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| Colombian Drug Lord Walks Free From Prison |
| By Reuters |
| Published: 11/18/2002 |
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One of Colombia's most infamous drug lords, former Cali cocaine cartel boss Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, walked free from a maximum security prison late on November 7, despite intense government efforts to keep him behind bars. Under cloudy night skies and heavy police guard, the man once known as the Chess Player for his ability to outwit officials calmly strolled out of the prison gates, where his ride was waiting. He had served just seven years of his original 15-year sentence, reduced for good behavior. The court-ordered release is an embarrassment for Colombia's government, which had widely touted the 1995 captures of Gilberto and his brother Miguel as major triumphs in its U.S.-backed war on drugs. Invoking 'national dignity,' President Alvaro Uribe had fought last week's decision by a judge to let the drug lord go -- even as the Supreme Court accused him of judicial meddling. 'It's terrible, terrible, terrible. This is a moment of mourning, of pain for the image of the nation, for the justice system of Colombia,' said Justice and Interior Minister Fernando Londono. The Rodriguez Orejuela brothers' Cali cartel is thought to have once controlled 80 percent of the world supply of cocaine, taking over the multibillion industry after police gunned down rival drug lord Pablo Escobar on a Medellin rooftop in 1993. Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela was at first set to have joined his brother in freedom. But the government won an appellate court ruling earlier this week that convicted him of bribing a judge -- adding four more years to his sentence. Uribe, who took office three months ago promising to crack down on drugs and outlawed fighters in Colombia's cocaine-fueled guerrilla war, had few legal options to prevent the release of Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela. Uribe ordered officials to scour files for charges that would keep them behind bars. Another possibility is that the United States could seek the extradition of the freed drug lord. But, since Colombia had banned extraditions until 1997, Washington would need to prove the brothers meddled in the cocaine trade from inside maximum-security prisons. 'We would be remiss if we were not reviewing to see if we have any necessary information that indicated they have been involved in drug-trafficking since the Colombian constitution changed in 1997,' said Will Glaspy, a spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Washington. |
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