U.S. SEES COLOMBIA EXTRADITION LEGISLATION AS WEAK

Washington (AP) The U.S. State Department expressed "great
disappointment" Wednesday that extradition legislation approved by the
Colombian Congress does not apply to drug kingpins already in Colombian jails.

Spokesman James Foley also said the move will influence the State
Department decision, due next March, on whether to lift economic sanctions
against Colombia.

That country has been under sanctions since March 1996 because of
administration contentions that Colombia was not fully cooperating with
U.S. efforts to combat narcotrafficking.

By a 14415 vote late Tuesday, the lower house cleared the way for
extradition of Colombian citizens but only for future crimes.

The bill means Cali cocaine cartel kingpins jailed in a crackdown two years
ago will probably not face U.S. jail time for crimes committed while
building their drug empire. Among the Cali chieftains most wanted by
Washington are Miguel and Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela.

While calling the bill a modest step forward, Foley said it was regrettable
that the Colombian lawmakers failed to pass an unrestricted bill.

He noted that the legislation will require further action in the next
congressional session to clearly define how extradition of Colombian
nationals will be implemented.

"Strong implementation with the absolute minimum of restrictions is
necessary," Foley said.

He called on President Ernesto Samper and the Colombian Congress to
reinstate a provision on retroactivity and not allow further undercutting
of the bill.

Samper had lobbied for extradition with retroactivity, but critics said he
waffled on the issue and did not make a serious attempt to influence the
vote. U.S. officials believe Samper took campaign money from
narcotraffickers in 1994 and say he is an impediment to a tough antidrug
stance by Colombia.

Justice Minister Almabeatriz Rengifo said the legislation, as approved, was
only a partial defeat.

"We didn't meet our goal, but we must remember that extradition has been
revived," she said.

One of the few legislators who voted for extradition without restrictions
said the bill passed Tuesday was inadequate.

"I think an extradition bill that can't be applied to people who are
already in custody isn't very useful," said Rep. Santiago Castro.

Copyright 1997 The Associated Press.