U.S. officials fear the men have already been moved to a remote location and will be held by the FARC for ransom or as bargaining chips to free its own imprisoned leaders. (Electronic intercepts picked up talk among FARC commanders that they “have safeguarded the package,” sources said.) The men were described as Pentagon contractors assisting the Colombian military on an unspecified “anti-drug” mission. In fact, sources tell NEWSWEEK, the men were on an intelligence mission equipped with special “jungle-busting” radar to identify FARC command “nodes” that are used for both cocaine trafficking and guerrilla operations. The incident is likely to strengthen the hands of some Bush administration officials who want far more aggressive actions against the FARC–which Washington considers a terrorist group. The State Department was already debating whether to seek a waiver from congressionally imposed ceilings that limit the United States to 400 military and 500 contractor personnel in Colombia. “This incident is just a punctuation point that shows we are already very much involved in this conflict,” said one U.S. anti-drug expert.
