SEP 11, 2001

U.S. Blacklists Paramilitaries in Colombia

By JUAN FORERO

BOGOTÁ, Colombia, Sept. 10 — A day before Secretary of State Colin L. Powell was to arrive to meet President Andrés Pastrana, the Bush administration today blacklisted a right-wing paramilitary group as a terrorist organization responsible for hundreds of massacres in its war against leftist rebels.

Being put on the State Department list of terrorist groups means that financial support for the organization is illegal. The action also makes it easier for the United States to seize assets, an important factor because investigators here estimate that the paramilitary groups have hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bank accounts.

Washington made its decision as the group, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, has embarked on a program to shuffle its command and remake its image.

On June 6, the longtime commander of the 8,000-member group, Carlos Castaño, resigned to oversee its political wing. On Wednesday, the group said it was forming a nationwide political movement to "to dignify politics and make peace possible."

But to human rights groups and the State Department, the Self-Defense Forces is simply seen as a brutally efficient killing machine responsible for thousands of deaths in the last decade, mainly of civilians suspected by the group of being rebel sympathizers.

"Many of these massacres were designed to terrorize and intimidate local populations so the A.U.C. could gain control of these areas," Secretary Powell said in a statement, referring to the group by its Spanish initials. "I hope this will leave no doubt that the United States considers terrorism to be unacceptable, regardless of the political or ideological purpose."

The secretary's visit is intended to reassure the government here that although the Bush administration is reviewing its anti-drug policy in Colombia, it is not contemplating a change in the drive to strengthen the military to fight drugs and support peace negotiations.

Mr. Pastrana's efforts against drugs are being supported by $1.1 billion in American aid. But they have been complicated by the paramilitary groups, who have attacked peace advocates and worked to derail peace efforts with rebels. The group is also heavily involved in drug trafficking and, human rights groups say, benefits from close ties to some military units.