COLOMBIAN BROTHERS WHO RAN CALI CARTEL PLEAD GUILTY IN U.S.

MIAMI - In what the government called "the final, fatal blow" to the
world's biggest cocaine supplier, two Colombian brothers who helped found
the infamous Cali cartel pleaded guilty Tuesday to drug trafficking, agreed
to forfeit billions in tainted assets, and received what could amount to a
life sentence.

Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela, ages 67 and 63, were each sentenced
to 30 years in prison. They were the highest-ranking of more than 300 drug
traffickers extradited to this country since the United States and Colombia
signed a new treaty in 1997.

The brothers also struck a deal with prosecutors to protect six of their
relatives in Colombia from prosecution on obstruction and money laundering
charges. Twenty-eight family members will be permitted to keep some assets
not tainted by drug money and could be removed from a Treasury Department
list that has kept their property and bank accounts frozen since 1995.

"They sacrificed themselves for their family," said David O. Markus,
attorney for Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela.

The Cali cartel, once responsible for as much as 80 percent of the cocaine
brought into the United States, was known for its ingenious smuggling
methods: hiding the drug in such things as hollowed-out lumber, cylinders
of chlorine, even shipments of frozen broccoli and okra.

The brothers' pleas "effectively signal the final, fatal blow to the
powerful Cali cartel," Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said in
Washington. "This is a day of pride for the people of Colombia and for
international law enforcement."

Miguel was known as "The Master" for his inventiveness in finding ways to
hid drugs. Gilberto's nickname was "The Chess Player" for his role as the
cartel's strategic thinker. Their family invested in dozens of legitimate
businesses around the world, including a Colombian discount drugstore chain
with more than 400 stores.

In court, Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela issued an apology "to the people of the
United States and to all individuals in authority. I am doing this from the
bottom of my heart."

The brothers agreed to forfeit to the United States $2.1 billion in assets
linked to drug trafficking.