3 COLOMBIAN REBELS INCLUDED IN DRUG CHARGES BY U.S.

WASHINGTON, March 18 -- A federal grand jury has indicted seven men --
including three Colombian guerrillas -- on charges of conspiring to smuggle
planeloads of cocaine from Colombia to the United States. They are the
first felony narcotics charges brought against members of the rebel movement.

The indictment, returned on March 7 and unsealed today, identified three
men as members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. It
is the largest rebel group and one of three in Colombia listed by the
United States as terrorist organizations.

One man was identified as Tomas Molina Caracas, who, according to the
indictment, commands the rebel group's 16th Front. His forces operated in
eastern Colombia and controlled an airstrip near Barranco Minas that the
indictment said was used to ferry cocaine out of the region.

The indictment said the men organized shipments of cocaine out of Colombia
from 1994 until February 2001. The charges said the rebels sold cocaine to
international traffickers for cash, weapons and military equipment to
support their insurgency against Colombia.

At a news conference today, Attorney General John Ashcroft said the
indictment brought together the Justice Department's efforts to combat
drugs and fight terrorism.

"The indictment marks the convergence of two of the top priorities of the
Department of Justice, the prevention of terrorism and the reduction of
illegal drug use," Mr. Ashcroft said. "Today's indictment charges leaders
of the FARC not as revolutionaries or freedom fighters, but as drug
traffickers."

Senior government officials said that prosecutors sought the indictment
after a lengthy investigation, but they acknowledged that the charges were
meant in part to show the Bush administration's support for Colombia's
efforts against the guerrilla forces. The administration has sought to
expand its counternarcotics assistance to aid Colombia's efforts against
the guerrillas.

The indictment named four other people, believed to be Brazilians. Only one
of the seven charged, Luis Fernando Da Costa, is in custody.

Cuba said today that it was holding another Colombian drug suspect, Rafael
Miguel Bustamante Bolanos, who is wanted both here and in Colombia, the
Associated Press reported. Cuba challenged Washington to sign an agreement
establishing cooperation between the countries to fight the drug trade, but
did not promise to turn over the suspect.