COLOMBIAN PARAMILITARY CHIEF FACING US DRUG CHARGES

WASHINGTON - The U.S. government on Tuesday accused outlaw paramilitary
leader Carlos Castano and two other members of his powerful
anti-guerrilla army in Colombia of smuggling 17 tons of ******* to the
United States and Europe over the past five years.

Attorney General John Ashcroft, noting that Castano recently said he
wanted to "face the U.S. justice system," called on the sought-after
paramilitary leader to "surrender to United States authorities."

[snip]

The indictments of Castano, fellow commander Salvatore Mancuso and
paramilitary member Juan Carlos Sierra-Ramirez came at a critical
juncture in U.S.-Colombia relations and as President Alvaro Uribe
visited Washington seeking sustained economic and military assistance
to regain control of his homeland.

Human rights monitors blame the 11,000 or so members of Castano's
paramilitary forces for the vast majority of atrocities and massacres
in Colombia in recent years. Even so, Castano has significant support
among Colombians, some of whom view his armed group, the United
Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC, as fighting harder to stand up
to leftist guerrillas than the conventional army.


Pubdate: Thu, 26 Sep 2002
Source: Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright: 2002 The Miami Herald
Contact: heralded@herald.com
Website: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/