They say they plan to produce ethanol by mid-2009 in southern Louisiana, where Inverandino -- a business group managed by the Colombian Santacoloma family -- has been taking control of three sugar mills since 2006, The Miami Herald reported Sunday.

Inverandino said it plans to be the first company to use mills for the sole purpose of making organic fertilizers and ethanol from sugar cane. United States-made ethanol is now derived only from corn.

''We came to create a change in the paradigm that in the United States it is not possible to produce ethanol from sugar cane in a way that is profitable, and we are determined to make it happen,'' said Mario Andres Cortes, of Louisiana Green Fuels, the company backing the endeavor.