[NOTE: According to the Army spokesman, "the plane is believed
        to be one used by rebels for its drug trafficking activities."
        Aside from the military's dedication to peddling and
        embellishing the "narco-guerrilla" myth, one should keep in
        mind that the military's own C-130s have been used to smuggle
        large quantities of drugs into the United States.     -DG]

____________________
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

Monday, 28 June 1999

                FARC rebel leader reported dead
                 after plane crash - official
                -------------------------------

BOGOTA -- A leftist rebel leader and five other members of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia were reported dead following a
plane crash in southern Colombia Monday, the Colombian military said.

The plane was carrying the rebels from a demilitarized zone to another
area, Armed Forces Commander General Fernando Tapias said here quoting
intercepted rebel radio communications.

Tapias denied a report that one of the rebels aboard was Jorge Briceno,
known as "Mono Jojoy", who is thought to be the military chief of the
rebel group -- the oldest and largest in Latin America.

"The plane is believed to be one used by rebels for its drug trafficking
activities," as well as for transporting its leaders between different
regions of the country, an Army spokesman told AFP.

        Copyright 1999 Agence France Presse

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