US INDICTS COLOMBIAN REBELS OVER DRUGS

The United States has initiated drug-trafficking charges against several
suspected Colombian rebels, US Attorney General John Ashcroft announced.

The move signals what American officials say is a tougher stance from
Washington towards the guerrillas.

According to the US Justice Department, rebels from the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia, the FARC, have been charged with conspiring to import
cocaine into the US.

One of the indicted rebels is Tomas Molina, described by Mr Ashcroft as the
leader of a rebel faction operating on the Colombia-Venezuela border.

The indictment accuses him of collecting cocaine from other rebel units at
his base in the remote Colombian village of Barranco Minas.

From there it was allegedly shipped through Venezuela and Brazil to the
United States.

The drugs were sold for cash or weapons needed by the guerrillas for their
40-year insurgency against the Colombian government.

"Today's indictment strikes at the heart of the terrorism/drug trafficking
nexus by charging that members of the FARC created a 'safe haven' for drug
traffickers in Colombia," said Mr Ashcroft.

"In addition, these FARC members are charged with exchanging cocaine for
the weapons and material that supported their activities."

Colombian assistance

The attorney general said that Washington would ask Colombia to help in the
capture of Molina and other FARC rebels, and assist in their extradition to
the US.

Mr Ashcroft also warned that Americans who used drugs were boosting
terrorist coffers.

"When a dollar is spent on drugs in America, a dollar is made by America's
enemies," he said.

In the past, the Americans have sought unsuccessfully to bring FARC rebels
to justice.

But this is the first formal attempt to link them directly to
drug-trafficking activities.

The charges are likely to fuel speculation that the Bush administration is
preparing to escalate American military involvement in Colombia.