BOGOTA (Reuter) A new threat of drugrelated terror hung over Colombia
Friday after a group known as ``The Extraditables'' said it planted a huge
car bomb in Medellin.

The 550pound bomb was defused by police last Wednesday outside the offices
of a newspaper in the northwest city the cradle of Colombia's drug trade.

A letter, dated the same day the bomb was discovered and signed by ``The
Extraditables,'' said the device was planted in response to recent moves in
Congress to lift Colombia's sixyearold ban on the extradition of drug
traffickers and other criminals.

``This first car bomb failed us, but others may not,'' said the letter, which
was addressed to Colombian lawmakers.

``It is thanks to you that a new terrorist era has begun,'' the letter said,
adding: ``We prefer a tomb in Colombia to a jail in the United States.''

Colombia banned the extradition of its citizens in 1991 after Pablo Escobar,
the late head of the Medellin drug cartel and founder of ``The
Extraditables,'' waged a war of bombings, assassinations and kidnappings
against the state.

Communiques issued in the name of the shadowy group have surfaced on several
occasions since Escobar was gunned down on a Medellin rooftop in December
1993. But authorities have never confirmed their authenticity or whether the
Extraditables outlived Escobar himself.

A copy of Wednesday's letter was sent by mail to the Caracol radio station in
Medellin, where it was received Friday and made available to Reuters.

Draft legislation that would allow Colombians to be sent for trial in the
United States and other countries abroad was approved by a Senate committee
last month. It must still pass three more votes in Congress before it can
become law.