BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- An appeals court increased the sentences of two jailed Cali cartel leaders and ordered an investigation of a lower court judge accused of granting unwarranted sentence reductions, officials said Wednesday. Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela each received five extra years in prison, increasing their sentences to 15 and 14 years, respectively. The judge, whose identity was withheld for security reasons, also fined Gilberto Rodriguez $121.3 million and Miguel $35 million for drug trafficking, illegal enrichment and racketeering, Attorney General Jaime Bernal Cuellar said. The two built a multi-billion dollar empire in the 1980s and early 1990s, taking over as authorities cracked down on the rival Medellin cartel. They were jailed with other Cali cartel leaders in 1995. - --- Checked-by: Richard Lake [end]
AS a Summit of the Americas begins in Chile on Saturday, our hemispheric neighbors must be wondering just how friendly a neighbor the United States wants to be. The primary doubts concern trade, where previous U.S. enthusiasm has slackened. And a lingering irritant is the continuing dispute over who bears the blame for the drug trade -- the producers or the users. At a pan-American summit convened in Miami in 1994, the countries vowed to begin to set up a Free Trade Area of the Americas, an idea first proposed by President Bush. The current summit marks the kick-off of serious negotiations. [continues 332 words]
Reporters in Latin America are still dodging bullets. Of 26 journalists killed worldwide in 1997, 10 were in Latin America, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. But an arrest warrant is a more common danger. Government officials are bringing criminal charges against journalists who report on official crime and corruption, giving intimidation a legal veneer. In Peru, one current target is an investigative reporter, Jose Arrieta. While at Si magazine, Mr. Arrieta reported that a death squad run by the Government's intelligence services committed a notorious massacre in 1992. One of his sources even led him to the bodies. Mr. Arrieta moved to a television station, Channel 2, where he broke more stories about murder, torture and illegal wiretapping by the intelligence services. [continues 300 words]