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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (8974)	11/7/2002 3:13:28 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 89467

Colombian drug lord 'to walk free' The BBC Thursday, 7 November, 2002, 14:28 GMT Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela served seven years in jail One of Colombia's most powerful drug barons, Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, is expected to be freed from prison on Thursday, after a judge in the city of Tunja ordered his immediate release. The ruling represents a blow for the government which was caught by surprise last Friday when another judge ordered the release of Rodriguez Orejuela and his brother Miguel. Together they ran the notorious Cali cocaine cartel. President Alvaro Uribe halted their release - but late on Wednesday, Judge Luz Angela Moncada overturned his decision, granting Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela a habeas corpus request. Extra troops have been deployed around the Combita maximum security jail which Gilberto Rodriguez is expected to leave on Thursday morning local time. His brother is expected to remain behind bars, after a court handed him a new four-year prison sentence for bribery earlier this week. US relations Last week a judge ruled that the brothers were eligible for release after serving three-fifths of their sentence with good behaviour. But President Uribe intervened and as well as ordering a high-level inquiry into the matter, demanded that the judge, Pedro Jose Suarez, be investigated. Interior Minister, Fernando Londono, said he believed the immense financial power of the drug barons had corrupted the justice system, showing it was not up to the task of taking on drugs traffickers. Correspondents say letting the men go free could seriously affect Colombia's relationship with the US, which has heavily funded the Colombian war against drug production and trafficking. Most wanted Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, known as The Chess Player, and his younger brother Miguel controlled the Cali cartel until they were jailed in 1995. President Uribe's hardline government has been dealt a blow They had been listed among the world's most wanted men. The US Drug Enforcement Administration described their cartel - which operated in the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s - as "the most powerful drug trafficking organisation in history". At the time of their arrest, the Rodriguez Orejuela brothers were reported to be responsible for 80% of the world's cocaine and their annual profits were estimated at $8bn. In 1997, they were convicted and sentenced to between nine and 10 years in prison - further charges saw their sentences increased. news.bbc.co.uk