The Americans were on a U.S. government plane on an intelligence
mission when it crashed on Feb. 13. A fourth American and a Colombian army
sergeant were shot and killed at the site.
President Bush (news
- web
sites) has ordered an additional 150 U.S. soldiers to Colombia to help
search for the three Americans, Pentagon (news
- web
sites) officials said Saturday. The deployment will bring to more than
400 the number of U.S. troops in the war-torn South American nation.
In a statement obtained Saturday, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia, or FARC, accused the three Americans of being CIA (news
- web
sites) agents.
"On the day of Feb. 13...a unit of the Southern Block shot down a plane
owned by the North American government," said the statement, signed by the
FARC's secretariat.
"We can only guarantee the life and physical integrity of the three
gringo officials in our power if the Colombian army immediately suspends
military operations and overflights in the area," FARC said in the
statement, dated Friday.
U.S. officials have said the plane had engine trouble and was forced to
crash land in a region controlled by the FARC. U.S. officials have refused
to identify the men or say what government agency they were working for.
The two slain men were shot execution-style, according to Colombian and
U.S. officials.
Although Colombian government officials said the aircraft was marked
with bullet holes, they have denied rebels downed the plane.
The kidnapping marks the first time U.S. government employees have been
captured in Colombia's 38-year civil war setting leftist rebels against
the government and a right-wing paramilitary army. About 3,500 people die
in the fighting every year.
The 17,000-strong FARC considers U.S. involvement in Colombia an act of
war and has warned that it would attack U.S. citizens and interests in the
country.
Washington has given Colombia roughly $2 billion in mostly military aid
in the past three years. The aid was initially limited to counter-drug
efforts, but the restrictions were recently lifted to allow Colombia to
use the equipment and U.S.-trained troops to confront the rebels directly.
U.S. troops are in the country training soldiers. Congress in 2001
limited the number of U.S. troops in Colombia to 400, but allowed the
president to exceed that number for emergency search and rescue
operations.
Bush's order to deploy 150 more troops put the total in Colombia over
the 400 limit, Defense Department officials said without giving an exact
number.
The Washington Post, which first reported Bush's order in Saturday
editions, said the deployment brought the total to 411 troops.
The State Department has appealed to the captors for proof that the
Americans are alive. The Colombian government on Thursday offered a
$345,000 reward for information leading to the safe return of the three.
