COLOMBIA: Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has overruled an unexpected court order granting the early release of two notorious drug-traffickers who once controlled 80 per cent of the world's cocaine trade.
The President's decision is to go before the prosecutor general for review.
"If this [the court's\] decision is upheld, the country is in a mess," said Justice Minister Mr Fernando Londono. "We would be showing once more that Colombia's legal system is incapable of dealing with drug-traffickers."
Miguel and Gilberto Orejuela created the Cali cocaine Mafia in the 1980s, described by the US Drug Enforcement Agency as "the most powerful drug-trafficking organisation in history", with annual profits estimated at $8 billion. Mr Londono accused the presiding judge of falling victim to the Orejuela family's "enormous economic power" and called for an investigation into his decision.
Mr Pedro José Suárez Vacca, the judge in question, said the prisoners had served a sufficient portion of their sentences and were entitled to further reductions for "exemplary behaviour" and regular attendance at prison courses.
The Orejuelas enjoyed immunity from prosecution until 1995 when US pressure forced a major police hunt which resulted in their imprisonment that year.
The detained brothers cut a deal with the justice system, pleading guilty to trafficking charges in return for a guarantee that they would not be extradited to the US. They were also allowed to hold on to their fortunes.
If released, they will have served the same length of time as the average "drug mule", the feckless teenagers who smuggle small cocaine packages inside their bodies.
The Orejuela family has invested vast sums in legitimate business while their children attend elite schools in Europe, in an effort to shake off the stigma attached to their inheritance.
The high-profile nature of the case has revealed a web of suspected judicial corruption whereby dozens of prisoners serving long terms for drug charges suddenly gain freedom due to unspecified illness, good behaviour or missing files that precipitate the speedy annulment of their cases.
President Uribe's interference in the legal process has been criticised by local human rights lawyers, who fear the precedent may affect upcoming cases, including that of three Irish men due to stand trial on terror charges next month.