Pubdate: Thu, 14 Nov 2002 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 2002 The New York Times Company Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298 Author: Juan Forero Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?203 (Terrorism) U.S. STRATEGY IN COLOMBIA CONNECTS DRUGS AND TERROR IMA, Peru, Nov. 13 - The United States war on drugs in Colombia is rapidly being subsumed in the war on terror, according to Bush administration officials. The indictments of three leaders of the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, announced today in Washington by Attorney General John Ashcroft, are just the latest in a series of American indictments against Colombians. Carlos Castano, the head of the right-wing Self-Defense Forces, was indicted on drug-trafficking charges in September, and four other men linked to the paramilitary group were indicted on drug-related charges in Houston this month. The indictment unsealed today accuses three FARC military leaders, including Jorge Briceno Suarez, widely considered the second most powerful man in the rebel organization, of kidnapping and drug trafficking. Eight other, lower-ranking FARC members were charged with the same offenses. Officials said that the indictments are part of a developing strategy of using the tactics of the drug war to help the new Colombian government of President Alvaro Uribe to combat both the right-wing paramilitaries and Marxist guerrillas who have been waging a 38-year civil conflict, fueled primarily with drug money. "This is a two-pronged approach," said an aide to Mr. Ashcroft. "We're going after the drug traffickers and the terrorist groups at the same time." The indictments are seen by the administration as the best, and perhaps only, way for Washington to put direct pressure on FARC and the Self-Defense Forces, known as the A.U.C. Both groups are included on the administration's list of terrorist organizations. "Castano's sins are many and multiple and they're not just drug trafficking; they're also rape, pillage and plunder," said a high-ranking Bush administration official involved in shaping Colombia policy. "In terms of crimes against the United States and U.S. law, drug trafficking is the most salient and the one we could get an indictment on." The indictments also acknowledged implicitly that Colombia's justice system, long criticized as weak and ineffectual, could not be trusted to bring Mr. Castano and his associates to trial. "Since it is extremely unlikely that he would be prosecuted in Colombia, this indictment is a very positive step," said José Miguel Vivanco, the director of the Americas Division for Human Rights Watch, which vigorously supported the drug indictments against the paramilitaries. "We should never forget they got Al Capone on tax evasion charges." The new American tactics seem to be producing results even though Mr. Castano and the FARC leaders remain at large, with little immediate prospect of their being arrested. Because it was singled out first by the Bush administration, the effects are most evident among the Self-Defense Forces, a confederation with at least 12,000 fighters that carries out mass killings and assassinations to erode support for the rebels. The indictments have deepened divisions within the group, paramilitary commanders in the Colombian city of Medellín and the surrounding countryside said in recent interviews, as commanders weigh how involved in the drug trade their factions should remain. They say that Mr. Castano, who has denied direct links to drug trafficking, is trying to rein in those commanders who are heavily involved in it. Paramilitary commanders have long argued over the advisability of getting involved in the drug trade, for practical and political reasons. Politically, some felt it sent the wrong message for groups that were supposedly defending the law against left-wing insurgents to be breaking the law themselves. Practically speaking, many feared exactly what has happened - that the involvement in drugs would make them vulnerable to prosecution. The indictments have caused "a very bad uneasiness" among top paramilitary leaders, said Piolin, a commander in Medellín who works for Adolfo Paz, who leads a powerful faction within the A.U.C. considered to have among the closest ties to drug trafficking. They worry that Washington, with its aggressive campaign against terrorism, could take drastic action to capture or kill Mr. Castano and other paramilitary commanders, Mr. Piolin said. "We are talking about the United States," he added. "We are not talking about just any country." Infighting between commanders over the drug issue has become such a serious problem that two factions are openly fighting, the paramilitary leaders say, and alliances between others are in tatters. In an interview in his mountain camp far outside Medellín, a top commander once closely allied to Mr. Castano said that he and the 1,500 men he leads in the so-called Metro Bloc had split from the A.U.C. because they oppose the close ties other factions have with drug trafficking. His group is openly fighting forces controlled by Mr. Paz. "In the Self-Defense Forces the great majority are involved directly with narco-trafficking," said the commander, who uses the alias Rodrigo. American officials are reluctant to claim credit for the new antiterror strategy - or even to admit that there is such a strategy. But they are clearly pleased with the unrest it has created. "If indeed the indictment had the impact of further splintering the A.U.C., and further calling into question the leadership of those who from our point of view are tied to drug trafficking, so much the better," the Bush administration official said. After the removal of Congressional restrictions on American aid to antidrug programs, the Bush administration is also training specialized commando units and helping establish a reliable system of intelligence gathering that the units would use in pursuing insurgent commanders. American troops will soon train a special 400-man commando unit that would track paramilitaries and rebels, with a special emphasis on hunting down leaders. The American Congress is also considering legislation to provide $5 million for the training of an elite Colombian Army unit dedicated solely to pursuing paramilitary chiefs. "Castano has been a wanted man for years and they have yet to go after him," said Senator Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat who is chairman of the foreign operations subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee. "So we said, `We'll give you the money so you can have the capacity to capture them.' " Those close to Mr. Castano said the indictment had blindsided him, because the paramilitaries have always viewed themselves as allies of the Colombian Army in their war against the rebels. In recent missives on his Website and in e-mail messages to associates, Mr. Castano's tone has been one of increasing concern. He has called the indictment "totally erroneous," and charged that the rebels have manipulated the United States government. Mr. Castano, in e-mail messages to a confidant, has also said he is "anguished and desperate," and expressed fears that the United States could bomb his camp. Some who have spoken with Mr. Castano said there is also concern that he could be killed, since drug traffickers and commanders with close ties to the cocaine trade may see him as a liability now that he has been branded a drug trafficker. "There are people putting money up for Castano to be turned in, because he is the pebble in the shoe," said someone who recently talked to Mr. Castano and other paramilitary leaders. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D