COLOMBIAN SEEKING A DEAL IN U.S. DRUG CASE

BOGOTA, Colombia, Sept. 25 (Reuters) - Colombia's most powerful right-wing
paramilitary boss, Carlos Castano, said today that he was negotiating a
surrender to the United States, demanding protection for his children and a
fair trial to defend himself on drug charges.

Mr. Castano, whose paramilitary group is blamed for some of Colombia's most
gruesome killings, was indicted on Tuesday in Washington along with two of
his deputies for smuggling more than 17 tons of cocaine into the United
States and Europe since 1997.

Mr. Castano, who denies involvement in drug trafficking, said his lawyer
was meeting with American officials in Washington.

"The only things I would ask are that my children live in the United States
because they will be killed here in all certainty, and that they try me in
an impartial manner, without the Colombia stigma," said Mr. Castano, who
spoke in a radio interview from an undisclosed location. He has two
children, and his wife is expecting to give birth in December.

The State Department said the government had not spoken directly with Mr.
Castano, who announced his intention to surrender in a letter on Tuesday
just after the indictment was announced.

In Washington, President Bush met with Colombia's president, Alvaro Uribe,
and pledged to hold Mr. Castano responsible for his actions. The United
States, which has spent $1.5 billion in Colombia's drug war, calls Mr.
Castano's group, the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia, a terrorist
organization.

With his knowledge of Colombia's underground, Mr. Castano could provide
important testimony on the country's cocaine trade, the largest in the world.

Lawyers in Colombia said they expected that Mr. Castano would try to
negotiate a deal with the United States. He said today that he would be
willing to identify paramilitary groups involved in the drug trade.