U.S. ANTI-DRUG CHIEF PREDICTS BROADER U.S. AID TO FIGHT COLOMBIA INSURGENTS

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- 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 expects the Congress will 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 Colombia's 38-year conflict.

With rebels moving ever deeper into the drug trade -- and in some instances
becoming "one and the same" as traffickers -- Hutchinson said broader
military aid is 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. He must
be brought to justice," Hutchinson said.

At a later news conference, 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.

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

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

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

Hutchinson was also asked about a message posted on the Internet Tuesday by
Castano, in which the paramilitary leaders 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.