CALI DRUG BOSS WALKS FREE FROM COLOMBIAN JAIL AFTER 7 YEARS

He was the thinking person's drug lord, a sober Colombian businessman who
quietly moved in on the billion-dollar cocaine business as his flashy
competitors got picked off.

But in 1995, Cali cocaine boss Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela was outsmarted,
arrested in an early-morning raid and ultimately sentenced to 15 years in jail.

Last night, Mr. Rodriguez walked free after seven years in which he
allegedly continued to run his drug empire from a comfortable prison cell.

In an acute embarrassment for hard-line President Alvaro Uribe Velez, the
second of two judges ruled that Mr. Rodriguez was entitled to freedom after
serving half his sentence.

"This is a terrible blow," Interior and Justice Minister Fernando Londono
said, reflecting the discomfort of a government that took office in August
pledging to crack down on political violence and drug trafficking.

"This is a moment of pain for the image of the country, for the
administration of justice in Colombia."

Police and prosecutors in Colombia and the United States scrambled to find
a basis to keep Mr. Rodriguez, nicknamed the Chess Player, in high-security
Combita prison near Bogota, the capital.

To extradite him to the United States they would have to find evidence that
he has committed crimes since 1997, when Colombia's constitution was
changed to permit extradition of its citizens.

The daily El Tiempo said on its Web site that prison authorities had
ordered Mr. Rodriguez to submit to medical and psychiatric examinations,
which are routine before prisoners are freed.

Last week's ruling by Judge Pedro Suarez ordered the release of both Mr.
Rodriguez and his brother Miguel, who is serving 17 years for drug-related
offences. The judge said they had exhibited "correct social behaviour."

Mr. Uribe ordered the men kept in jail on grounds of "national dignity"
until an investigation could be made into the possibility that Judge Suarez
had been bribed.

For that decision the President was harshly criticized by Colombia's
Supreme Court, whose 23 judges signed a statement accusing him of
interfering in judicial affairs.

Yesterday, Judge Luz Angela Moncada upheld the order in Gilberto
Rodriguez's favour but ruled that Miguel must serve another four years on a
bribery charge.

Parole is a feature of many justice systems, including Canada's. But the
ruling lends support to the view that Colombia can't deal firmly with drug
trafficking, said Stephen Randall, dean of social sciences at the
University of Calgary and an expert on Colombian politics.

"The symbolic importance is potentially quite devastating for Uribe both
inside the country and out," Prof. Randall said. "It makes it look as if
you can buy someone off."

The Rodriguez brothers were key figures in the so-called Cali cartel, a
syndicate that at one time was believed to supply 80 per cent of the
cocaine consumed in the United States, raking in an estimated $7-billion
(U.S.) in profits.

They came to prominence after leaders of the higher-profile Medellin drug
syndicate, including Pablo Escobar, were killed or captured by police.

The Cali group was accused of funnelling $3.7-million (U.S.) to the
election campaign of former president Ernesto Samper. He said he had no
knowledge of the contribution, and it was while Mr. Samper was in office
that the Rodriguez brothers were arrested and convicted.

A Reuters correspondent who toured the jail where they were being held in
1996 reported that they enjoyed "conjugal visits, fine dining, billiards,
fresh-cut flowers and cable television." Miguel Rodriguez sold Belgian
chocolates from a kiosk in the prison yard, the report said.

Around the same time, police who raided the prison said they had wiretap
evidence that the drug lords were seeking to bribe congressmen and had
found detailed instructions on planning clandestine air flights.

Since the Cali cocaine bosses were jailed, Colombia's illegal drug business
has continued to flourish in the hands of dozens of "mini-cartels."