By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

              BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- The prosecutor-general's office ordered the arrest of
              a commander of Colombia's biggest rebel group on drug-trafficking charges,
              officials said Tuesday, believed to be the first time a leading rebel has been linked to
              such a crime.

              The arrest warrant was issued for Tomas Medina, who commands the 16th Front of
              the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the prosecutor-general's
              office said in a statement.

              An arrest warrant was also issued for a Brazilian drug trafficker, who eluded
              Colombian army troops who raided Medina's base in eastern Colombia, near the
              Brazilian border, the statement said.

              The accusations pose problems for President Andres Pastrana, who is trying to
              negotiate peace with the FARC to end Colombia's 37-year war. As recently as
              Friday, Pastrana said that ``for the moment no proof or evidence exists that the
              FARC is a drug cartel.''

              Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Rand Beers recently claimed the rebels and drug
              traffickers ``are the same thing,'' and held out the possibility they could be extradited
              to the United States.

              The FARC admits it ``taxes'' coca farmers, but denies it is involved in drug
              trafficking.

              The head of Colombia's army, Gen. Jorge Enrique Mora, said last week that the
              raid on Medina's base uncovered evidence that the FARC was involved in almost
              every phase of the international drug trade. He said documents show FARC
              involved in cultivation of coca, the processing of the plant into cocaine and in selling
              cocaine to international cartels.

              Officials said the FARC in eastern Guainia state was allegedly exchanging cocaine to
              Brazilian drug lord Luis Fernando D'Acosta for weapons. Army troops continue to
              hunt for the fugitive, who goes by the nickname ``Fernandinho,'' in the jungles of
              eastern Colombia amid reports he was wounded during the army raid in February.
              An arrest warrant issued by the prosecutor-general's office accuses D'Acosta of
              ``drug trafficking and criminal association.''

              The prosecutor-general's office is also investigating reports that the FARC
              dispatched a representative to Mexico to deal with drug cartels who ship cocaine to
              the United States and beyond.

              Drug profits reportedly generate millions of dollars for the rebels, and a rival rightist
              paramilitary group that also rakes off money from drug producers. The money
              allows both sides to better arm themselves and recruit combatants.

              Prosecutor-General Alfonso Gomez said in a recent interview that if the United
              States sought the extradition of rebels for drug trafficking, such requests would be
              considered on a case-by-case basis.

              Colombia has already dispatched a dozen suspected drug traffickers -- who were
              not guerrillas -- to the United States since extraditions resumed in 1999.