U.S. VOWS COLOMBIA SEARCH TO CONTINUE

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - The United States "will never give up" trying to bring
home three American contractors held captive by Colombian rebels for six
months, a top U.S. counterterrorism official said Wednesday.

But Ambassador-at-Large J. Cofer Black, the U.S. State Department's
counterterrorism coordinator, said Colombian troops - and not Americans - will
conduct any rescue operation on the ground.

"We have no intention at this point of replacing Colombian personnel in a
combat role," Black said.

The 28-year CIA veteran, sworn in as counterterrorism chief in December, met
with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and top civilian and military officials
to track the effectiveness of U.S. assistance in helping the country battle
terrorism.

The U.S. government has given billions of dollars in aid and training to the
Colombian military to support its war against leftist rebels and to wipe out
cocaine and heroin production. Some of the most hazardous missions are being
carried out by contractors.

Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell and Thomas Howes were captured by the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC, after their plane
crash-landed Feb. 13 in southern Colombia. The trio, who worked for Pentagon
contractor California Microwave Systems, reportedly was on an intelligence
mission for the Pentagon.

A fourth American, Thomas Janis, and a Colombian army sergeant aboard the
single-engine Cessna were executed by the rebels.

"We have not forgotten," Black said. "We are very determined to bring back our
three Americans."

Colombian army troops, advised and guided by U.S. Special Forces, have not
found any traces of the Americans in the jungles and Andean mountains of
southern Colombia.

In March, the United States offered a reward of $300,000, a U.S. visa and a new
life in America in exchange for information leading to the captives' rescue.

Three Americans searching for the captives were killed March 25 when their
plane crashed in southern Colombia.

Black insisted that the U.S. government will stay focused on getting the
missing Americans home.

"As long as they are alive, we will never give up," he said.

Also Wednesday, authorities said rebel gunfire forced a U.S. drug-spraying
plane piloted by an American contractor to crash-land in northern Colombia,
slightly injuring the pilot.

The plane was flying above the town of Santa Rosa, 220 miles north of Bogota,
on Monday when it was hit by small-arms fire, a U.S. official said on condition
of anonymity. Colombian police are investigating which of two main rebel groups
is responsible.

The government is battling the FARC, the smaller National Liberation Army rebel
group and illegal paramilitary forces formed to combat the rebels in a
four-decade-long civil war that kills an estimated 3,500 people, mostly
civilians, a year.

The militia and rebels, all of whom have been branded terrorist organizations
by the U.S. government, use drug trafficking to finance their battles.

The rebels indiscriminately attack civilians with bombs and missiles, and both
sides have massacred civilians suspected of collaborating with their foes.

"When I look at Colombia, I see a terrorist war as vicious as any," Black said.
"I am impressed by the loss of life and the great challenges here."

Earlier Wednesday, Black attended a ceremony launching a program to train
Colombian soldiers and police in hostage-rescue tactics. The United States
donated $25 million and instructors from the United States, England and
Australia will train 400 members of Colombia's security forces during the next
year.