The Colombian government approved the extradition of a guerrilla leader, unless rebels release prisoners that include three U.S. hostages.

BY STEVEN DUDLEY

BOGOTA - The Colombian government announced Friday that it would extradite Ricardo Palmera, aka Simón Trinidad, a top leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, to the United States unless the FARC releases before Dec. 30 three U.S. defense contractors, one German citizen and 59 Colombian soldiers and politicians it is holding captive in various jungle hide-outs.

''The president, the Ministry of Interior and Justice, and the peace commissioner, are willing to revoke this extradition if the 63 people . . . who were kidnapped are released,'' the statement said.

Palmera was a FARC-designated negotiator during peace talks with the government between 1999 and 2002. He was captured in Quito, Ecuador, in January while he was getting medical treatment and taken to a maximum-security prison north of Bogotá.

He has been sentenced to six years in prison in Colombia on charges of rebellion, with several other charges pending, and is wanted in the United States for drug trafficking and kidnapping.

His lawyer, Oscar Emilio Silva, said he doubted the FARC would cede to the government's demands.

''We're baffled,'' Silva said. ``This shuts off any negotiations, humanitarian or peace negotiations . . . They're not even saying they'll let him out of jail. They're saying they won't extradite him.''

The FARC has used captives to swap for rebel prisoners in the past. During the previous administration, the FARC released 352 soldiers in exchange for 15 rebel prisoners.

The government is holding nearly 500 FARC members in jail. The rebels had been pushing for a similar swap, and it appeared the government was considering it until this resolution.

The U.S. Embassy had no immediate reaction to the government's proposal, but it is thought that the U.S. government had been consulting with the Colombian government on the matter.

The FARC captured Marc Gonsaldes, Keith Stansell and Thomas Howes in 2002, after their plane crashed in the hills of southern Caquetá province. The three were doing surveillance for the U.S. Defense Department.

Herald special correspondent Jenny Carolina González contributed to this report.