Pubdate: Fri, 24 Dec 1999 Source: Associated Press Copyright: 1999 Associated Press U.S. ACCUSED OF MISTREATING JAILED COLOMBIANS BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Hundreds of Colombians held on drug charges in U.S. jails receive poor medical treatment and often serve time beyond their sentences, a congressional delegation charged Friday. The allegations, made by five Colombian lawmakers who recently took a U.S. trip, coincided with President Andres Pastrana's plans to extradite dozens of jailed drug suspects to the United States. Rep. Benjamin Higuita was one of the legislators who returned to Colombia on Sunday after a two-week visit to federal and local prisons in Miami, New York, New Jersey, Houston and Boston, where he said nearly 4,950 Colombians were serving time -- 95 percent of them on drug charges. The group met with 400 prisoners, the majority of whom complained of deficient medical attention, Higuita told The Associated Press. "And many Colombians finish their sentences, but then have to wait an additional six months before being deported to Colombia." Moreover, Colombian consulates in the United States are not always notified about arrests in time to provide legal assistance to Colombians who are detained, the lawmaker added. Higuita did not provide detail on any specific cases, but said the group would issue a full report in January. Officials at both the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons and the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service were unavailable for comment Friday due to the Christmas holiday. Higuita said the congressmen would seek a diplomatic accord allowing drug criminals who've completed most of their U.S. sentences to finish out those terms in Colombia. More than half of the Colombians jailed abroad are in the United States, he said. U.S. officials argue this country's corruption-plagued justice system is incapable of handing down stiff sentences and preventing jailbreaks. Some of the biggest mafia bosses have lived luxuriously in Colombian prisons. While resuming extradition, Pastrana announced this week he would build a new maximum security prison, using $13 million his government would soon receive from U.S. seizures of Colombian drug traffickers' assets. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake