By TIM JOHNSON
             Herald Staff Writer

             BOGOTA, Colombia -- A spider bite that sickened -- and perhaps killed -- one
             of three American hostages was a major factor that led a remote guerrilla band to
             execute all three U.S. hostages, a military intelligence report says.

             The rebel band decided to shoot all three Americans, leaving no witnesses, in
             order to cover up the killings because they were afraid of the consequences of
             allowing a U.S. hostage to die for lack of medical attention, Defense Minister
             Rodrigo Lloreda told The Herald. The guerrillas also apparently believed the
             Americans might be CIA agents.

             Lloreda said it appeared that top leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
             Colombia (FARC) were unaware of the killings and did not sanction them.

             Instead, he said, an unusual series of events led a remote rebel unit in northeastern
             Arauca state to take action on its own, infuriating Washington, endangering
             Colombia's fragile peace process, illustrating the autonomy enjoyed by far-flung
             FARC units and underscoring the rough conditions in the jungle where most
             kidnapping victims are confined.

             Lloreda said the military intelligence report was based on radio intercepts of the
             FARC captured by the armed forces or by Colombia's equivalent of the FBI.

             Lloreda did not name the U.S. hostage who grew ill from the spider bite, but El
             Espectador newspaper said it was Ingrid Washinawatok, 41, a Menominee Indian
             activist who lived in New York and came to Colombia with two U.S. colleagues
             to help Colombia's U'wa tribe fight off oil exploration in its protected reserve.

             Washinawatok and the two others -- Terence Freitas, a 24-year-old biologist
             from Los Angeles; and Lahe'ena'e Gay, 39, of Hawaii -- were kidnapped near the
             U'wa reserve in northeast Colombia on Jan. 25 by gunmen wearing civilian
             clothing.

             Bodies found in Venezuela

             Their bullet-riddled and bound bodies turned up March 4 just over the border
             from Colombia in Venezuelan territory -- pulling a third country into the
             investigation.

             Debate over who was behind the kidnappings has shaken Colombia. The FARC
             has denied a role, although the group says it is investigating. Friends and relatives
             of the dead Americans have suggested right-wing paramilitary forces may have
             been responsible, noting that Freitas had been threatened by them.

             But more voices have arisen -- including the police, the army, U'wa tribal leaders,
             and Washington -- saying evidence points to the FARC.

             ``There is no doubt that they were kidnapped by the FARC. That's clear,''
             Lloreda said, noting that radio intercepts captured conversation about the kidnap
             victims among FARC combatants.

             Lloreda's account that a spider bite left a U.S. hostage stricken could not be
             independently confirmed.

             According to the military intelligence report, rebels took the ailing American to a
             clinic for treatment, but were told she was so ill that she would have to stay at the
             clinic. The guerrillas refused and took her with them.

             The guerrillas of the FARC's 45th Front apparently believed they were holding
             valuable assets, rather than innocent humanitarians.

             ``They thought they were CIA members. These guys, they say that [in their radio
             conversations],'' Lloreda said.

             Communications problems

             Saddled by a seriously ill hostage, the rebel unit then faced communications
             problems with its superiors, he said.

             ``They became very nervous with this. And they didn't know what to do,'' Lloreda
             said, adding that the rebels received an initial order to kill the hostages, then
             another radio communication rescinding the first order. But that order arrived too
             late.

             ``And so they decided not to leave witnesses,'' he added.

             State Department spokesman James Rubin said Monday that the FARC is
             responsible for ``this cowardly act of international terrorism,'' and that the gunmen
             should be hunted down and sent to the United States to stand trial.

             ``I'm 125 percent sure from multiple, independent, credible sources that we've
             thrown the blame on the guilty party,'' said another U.S. official, who asked not to
             be named.

             Hand-over unlikely

             Even if the FARC determined that its members carried out the slayings, it is
             unlikely that the insurgency would hand over the guilty parties, experts said. The
             commander in the region is German ``Grannobles'' Briceño, a FARC regional
             chieftain linked to drug trafficking.

             Briceño is the brother of the insurgency's No. 2 leader and a member of a
             hard-line faction that may oppose tentative peace talks that began with the
             government of President Andres Pastrana in early January.

             Army officials identify German Briceño as the voice on an intercepted FARC radio
             conversation about one of the U.S. hostages that says: ``Let the son of a b---h
             die.''

             Lloreda acknowledged that persuading the FARC No. 2 leader, Jorge ``Mono
             Jojoy'' Briceño, to hand over his brother is exceedingly unlikely.

             ``They have to deny everything,'' Lloreda said. ``To accept that this happened,
             they would have to turn the guy over.''

             Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross reported that Claude
             Steinmetz, a French petroleum technician kidnapped Nov. 23 by another
             Colombian guerrilla group, has been found dead.

             The body of Steinmetz, 42, who had been working for the French firm
             Geoservice, was turned over to the Red Cross on Tuesday, committee officials
             told Agence France-Presse. Authorities have said Steinmetz was abducted by the
             National Liberation Army.
 

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