COLOMBIAN REBELS SAY THEY HOLD AMERICANS

BOGOTA - For the first time, Colombian guerrillas Saturday acknowledged
seizing three U.S. government contractors after their plane went down in the
southern mountains on Feb. 13.

In response to the kidnapping, scores of U.S. troops have poured into the
South American nation, bringing the number to record levels and drawing the
United States further into Colombia's prolonged civil conflict.

In a communique, leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or
FARC, said they could guarantee the safety of the three men only if the
Colombian military stopped running patrols in a southern region considered
rebel territory. Complying, however, would mean calling off the massive
search for the men whose small Cessna plunged into a mountainous jungle
nearly two weeks ago.

President Alvaro Uribe rejected the deal Saturday, and the notion that the
government would bow to rebel demands.

''Operations are managed by the [Colombian army] . . . not the FARC,'' Uribe
said.

Some U.S. sources familiar with U.S. operations in Colombia privately
expressed fears that the men might have been killed already by an elite
rebel unit called the Teofilo Forero Brigade, which apparently seized the
hostages. One defense industry source said the fears were based on
communications overheard by U.S. intelligence indicating that the Forero
unit had received permission to carry out ``executions.''

The information, however, could not be confirmed.

AMERICANS TARGETED

Opposed to increasing U.S. involvement in Colombia, the rebels have said
Americans are targets in their war against the government. Despite a request
from U.S. officials, the FARC gave no proof Saturday that the three
Americans were alive.

The rebels killed two others aboard the plane -- a Colombian intelligence
sergeant and an American -- as they apparently tried to escape shortly after
the crash, 200 miles south of Bogota, authorities said.

Also Saturday, new obstacles in the search for the men loomed. Search teams
operating out of three air bases get supplies -- food and fuel -- brought
over land routes frequently interrupted by guerrilla road blocks.

''There's not enough fuel to keep operations running for more than the next
three days,'' said a U.S. source who is closely monitoring rescue efforts.
He also voiced frustration at what he described as poor coordination between
the Colombian and U.S. forces.

DETAIL CONFLICTS

The FARC said the three Americans were CIA operatives gathering information
on the rebels, and that the plane crashed because one of their units shot it
down -- two assertions U.S. officials have denied.

While the plane was riddled with bullets, both Colombian and American
authorities have insisted the Cessna made an emergency landing because of
engine trouble.

U.S. authorities also have said the men are defense contractors working for
the U.S. Embassy, not the CIA.

Officials have not expanded on their mission, but the men's plane, a Cessna
208, carried electronic intelligence gathering equipment, defense industry
sources said. The contractors work for California Microwave Systems Co.,
according to congressional and defense industry sources.

The company, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman, specializes in airborne
reconnaissance and surveillance equipment, according to its website, which
also says the company has contracts with the U.S. military and international
defense organizations.

Spokesmen for both Northrop Grumman and California Microwave Systems said
their companies had ''no comment'' about the incident, and referred calls to
the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.

So far the rebels have not asked for a ransom, or offered to exchange their
hostages for imprisoned FARC members, as analysts had envisioned.

Instead, their sole demand was worded this way: ``We can only guarantee the
life and physical integrity of the three gringo officials in our control if
the Colombian army immediately suspends military operations and overflights
in the area.''

Asked about the demand, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said only that
it was a reminder of how dangerous the group known as the FARC is, ``how
they are well-known for hostage-taking and for trying to bring harm to the
civilian population of Colombia.

The kidnapping -- the first involving U.S. government employees in decades
- -- comes at a time when the U.S. is expanding its involvement in Colombia.
Last year, the Bush administration decided that aid could be used not only
to fight drug traffickers, but also to battle leftist guerrillas. Recently,
70 U.S. Green Berets were sent to train Colombians to protect an oil
pipeline frequently targeted by rebels.

Now, the number of U.S. military troops tops 400. As recently as Jan. 13,
there were only 208 military personnel in Colombia, according to a
congressional report.

SAFETY CONCERNS

Meanwhile, a former U.S. lawmaker and CIA analyst raised questions Saturday
about the safety of all contractors in Colombia.

Bob Barr, a four-term conservative congressman from Georgia who is now a
lobbyist, visited Colombia last fall and issued a scathing report on
operations under the $2 billion aid package known as Plan Colombia.

The aid package provides money to fight Colombia's drug industry, which
supplies 90 percent of the United States' cocaine. The FARC earns money off
taxes from coca growers.

In the past five years, 12 Americans -- including six government contractors
- -- have died in Colombia because of lax safety measures, Barr said in his
report.

A ''little shot of reality here: Today in Colombia, the FARC has a bounty on
the heads of Americans working with the Colombian National Police and
military,'' he said. `They are all targets.''