BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Leftist rebels overran a Colombian navy base
                  near the border with Panama, killing 23 marines and wounding dozens more,
                  officials said Monday.

                  Two others, a police officer and civilian, were also killed in the rebel attack,
                  said the navy's second-in-command, Adm. Jose Porras.

                  While the navy claimed the rebels sustained heavy casualties, the fighting
                  Sunday was a setback for the military, which had been faring better recently
                  against the well-armed, motivated guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed
                  Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

                  About 600 rebels attacked the naval garrison at Jurado, where roughly 115
                  marines patrol the waters of one of Colombia's principal arms and drug
                  smuggling corridors. The rebels, armed with machine guns and homemade
                  missiles, also leveled the town's police post, witnesses said.

                  "We defended ourselves until dawn," marine Mauricio Perdomo told
                  Caracol radio Monday. "We did the best we could." He was among a group
                  of police and marines who surrendered and were later released.

                  Two marines stationed at the Pacific coastal town of Jurado, about 13 miles
                  from the border, were still unaccounted for, and are presumed either dead
                  or taken prisoner, Porras told reporters.

                  He claimed 42 guerrillas were killed. However, the government rarely
                  proves its claims of rebel deaths. Thirty-three marines were wounded.

                  The rebels have launched attacks in six states since Thursday, even as
                  guerrilla leaders say they are considering a government offer of a temporary
                  Christmas and New Year's truce.

                  In neighboring Antioquia state, a rebel attack over the weekend on police
                  barracks left eight officers and two town workers dead.

                  Violence has continued unabated this year, despite peace talks between the
                  rebels and President Andres Pastrana's government. Both sides had agreed
                  to negotiate without a cease-fire.

                  Colombia's navy receives U.S. training and equipment as part of a $300
                  million annual assistance package earmarked for use by Colombia's police
                  and armed forces in the war on drugs.

                    Copyright 1999 The Associated Press.