MIAMI INDICTMENT SAYS BROTHERS RAN DRUG OPERATION FROM COLOMBIAN PRISON CELL

From behind bars in Colombia, two brothers who headed the notorious
Cali cartel stayed in business by teaching the next generation how to
export cocaine, launder billions in drug money and buy the loyalty of
witnesses and their families, according to a federal grand jury in
Miami.

Authorities announced the indictment of 11 Colombians, including
jailed Cali cartel leaders Miguel and Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela. The
indictment, handed up Sept. 18, was unsealed Monday.

The brothers were served with arrest warrants in their Colombian
prison cells, said Jesus Torres, who heads U.S. Immigrations and
Customs Enforcement in Miami.

Seven people remain at large, including William Rodriguez Abadia, who
authorities say is the eldest son of "El Senor," as Miguel Rodriguez
Orejuela is known. The son took over the cartel's day-to-day
operations when his father and uncle were jailed in 1995, according to
the indictment.

The investigation, dubbed "Operation Cornerstone," unfolded over a
dozen years. Already, it has resulted in more than 100 convictions,
including those of a former federal prosecutor and several criminal
defense attorneys who allegedly crossed the line between adviser and
accessory.

The cartel's leaders have been indicted here before, but have never
stood trial in the United States. But that may change with the new
indictment and increased cooperation with Colombia.

"We have learned over the years that persistence is the key ingredient
in bringing drug kingpins to justice," said Thomas W. Raffanello, who
heads the Drug Enforcement Administration's Miami office. "The
indictment of these Cali Cartel leaders, who were responsible for the
destruction of thousands of lives worldwide, makes all the sacrifice
worthwhile."

The indictment alleges four conspiracies -- to import and distribute
cocaine, launder money and obstruct justice through bribes and murder.
It alleges the conspiracies dated back to 1990 and continued until
July 2002. The indictment also seeks to seize $2.1 billion in drug
money and assets.

Federal authorities said four people named in the indictment were
arrested in Colombia, including the jailed Rodriguez Orejuela brothers
and their chief accountant, Luis Eduardo Cuartas Pardo. They were
working Monday to confirm the identity of the fourth man arrested.

Marcos Daniel Jimenez, the U.S. Attorney for South Florida, said
prosecutors have filed extradition papers seeking to bring all 11
defendants to the United States for trial. Earlier this year, federal
prosecutors convicted former Medellin cartel leader Fabio Ochoa
Vasquez in a cocaine conspiracy case. Ochoa, who was extradited in
2001, is serving a 30-year prison sentence.

Jimenez said the Cali conspiracy is one of the largest drug and money-
laundering cases ever prosecuted. The sheer volume of cash and
cocaine, as well as the violence used to silence witnesses, make the
cartel one of the most prolific and violent criminal organizations
federal authorities have seen.

Unlike Medellin cartel members' bloody campaign against extradition,
Cali cartel leaders blended into that city's society, playing the part
of well-heeled businessmen. As a result, the cartel operated for years
in Colombia with impunity.

The cartel found creative ways to bring cocaine into the United
States. According to authorities, cocaine was hidden in concrete
posts, frozen vegetables, lumber, ceramic tile, coffee, and chlorine
cylinders.

The new indictments drew a comment from Attorney General John
Ashcroft, who vowed in a prepared statement to take drug cartels apart
"piece by piece and member by member." Ashcroft also thanked law
enforcement officials in Colombia for their assistance.

Under the current extradition treaty with Colombia, the United States
can try drug cartel members only for offenses committed after December
1997. The indictment alleges new offenses, but also states they are
part of a continuing conspiracy that began in 1990. As a result, the
indictment describes murders, bribes and other corrupt acts prior to
1997.

By using a conspiracy theory, prosecutors at Ochoa's trial
successfully brought in evidence of criminal acts that occurred prior
to 1997.

The indictment describes the roles of cartel members as follows:
Colombian lawyer German Navarro delivered messages for the jailed
leaders and coordinated the bribery efforts. Daniel Serrano, who also
was a financial supervisor for the brothers, aided him. Harold Velez
Restrepo allegedly bought residences and offices for cartel members,
while Luis Evelio Restrepo supervised the cartel's "stash houses,"
authorities said. Guillermo Restrepo Lara was the cartel's chief
"enforcer," while Heriberto Patino Rios and Luis Ocampo Fomeque
supervised the transportation of cocaine.

The defendants allegedly intimidated other cartel members, keeping
them from cooperating with authorities through threats, bribes and
murder. The indictment details three murders, including the October
1990 slaying of a doctor, Rafael Lombrano, shot to death outside a
Miami restaurant.

The indictment also detailed a series of bribes paid to jailed cartel
members, their families, and others to guarantee their silence.