Colombia Rebels: No U.S. Negotiations

Colombia's largest rebel group said Monday it would negotiate with Colombia but not with the United States for the release of three Americans captured after their plane crashed.

The three were seized Feb. 13. A fourth American and a Colombian army sergeant on the plane were killed near the crash site. The four Americans were working for California Microwave Systems, a division of Northrop Grumman, which has a contract to work for the Pentagon in Colombia.

The United States has said that it had no intentions of negotiating with the rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which is on the State Department's list of terrorist organizations.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said President Bush began his day with a phone call to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

"They both expressed concern about the United States citizens that have been taken hostage by FARC and the need for continued close cooperation to get them released," Fleischer said.

The FARC on Monday reiterated its warning that the Americans' lives were being endangered by Colombian military operations in the area where they were taken. The warning was posted on its Internet page.

The FARC, in an earlier communique, accused the Americans of being CIA employees. Calling them prisoners of war, the FARC said they would only be released if the Colombian government agreed to free hundreds of jailed rebels.

The rebels said Monday that they will only negotiate with the Colombian government, noting there are no FARC rebels in U.S. jails.

"The causes and consequences of the internal conflict of our country will be resolved between Colombians," the statement said.

Colombia's war, now in its 38th year, pits the FARC and a smaller rebel group against the government and outlawed paramilitary groups.

The three American hostages have not been identified. The American killed was identified as Thomas Janis of Montgomery, Ala.