DRUG SUSPECT THREATENS AMERICANS

WASHINGTON (AP) - A St. Kitts drug trafficker known as ``Little Nut'' is
threatening to randomly kill American veterinary students there if the
United States succeeds in extraditing him for trial, the State Department
said Thursday.

The threats by 37-year-old Charles Miller, wanted in Florida for cocaine
smuggling, prompted an implicit warning that American authorities are
prepared to go after the man if he harms U.S. citizens.

``Anyone who is considering carrying out such threats should bear in mind
the U.S. government's determination to bring to justice anyone who commits
acts of terrorism against U.S. citizens anywhere in the world,'' said State
Department spokesman James P. Rubin.

Miller, described in published reports as a millionaire who drives a
bulletproof BMW, has eluded St. Kitts authorities for years.

There are about 250 American students and 50 U.S. faculty at Ross
Veterinary University on the island in the eastern Caribbean, not far from
the U.S. Virgin Islands. U.S. consular and security officials met with
students and other members of the American community Wednesday. Another
meeting is planned for Friday.

Miller has ``made a threat that, if he is extradited, he will kill
Americans,'' Rubin said. ``And based on our experience and knowledge of
this individual, we believe the threat is sufficiently specific and
credible to justify alerting the American citizens on the island.''

Colombian traffickers have been making increased use of Caribbean islands
as transit points for U.S.-bound cocaine. U.S. officials say corruption is
a problem on many islands, St. Kitts included.

A recent article in Newsweek magazine said Miller openly helped finance the
campaign of St. Kitts Prime Minister Denzil Douglas three years ago.
Douglas denies having any links to Miller.

Rubin said U.S. officials have Douglas's commitment to do all possible to
protect American citizens.

``We urged St. Kitts security forces to increase their readiness and to be
on alert, and have asked the government to bring in Caribbean regional
police from nearby islands,'' he said.

Fifteen years ago, the Reagan administration was worried about the fate of
American medical students in Grenada after a hard line Marxist regime
assumed power there. President Reagan sent 20,000 U.S. troops to the island
and deposed the government. No American students were harmed.

A U.S. official acknowledged there are some parallels between Grenada and
St. Kitts but said a major difference is that, unlike Grenada, the United
States is able to work with the St. Kitts government.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski