U.S. MAY BOLSTER COLOMBIA

DEA Chief Wants Aid Expanded Beyond Fighting Drug Traffickers

BOGOTA, Colombia - The United States should soon be able to help Colombia
defend itself against insurgent groups and not just drug traffickers, the
head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration predicted Tuesday.

During a visit to the world's main cocaine producing nation, DEA chief Asa
Hutchinson said he expected that Congress would approve a Bush
administration request for authority "in fighting both the terrorists and
the drug traffickers" here.

U.S. and Colombian officials are increasingly using the term "terrorists"
to refer to leftist guerrillas and an illegal right-wing paramilitary group
fighting in Colombia's 38-year war. Both have terrorized civilians, and
each is believed to rely on profits from the drug trade.

But until now, U.S. military aid to Colombia has been restricted largely to
anti-narcotics purposes.

Although no direct U.S. combat role is envisioned, the Bush administration
- - under a request made last week - is reportedly considering more direct
counterinsurgency aid and training. Some critics worry that could draw
Washington too deeply into the conflict.

With rebels moving ever deeper into the drug trade - and in some instances
becoming "one and the same" as traffickers - Mr. Hutchinson said broader
military aid was justified.

"President Bush remains committed to continuing the U.S. support of
Colombia in its fight against terror - terror which the world now knows is
funded to a large extent by drugs," he said, during a speech at police
headquarters in Bogota.

The DEA chief pointed colorfully to the case of a Colombian guerrilla
leader indicted in the United States this month for drug trafficking.

"As he and others hide in the jungle, waiting as a crouching lion to pounce
on his next victim, he believes he is above the law. He is wrong," Mr.
Hutchinson said. "He must be brought to justice."

At a later news conference, Mr. Hutchinson declined to comment on whether
an operation was afoot to capture the rebel, Tomas Medina, of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

U.S. prosecutors say his unit, based in jungles near the Brazilian border,
conspired with Brazilian traffickers to ship cocaine to the United States.

Mr. Hutchinson said Colombia's main paramilitary leader, Carlos Castano of
the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC, was also under U.S.
investigation for drug trafficking.

The DEA has cited Mr. Castano before as a drug trafficker, but he has not
been indicted in the United States.

Whether Mr. Castano - and other guerrilla leaders beside Mr. Medina - are
indicted will depend on how much evidence U.S. authorities can collect, Mr.
Hutchinson said.

Mr. Hutchinson was also asked about a message posted on the Internet on
Tuesday by Mr. Castano, in which the paramilitary leader says he has been
trying to help dozens of Colombian drug traffickers turn themselves over to
U.S. justice - apparently in plea deals.

"We do not negotiate with narco-traffickers unless they simply want to know
how to surrender," the DEA chief said.