

While resuming extradition, Pastrana announced this week he would
build a new maximum security prison, using $13 million his government
would soon receive from U.S. seizures of Colombian drug traffickers'
assets.