U.S. lawmakers threaten retaliation against rebels believed to be holding three Americans captive

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Leftist rebels accused by the United States of seizing three Americans have made a "very grave error" and can expect a U.S. response, an American congressman said Thursday.

The Americans apparently were captured by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, after their U.S. government plane crashed in rebel territory Feb. 13, U.S. officials have said. They were on an intelligence-gathering mission.

The rebels executed a fourth American and Colombian soldier who were also aboard, Colombia's army chief has said.

"I don't think there's any question that this precipitous action by the FARC is going to meet with very strong retaliation," said Rep. Tom Davis, D-Va., a member of a visiting Congressional delegation.

"Precisely what happens is being discussed as we speak, but they've made a very grave error."

"Any questions on the response to the hostage scenario cannot be addressed at this time until the whereabouts of missing crew members is ascertained," said Department spokesman Lou Fintor.

U.S. officials said they have appealed to the captors for proof of life of the Americans.

"We want to see them released safely," said Richard Boucher, another State Department spokesman. "We want to see their safety and well-being confirmed."

The Colombian army on Thursday offered a $345,000 reward for information leading to the safe return of the three.

Davis said the American who was killed -- whom U.S. officials have not identified -- had "a stellar career serving our military and working here in Colombia."

Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., said the killing of the American -- the first to die in Colombia's war while on official business -- would not intimidate Washington.

"When there's an execution of Americans who are on duty, it's not likely to lead to retreat," Souder said.

Davis, Souder and Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va. -- the third member of the delegation -- praised President Alvaro Uribe's get-tough policy with the rebels and pledged to continue backing Colombia's armed forces.

But Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass., who is also visiting Colombia but was not part of the delegation, called for a reduction in the military aid in favor of more investment in social programs. Colombia has received $2 billion in the last three years.

The aid was originally restricted to counter-drug efforts but Congress recently allowed Colombia to use the equipment and U.S.-trained troops to battle the insurgents.

Washington has deepened its involvement in Colombia's conflict in recent months, sending 70 U.S. Green Berets to train Colombian troops to protect an oil pipeline carrying crude belonging to Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum.

"More war will not bring peace. More war is not going to bring more justice, or economic development," McGovern said in an interview.

The FARC and a smaller rebel group have been waging war against a succession of elected Colombian governments for 39 years. About 3,500 people, mainly civilians, die in the fighting each year.

New York Times Rebels Keeping Colombia on Edge -By JUAN FORERO [Full Text] A MONTAÑITA, Colombia, Feb. 18 - Just north of this village of peach-colored homes and almond trees, some 2,500 Colombian troops are combing the jungles for three American government workers kidnapped by Marxist rebels last week when their plane crash-landed after encountering engine trouble.

But even as the army searched vainly for the Americans, the guerrillas attacked this village on Sunday, breaking the calm as children played in the street and townspeople sat outside their homes drinking cool fruit juices to ward off the heat.

The attack on the fortified police station was repelled, but María Ascención Castro, 78, a mother of 11 known as "the ice-cream lady" to neighborhood children, and her close friend, Ismenia Gómez, 75, were killed in the crossfire.

The kidnappings and attack, along with a spate of recent rebel bombings, have painfully demonstrated the challenges still confronting President Álvaro Uribe after six months of tough measures intended to better the government's position against the guerrillas.

Today, villagers filed past the coffins of Ms. Castro and Ms. Gómez, which sat side by side in Ms. Castro's living room, covered in carnations, orchids and the other flowers that grow wild in this moist, tropical climate. Though they cried for two victims known by everyone in this hamlet of just several hundred people, the villagers also worried for their future.

"There is no security," said Francisco Sánchez, 52, whose home is next to that of Ms. Castro. "They tell us to be calm, that there is help around the corner. But if there were troops, then this would not happen."

"You live in fear," he added, staring at the coffins. "You never know when you are going to die."

A year ago, the military said it had reclaimed the vast area just outside this town that had been ceded to the rebels in 1998 as a safe haven during peace talks. The guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, who have waged war for nearly four decades, used it instead as a base for killings and kidnappings, leading the government to break off negotiations a year ago this week.

Townspeople say they thought then that some calm might be possible as troops rolled in and the guerrillas melted back into the jungle. But even now, the town's police officers and inhabitants say, the guerrillas continue to lurk in the strands of forest nearby and on lonely country roads, while rebel militiamen hold clandestine meetings in the town.

"We know that they will take any advantage to attack," said Lieut. José Lancheros, standing in the police station. "It could happen tonight or in a week."

The kidnapping of the Americans - the first time United States government employees have been specifically singled out in Colombia's war - is particularly troubling, both for the Colombian and American governments.

A Colombian and an American were shot and killed by rebels after the single-engine Cessna, a plane American officials said was used for counterdrug operations, crashed in a patch of jungle where two rebel units were holding a meeting, Colombian military officials said. The other three occupants, all Americans, were then carried off into the jungle.

American officials have said the three men were Pentagon contractors, but they have not identified the men or elaborated on the circumstances of the mission. [On Thursday, the Colombian Army offered a $345,000 reward for information leading to the safe return of the Americans.]

Since 1997, Washington has sent a steady stream of counterdrug aid - more than $2 billion - in an effort to eliminate the tens of thousands of acres of coca fields that provide a main source of money for the rebels' war. The United States has more than 900 Americans in Colombia, 500 working at the embassy and over 400 military personnel and civilian contractors. About 70 American soldiers are currently training Colombian troops to protect an important oil pipeline in the northeast, while private contractors serve as spray pilots, on search-and-rescue teams and as advisers and managers for United States aid programs.

Although United States officials say the Bush administration's antidrug programs will continue, the kidnappings have raised fears in Washington about deepening involvement as the United States shifts aid from countering drug trafficking to fighting the guerrillas directly.

In the rebels, Mr. Uribe's government and the United States face a force of 18,000 fighters with a proven ability to adapt to new government strategies.

With the kidnappings and a series of other bold attacks this month, the rebels and their leaders, particularly the septuagenarian chief, Manuel Marulanda, appear to be demonstrating not only that they are far from finished but also that they are willing to use indiscriminate terror tactics in their war against the state.

On Feb. 7 the rebels set off a car bomb at an exclusive social and sports club in Bogotá, the capital, killing 34 people in an unusually brazen assault. Last Friday, a huge cache of explosives was detonated in the provincial city of Neiva, killing 18.

Still, Mr. Uribe's government has made important strides. Elected on his pledge to combat the rebels aggressively, Mr. Uribe has begun an ambitious military buildup, given the security forces broad new police powers, started a network of informants to provide information on the rebels, and begun taxing the rich to pay for his programs. There have been some promising results, with civilian casualties falling and the government regaining control of key roads.

But of Colombia's 1,100 municipalities, 160 still have no police or army presence and about 250 operate without a mayor, including La Montañita, said the Confederation of Municipalities.

The government says it plans to post police officers and a new force of peasant soldiers in many of those towns in the coming months. But for the time being, in towns like La Montañita that lie beyond the reach of the central government, the vacuum continues to be filled, in large part, by the rebels.

"The truth is, no one is calm," said Praxedis Pérez, 40, the daughter of Ms. Castro, who was killed in the attack on Sunday. "They are still around here. You hear about attacks. You hear they are everywhere. You cannot sleep." [End]

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