COLOMBIAN BROTHERS PLEAD GUILTY TO DRUG TRAFFICKING

MIAMI -- The two Colombian brothers who built the Cali cartel into
the world's biggest cocaine supplier pleaded guilty Tuesday to U.S.
drug trafficking and money laundering charges and agreed to forfeit
$2.1 billion in assets, but also won an agreement breaking financial
shackles for more than two dozen family members.

Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, 67, known as "The Chess Player" for his
financial strategies, and 63-year-old Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela,
dubbed "The Master" for his inventive smuggling tactics that included
use of frozen okra and broccoli shipments, were sentenced to 30 years
each in prison by U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno.

The guilty pleas and sentences cap a 15-year U.S. investigation of
the Cali cartel, which was once responsible for as much as 80 percent
of the cocaine smuggled into the United States.

More than 140 people have been convicted of drug related charges and
52 tons of cocaine seized in the investigation, which began in August
1991 when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents discovered
12 tons of cocaine in the port of Miami hidden in a shipment of cement posts.

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

Yet prosecutors were forced to make some concessions to obtain the
guilty plea. A separate agreement signed by 28 Rodriguez Orejuela
family members guarantees that six of them will not be prosecuted for
obstruction of justice or money laundering charges.

The entire group will be permitted to keep some assets not tainted by
drug money and, so long as certain conditions are met, will be
removed from a U.S. Treasury Department list that has kept assets and
bank accounts frozen since 1995 and prohibited them from doing
business with U.S. entities.

"They sacrificed themselves for their family," said David O. Markus,
lawyer for Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela. Markus also noted that
neither brother is being required to cooperate with U.S. or Colombian
authorities in any other investigations.

The Miami lawyer for the family members, Marc Seitles, said the deal
would allow the group to get out from under the Cali cartel's shadow
and lead productive -- and legitimate -- lives.

"They are going to get the benefit of a new day, of starting a new
life," Seitles said.

The plea deal followed four months of intense negotiations between
the brothers, the U.S. Justice, State, Homeland Security and Treasury
departments and the government of Colombia. The side deal involving
the family members will be handled much like a legal contract, with
each side able to bring civil actions in Miami federal court to
enforce the terms.

The Rodriguez Orejuela brothers appeared in court Tuesday dressed in
dark pinstriped suits, a departure from the tan prison garb they have
worn previously -- but both still wore ankle shackles. Gilberto was
extradited from Colombia in late 2004 and Miguel in early 2005, and
both have remained jailed since then in Miami.

Both addressed the court in Spanish, with Gilbeto saying that he
"admitted to my responsibility willingly and I am submitting myself
to American justice."

Miguel went a bit further, issuing an apology to his family and
adding: "I'm also apologizing to the people of the United States and
to all individuals in authorities. I am doing this from the bottom of
my heart."

The charges they faced carry a maximum sentence of life in prison,
but the U.S. agreed not to seek that penalty in its extradition
agreement with Colombia. But the 30-year sentence means that neither
man could be released until he was into his 90s.

Associated Press writer Michael J. Sniffen contributed to this story.