Colombia rebel accused of kidnapping Americans arrested

BOGOTA, Colombia - A Colombian rebel accused of kidnapping three Americans in 2003 was captured on Thursday after buying a car that police say he planned to use to bomb Monday's presidential inauguration.

Victor Murcia, known as "Chichico", was arrested in a poor suburb of Bogota after buying a Chevrolet Sprint that police said he was going to pack full of explosives and detonate during the swearing in of President Alvaro Uribe.

Two dozen Colombians, mostly soldiers, have been killed over the past four days in a show of force by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which is fighting a four-decade-old war against the state.

Uribe, popular for his United States-backed crackdown on the rebels, easily won re-election in May. His first inauguration in 2002 was marred by a guerrilla missile attack that killed 21 people near the presidential palace.

The police issued a statement on Thursday saying Murcia participated in the kidnapping of three American defence contractors after their plane crashed more than three years ago while on a mission to detect crops used to make cocaine in the jungles of southern Colombia.

The Americans - Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell - are among 62 FARC hostages Uribe wants to swap for guerrillas held in government jails. But Uribe and the rebel group are deadlocked over terms for starting talks that might lead to an exchange.

The US has given billions of dollars in aid to Colombia aimed at combating drug-running rebels who say they are fighting to close the wide gap that divides rich and poor in this Andean country. Thousands are killed in the conflict every year.

- REUTERS