U.S. tries to stop release of Colombian drug lord

TUNJA, Colombia -- Stunned by a court order to release a former drug kingpin from prison after serving only half his sentence, U.S. investigators hurried to find evidence Thursday to support more charges -- and possibly his extradition to the United States.

The court ordered the release of Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, who with his brother Miguel once controlled the Cali drug cartel, an empire that moved multi-ton shipments of cocaine globally.

Rodriguez, who was arrested in 1995 and sentenced to prison until 2010, was ordered released last week by Judge Pedro Suarez for good behavior and participation in a prison work-study program. As the government investigated Suarez to see if the convicted drug trafficker might have bribed him -- Suarez has denied it -- another judge upheld his decision on Thursday.

Dozens of police and soldiers surrounded the prison where Rodriguez was being held, outside the town of Tunja 60 miles northeast of Bogota, to prevent any violence as prison authorities prepared to let him go. With the clock ticking, U.S. officials hastened to stop his release.

"Some documents have arrived from the United States that officials are evaluating, and that could stop the release," President Alvaro Uribe's spokesman, Ricardo Galan, told The Associated Press.

Details on the information being provided were not immediately available.

, but U.S. drug agents have been trying to link Rodriguez and jailed brother Miguel to international crimes.

Suarez's decision last week that the Rodriguez brothers should be freed shocked the nation, and prompted the president to intervene. But Judge Luz Amanda Moncada ruled Thursday that Suarez's order on Gilberto Rodriguez should stand. She also ordered an investigation of the government for allegedly interfering in the judicial process.

Interior and Justice Minister Fernando Londono called the ruling a "terrible blow."

"This is a moment of mourning and pain for the country's image and for the administration of justice in Colombia," Londono said, but nonetheless added that the administration would respect the decision.