erstwhile colombian drug trust
The Cali Cartel ( spanish : Cartel de Cali ) was a drug trust based in southerly Colombia, around the city of Cali and the Valle del Cauca Department. Its founders were the brothers Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela and Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela, and José Santacruz Londoño. They broke away from Pablo Escobar and his Medellín associates in the late 1980s, when Hélmer “ Pacho ” Herrera joined what became a four-man administrator control panel that ran the trust. [ 2 ] At the height of the Cali Cartel ‘s reign from 1993-1995, they were cited as having dominance of over 80 % of the world ‘s cocaine commercialize and were said to be directly responsible for the growth of the cocaine market in Europe, controlling 80 % of the market there ampere well. [ 3 ] By the mid-1990s, the Cali Cartel ‘s international drug traffic empire was a $ 7 billion a year condemnable enterprise. [ 4 ] [ 5 ]

basis [edit ]

The Cali Cartel was formed by the Rodriguez Orejuela brothers and Santacruz, all coming from what is described as a higher sociable background than most other traffickers of the time. [ 6 ] The recognition of this social setting was displayed in the group ‘s nickname as “ Los Caballeros de Cali ” ( “ Gentlemen of Cali ” ). [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 7 ] The group primitively assembled as a ring of kidnappers known as “ Las Chemas ”, which was led by Luis Fernando Tamayo García. Las Chemas were implicated in numerous kidnappings including those of two swiss citizens : a diplomat, Herman Buff, and a student, Zack “ Jazz Milis ” Martin. The kidnappers reportedly received $ 700,000 in ransom, which is believed to have been used to fund their drug traffic empire. [ 8 ]

The assemble group first involved itself in trafficking marijuana. Due to the intersection ‘s abject profit rate and boastfully amounts required to dealings to cover resources, the fledgling group decided to shift their focus to a more lucrative drug, cocaine. [ 8 ] In the early 1970s, the trust sent Hélmer Herrera to New York City to establish a distribution concentrate, during a prison term when the United States Drug Enforcement Administration ( DEA ) viewed cocaine as less important than heroin. [ 8 ] The Cali Cartel leadership comprised the Cali group Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela, José Santacruz Londoño and Hélmer Herrera. Some top associates were Victor Patiño Fomeque, Henry Loaiza Ceballos, ex-guerrilla José Fedor Rey, and Phanor Arizabaleta-Arzayus. [ 9 ]

administration [edit ]

In the absence of a hard-line policy from the DEA on cocaine, the trade wind flourished. The group developed and organized itself into multiple “ cells ” that appeared to operate independently so far reported to a celeno ( “ coach ” ). [ 3 ] The independent clandestine cell arrangement is what set the Cali Cartel apart from the Medellín Cartel. The Cali Cartel operated as a rigorous group of autonomous criminal organizations, as opposed to the Medellíns ‘ centralize structure under drawing card Pablo Escobar. [ 4 ] [ 10 ] The Cali Cartel finally became “ The biggest, most brawny crime syndicate we ‘ve ever known ”, according to then DEA headman Thomas Constantine. [ 3 ] [ 11 ] Juan Carlos Saavedra represented the Cali KGB Cartel in Spain. [ 12 ]

Activities [edit ]

Trafficking [edit ]

The Cali Cartel would become known for its innovations in traffic and production, by moving its refine operations out of Colombia to Peru and Bolivia, a well as for pioneering new traffic routes through Panama. The Cartel besides diversified into opium and was reported to have brought in a japanese chemist to help its polish operation. [ 10 ] [ 13 ] The Venezuelan General Ramon Guillen Davila, who ran the Venezuelan National Guard unit that was to interdict cocaine shipments and was the CIA ‘s most trust narcotics asset in Venezuela and worked with Mark McFarlin and Jim Campbell, was charged by United States authorities with smuggling 22 tons of Cali Cartel cocaine from 1987 to 1991 known as Operation North ( spanish : Operación Norte ). [ 14 ] [ 15 ] [ 16 ] [ 17 ] According to reports and testimony of Thomas Constantine to the United States Congress, “ Cali would be the dominant group in trafficking south american heroin due to their access to the opium growing areas of Colombia. ” debate over the trust ‘s engagement in heroin traffic remains. It is believed the trust ‘s leaders were not involved in heroin trading, but that conclusion associates to them, such as Ivan Urdinola-Grajales, were, [ 3 ] and that they cooperated with heroin distribution centers. [ 8 ] At the height of the Cali Cartel ‘s reign, they were cited as having control over 90 % of the world ‘s cocaine market and for being directly responsible for the growth of the cocaine commercialize in Europe. [ 3 ] By the mid-1990s, the traffic conglomerate of the Cali Cartel was a multibillion-dollar enterprise. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] In 2002, the Cali KGB had an estimated $ 30 billion in profits. [ 18 ] In the mid-1980s, after a tripper of Gilberto to Spain, the trust began to expand its activities in Europe, developing a working relationship with tobacco smugglers from Galicia in Spain. But in particular the Cali trust established a strategic alliance with the knock-down Camorra criminal organization. Cali supplied the cocaine and the Camorra handled distribution across Europe. [ 19 ] [ 20 ]

Finances [edit ]

Cali Cartel money laundering chart In order to launder the incoming money of the traffic operations, the Cali trust heavily invested its funds into legalize business ventures a well as front companies to mask the money. In 1996, it was believed the Cartel was grossing $ 7 billion in annual gross from the US alone. [ 4 ] [ 21 ] [ 22 ] With the inflow of cash comes the need to launder the funds. One of the first instances of the Cali Cartel ‘s launder operations came when Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela was able to secure the position of Chairman of the Board of Banco de Trabajadores. The bank was believed to have been used to launder funds for the Cali trust, deoxyadenosine monophosphate well as Pablo Escobar ‘s Medellín Cartel. Cartel members were permitted, through their affiliation with Gilberto, to overdraft accounts and take out loans without refund. [ 3 ] [ 8 ] [ 21 ] allegedly, Semion Mogilevich instructed Natasha Kagalovsky to wire transfer Cali trust funds from Bank of New York accounts though brazilian banks to offshore shell companies. [ 23 ] Capitalizing on this basis, Gilberto was able to found the First InterAmericas Bank operating out of Panama. [ 8 ] In an consultation with Time, Gilberto admitted to money being laundered through the depository financial institution ; however, he attributed the procedure to lone legal actions. The launder, which Gilberto states was “ in accord with panamanian law ”, is what led to the US authorities ‘ pursuing him. Gilberto late started, in 1979, the Grupo Radial Colombiano, a network of over 30 radio receiver stations and a pharmaceutical chain named Drogas la Rebaja, which at its altitude amassed over 400 stores in 28 cities, employing 4,200. The pharmaceutical range ‘s rate was estimated at $ 216 million. [ 3 ] [ 21 ] [ 24 ] As a consequence of the Cali Cartel ‘s ownership of the chain, from January 1988 to May 4, 1990, it was targeted for 85 bombings by Pablo Escobar and the Medellín Cartel, leaving a sum of 27 people dead. [ 25 ]

russian state connections [edit ]

According to Felipe Turover Chudínov, who was a senior intelligence officer with the foreign-intelligence directorate of the KGB, Russian premier minister Viktor Chernomyrdin secretly decreed in the early 1990s that Russia would become an external hub through which narcotics are trafficked including cocaine and heroin from South America and heroin from Central Asia and Southeast Asia. [ 26 ] [ 27 ] Yuri Skuratov supported Turover ‘s statements and began numerous investigations into corruption with senior high school ranking russian politics officials. [ 28 ] Alexander Litvinenko provided a detail narcotics trafficking diagram showing relationships between russian government officials and russian mafia and implicating Vladimir Putin and numerous others in obschak including narcotics trafficking money. [ 29 ] [ 30 ] [ 31 ] Following Operation Troika which targeted the Tambov Gang, Spanish Prosecutor José Grinda concurred and added that to avoid prosecution numerous write persons became Deputies in the russian Duma, specially with Vladimir Zhirinovsky ‘s Liberal Democratic Party and gained parliamentary immunity from prosecution. [ 32 ] St. Petersburg Immobilien und Beteiligungs AG or SPAG is a real estate ship’s company registered in Germany under Putin ‘s control in 1992 and suspected by german patrol of facilitating Saint Petersburg mobsters, colombian drug lords, and transcontinental money wash. [ 33 ] [ 34 ] Kumarin-Barsukov, of the Tambov Russian mafia was a partner in Znamenskaya, a subsidiary company of SPAG. [ 35 ] [ 36 ] Vladimir Smirnov was the general director of Znamenskaya and Kumarin-Barsukov was his deputy. [ 36 ] Through his 200 shares or 20 % control, Vladimir Smirnov was Putin ‘s vote proxy in SPAG. [ 37 ] [ 38 ] Jalol Khaidarov ( russian : Джалол Хайдаров ) stated that the final examination finish of the funds was to the “ Operator Trade Center ” in Liechtenstein but besides said that the Bank of New York was a player. [ 37 ] In the early 2000s, the ship’s company ‘s co-founder Rudolf Ritter was arrested in Liechtenstein for laundering cocaine cash for the Cali trust. [ 35 ] [ 39 ] Robert Walner was the chief prosecutor in Liechtenstein ‘s capital Vaduz. [ 35 ] erstwhile ukrainian presidential bodyguard Nikolai Melnichenko bugged the following conversation between ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and his security headman Leonid Derkach about SPAG : [ 35 ] [ 40 ]

Leonid Derkach : Leonid Danilovich. We ‘ve got some interest material here from the Germans. One of them has been arrested.
Leonid Kuchma ( reading loudly ) : Ritter, Rudolf Ritter.
Leonid Derkach : Yes, and about that affair, the drug smuggling. here are the documents. They gave them all out. here ‘s Vova Putin, besides.
Leonid Kuchma : There ‘s something about Putin there ?
Leonid Derkach : The Russians have already been buying everything up. here are all the documents. We ‘re the lone ones that hush have them now. I think that [ FSB chief ] Nikolai Patrushev is coming from the 15th to the 17th. This will give him something to work with. This is what we ‘ll keep. They want to shove the wholly affair under the carpet .

belated in the conversation Derkach states that “ they ‘ve bought up all these documents throughout Europe and merely the rest are in our hands ”. [ 40 ] Using Israel as its floor, russian mafia moved heroin and colombian cocaine, sometimes through Venezuela, through Israel, where money laundering would occur of the narcotics profits, to Saint Petersburg while the Russian Kurgan mafia ( russian : Курганская организованная преступная группировка ) provided security. [ 41 ] [ 42 ] [ 43 ] [ 44 ] [ 45 ] According to Alexander Litvinenko, Putin, while he was Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs of St Petersburg in the early 1990s, organized an Afghanistan beginning heroin supplying ring using heathen Uzbek criminals and corrupt KGB and former FSB officers including the Moscow-based KGB Colonel Evgeny G. Khokholkov, the Oleg Ivanov created Izmaylovskaya Russian mafia and led by Anton Malevsky including mafia leaders Gafur Rakhimov, Vyacheslav Ivanov ( “ Yaponchik ” ( Япончик ) or little Japonese ), who governed Uzbek networks in America, and Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov ( russian : Алик Тахтахунов ) ( “ Taiwanchik ” ( Тайванчик ) or little Taiwan ), who governed Uzbek networks in Europe, and Salim Abdulaev. These networks besides supplied Europe and America with cocaine from the Cali KGB trust. [ 37 ] [ 46 ] [ 31 ] [ 47 ] Robert Eringer, head of Monaco ‘s Security Service, confirmed Litvinenko ‘s file about Vladimir Putin ‘s involvement in Europe ‘s narcotics trade. [ 48 ] The Ismailovskaya mafia is closely associated with Oleg Deripaska, Andrei Bokarev, Michael Cherney, and Iskander Makhmudov through their Switzerland-based Blond Investment Corporation ‘s MIB bank report. [ 12 ] [ 37 ] Rudolf Ritter in Liechtenstein was the fiscal coach for both SPAG and the Ismailovskaya mafia. [ 37 ] Alexander Afanasyev ( “ Afonya ” ) was connected to both SPAG and the Ismailovskaya mafia through his Panama registered Earl Holding AG which Ritter had besides a signature angstrom well as Berger International Holding, Repas Trading SA and Fox Consulting. [ 12 ] [ 37 ] Juan Carlos Saavedra represented the Cali Cartel in Spain. [ 12 ] [ 37 ] In October 2015, spanish Prosecutor Jose Grinda stated that any contribution of “ the sheath could be recalled back to Spain. ” [ 37 ] Revealed in deep September 2020, Cali KGB cocaine was being transported through the russian embassy in Argentina to Russia for many years. [ 49 ]

violence [edit ]

discipline [edit ]

political ferocity was largely discounted by the Cali Cartel, as the menace of violence frequently sufficed. The administration of the trust was structured sol that only people who had family in Colombia would handle operations that involved both Cali and U.S. sites, keeping the family within reach of the trust. class members became the trust ‘s policy that its members would not assist government officials, nor would they refuse payment for products received. The terror of end besides hung over those who made mistakes. It is believed the trust would much kill junior members who made gross errors. [ 10 ]

Social ablutionary [edit ]

In his book End of Millennium, Manuel Castells states the Cali Cartel had participated in social cleansing of hundreds of desechables ( “ discardables ” ). The desechables included prostitutes, street children, petit larceny thieves, homosexuals and the homeless. [ 50 ] Along with some of the locals, the Cali Cartel formed parties self-named grupos de limpieza social ( “ social cleaning groups ” ) who murdered the desechables, often leaving them with signs on them stating : “ Cali limpia, Cali linda “ ( “ clean Cali, beautiful Cali ” ). The bodies of those murdered were frequently tossed into the Cauca River, which subsequently became known as the “ River of Death ”. The municipality of Marsella in Risaralda was finally bankrupted by the cost of recovering corpses and conducting autopsies. [ 6 ] [ 50 ]

Retaliation

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[edit ]

In the 1980s and early 1990s, the communist guerrillas struck at the drug cartels. In 1981, the then-guerrilla group, Movimiento 19 de Abril ( M-19 ; “ 19th of April Movement ” ), kidnapped Marta Nieves Ochoa, the sister of the Medellín Cartel ‘s Ochoa brothers, Jorge, Fabio and Juan David. M-19 demanded a ransom of $ 15 million for Marta ‘s condom liberation, but were rejected. In reception to the kidnap, the Medellín and Cali cartels, vitamin a well as associated traffickers, formed the group Muerte a Secuestradores ( MAS ; “ Death to Kidnappers ” ). Traffickers contributed funds, rewards, equipment and work force for MAS operations. Leaflets soon after were dropped in a football deliver in Cali announcing the geological formation of the group. MAS began to capture and torture M-19 members in retaliation. Within 3 days, Marta Nieves was released. The group MAS, however, would continue to operate, with hundreds of killings attributed to them. [ 8 ] [ 51 ] In 1992, the guerrilla cabal Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia ( FARC ; “ Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia ” ) kidnapped Christina Santa Cruz, the daughter of Cali Cartel drawing card José Santacruz Londoño. FARC demanded in rally for the safe return of Christina a ransom of $ 10 million. In response, the Cali Cartel kidnapped 20 or more members of the colombian Communist Party, Patriotic Union, the United Workers Union, and the sister of Pablo Catatumbo, a representative of the Simón Bolívar Guerrilla Coordinating Board. Eventually, after talks, Christina and the sister of Catatumbo were released. It is unknown what happened to the other hostages taken by the trust. [ 8 ] [ 51 ] [ 52 ] During the narco-terror war waged by Pablo Escobar on the colombian government, it is believed a hired assassin attempted to kill Herrera while he was attending a sports event. The gunman opened fire using a machine gun on the crowd where Herrera was sitting, killing 19. however, he did not hit Herrera. Herrera is believed to have been a initiation member of Los Pepes, a group which operated alongside authorities with the intention of killing or capturing Pablo Escobar. [ 53 ] The Cali trust then hired a member of Colombia ‘s military, a civil engineer named Jorge Salcedo. [ 54 ] [ 55 ] They wanted him to help them plot an assassination on Pablo Escobar. They hired him because they heard that Salcedo had in the past, befriended and hired a group of mercenaries to engage war against the leftist guerrilla forces in an operation sanctioned by Colombia ‘s military. The mercenary group was made up of 12 former special operations soldiers, including the british Special Air Service. [ 54 ] Salcedo felt it was his patriotic duty and accepted the deal to bring the mercenaries back to Colombia and help plan the operation to kill Pablo Escobar. [ 55 ] The group of british ex-soldiers accepted the crack. The trust provided food, housing, and weapons to the mercenaries. The design was to attack Escobar at his Hacienda Nápoles compound. They trained for a few months until they heard Escobar was going to be staying at the compound, celebrating the fact that his football team had won a tournament. They were going to be inserted by function of two heavily armed Hughes 500 helicopters and surprise-attack Escobar during the early dawn. They painted the helicopters to look like patrol helicopters to further confuse them. They took off and headed towards the colonial but one of the helicopters ended up crashing onto a mountainside, minutes away from the compound. [ 54 ] The pilot program was killed during the clang. The plan was aborted and they had to conduct a rescue mission up the dense mountainside. [ 54 ] [ 55 ]
One plan included the manipulation of a privately owned A-37 coal-black to bomb the prison holding Escobar. last, Escobar went to prison, where he continued to run his Medellin Cartel and menace rivals from his cell. [ 55 ] The irregular plot to kill Escobar was to bomb the prison by using an A-37 Dragonfly surplus ground-attack jet bomber in individual ownership. [ 55 ] [ 56 ] The Cali Cartel had a connection in El Salvador, a general of El Salvador ‘s military who illegally sold them four 500-pound bombs for about half a million dollars. [ 54 ] [ 55 ] Salcedo flew over to El Salvador to oversee the design to pick up the turkey and take them to an airfield where a civilian jet would land to pick them up and take them to Colombia. But when the jet landed at the airfield they found that it was a belittled executive jet. They attempted to load the four bomb, and what was planned to be a few minutes, it took them over 20 minutes. By this time there was a push of civilians that had gathered at the airfield curious about what was happening. merely three bombs fit, stacked in the small passenger cabin. [ 55 ] The jet took off and Salcedo abandoned the one-fourth fail and went back to his hotel. The dawn after, the activities of the nox before were all over the newsworthiness. [ 54 ] Salcedo barely escaped El Salvador and halt before the bungled tone arm was exposed. [ 55 ] Law enforcement had discovered the fail and some of the people involved in the operation were arrested, and they told authorities about the plot to kill Escobar with the bomb. The Cali Cartel then decided to abort the air bombing plot. [ 54 ] [ 55 ] There was no turning back for Salcedo. The colombian government labeled him a criminal nowadays working for the Cali Cartel, and his employers would not let him go anyhow. [ 54 ] [ 55 ] Salcedo then settled into managing security for the Orejuela family, but then he was forced to witness an execution of four Panamanians, and tasked with organizing the murder of Guillermo Pallomari, their own trust accountant. [ 55 ] Salcedo faced a option : to kill or risk being killed along with his class. [ 55 ] Salcedo then decided to retaliate and save Pallomari and himself by contacting the US Central Intelligence Agency and work as an informant. [ 54 ] [ 55 ] This proved to be the death boast to the Cali Cartel. [ 54 ] For his service, Salcedo and his offer family were relocated to the US and he received rewards of about $ 1.7 million. [ 54 ] [ 55 ]

counterintelligence [edit ]

The counter-intelligence TN Education Centre of the Cali Cartel frequently surprised the DEA and colombian officials. It was discovered, in a 1995 raid of Cali Cartel offices, that the trust had been monitoring all call calls made in and out of Bogotá and Cali, including the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá and the Ministry of Defense. The laptop allowed Londoño to eavesdrop on phone calls being made a good as analyze phone lines for wiretaps. While officials were able to discover the use of the laptop, it is reported they were unable to decrypt many of the files ascribable to sophisticate encoding techniques. [ 6 ] Londoño was besides believed to have a person within the phone company itself, which the officials realized when he was able to recognize a telephone rap, one that had been placed directly at the call caller, alternatively of at his mansion. Londoño ‘s lawyer soon sent an official notice requesting the legality and requesting the justify if one was produced. [ 6 ] [ 57 ] Included in the list of government officials and officers on the Cali Cartel payroll were a reported 5,000 taxi drivers. The cab drivers would allow the trust to know who was arriving in the city and when, a well as where they were staying. By having numerous cab drivers on the payroll, the trust was able to monitor the movements of officials and dignitaries. It is reported by Time magazine, in 1991, DEA and U.S. Customs Service ( now ICE ) agents were monitoring a cargo being offloaded in Miami, only to find out former that the DEA agents were the target of Cali surveillance at the same clock time. [ 57 ] Jorge Salcedo, a member of Colombia ‘s military, was put in charge of the trust ‘s intelligence and belated provide security to Miguel. He would late, ironically, be crucial in helping destroy the trust and pinpointing where Miguel was hiding. He designed and set up a big concealed radio network across the city allowing members to communicate wherever they were. They besides had many people inside law enforcement working for them, including a high-level extremity of the Bloque de Búsqueda ( search block ) who were looking for the Cali Cartel ‘s top leaders. When law enforcement had last cornered Miguel inside an apartment, the doubling agentive role was there ( along with other law enforcement including two DEA agents ) trying to find the secret compartment in which Miguel was hiding. Law enforcement failed to find him on time and were forced to leave the apartment. They maintained a circumference around the build up to prevent his escape. The double agent was all-important in helping Miguel escape, as he hid Miguel in his car and drove away from the scene untroubled. [ 54 ]

Medellín Cartel relations [edit ]

First InterAmericas Bank [edit ]

Jorge Ochoa, a high ranking Medellín financier and Gilberto Rodriguez had been childhood friends and years late co-owned the panamanian First InterAmericas Bank. The institution was late cited by United States officials as a money laundering operation, which allowed both the Cali Cartel and the Medellín Cartel to move and launder boastfully amounts of funds. lone through diplomatic press on then panamanian Dictator Manuel Noriega could the U.S. put an end to the bank ‘s function as a money laundering front. [ 51 ] In a Time magazine consultation, Gilberto Rodriguez admitted to laundering money through the bank but noted that the serve broke no panamanian laws. [ 21 ]

Muerte a Secuestradores [edit ]

The two cartels participated in other joint ventures in late years, such as the establish of Muerte a Secuestradores ( MAS ), who successfully returned Ochoa ‘s kidnapped baby, Marta Nieves Ochoa. Expanding on the prior success of MAS, the cartels and independent traffickers would meet again. The second suffer is believed to have been the depart of an organization traffic between the primary participants, the Medellín Cartel and Cali Cartel. The two cartels divided up the major United States distribution points : the Cali Cartel took New York City and the Medellín Cartel took South Florida and Miami ; Los Angeles was left up for grabs. Through their affiliation in MAS, it is besides believed the cartels decided to work together to stabilize prices, production, and shipments of the cocaine market. however, the strategic alliance formed with the foundation of MAS in 1981 began to crumble by 1983–1984, due to the comfort of competition. As the cartels set up infrastructure, routes, transportation methods, and bribes, it became easier for competitors to either establish similar deals or make practice of those already put in place by early cartels. By 1987, the cooperation forged by the formation of MAS no long existed. Contributing to the death was the Medellín Cartel ‘s Rodríguez Gacha, who attempted to move in on the New York City market, previously ceded to the Cali Cartel, and the 1986 check of Jorge Ochoa at a police barrier, which the Medellín Cartel deemed leery and attributed partially to the Cali Cartel. [ 51 ]

Los Pepes [edit ]

In former years, as Pablo Escobar ‘s narco-terror war escalated against the colombian politics, the politics began to strike back in always escalating battles. As the Medellín Cartel weakened due to the contend and changeless blackmail, the Cali Cartel grew in lastingness, finally founding Los Pepes, or Perseguidos por Pablo Escobar ( “ People Persecuted by Pablo Escobar ” ). Los Pepes was specifically formed to target the Medellín Cartel and bring about the precipitation of Pablo Escobar. It is believed Los Pepes provided information to Search Bloc, a joint police and united states army unit specifically created to track down Medellín leaders. In exchange for information, Los Pepes received aid from the United States counter-terrorism unit, Delta Force, through its links to Search Bloc. By the meter of Escobar ‘s appropriate and eventual death in December 1993, Los Pepes had been creditworthy for the deaths or executions of over 60 associates or members of the Medellín Cartel. The end of Pablo Escobar led to the disassemble of the Medellín Cartel and the resurrect of the Cali Cartel. [ 51 ] [ 59 ]

law enforcement [edit ]

Seizures [edit ]

While the Cali Cartel operated with a degree of immunity early on on, owing to its ties to the government and the Medellín Cartel ‘s narco-terrorism war on the colombian government, they were still subjected to drug seizures. In 1991 alone, law enforcement agencies seized 67 tons of cocaine, 75 % originating from the Cali Cartel. In total, the US Customs Service ( USCS ) alone had spent 91,855 case hours and 13 years in investigations against the Cali Cartel, seizing 50 tons of cocaine and $ 15 million in assets. [ 60 ] In 1991, a cargo of cocaine hidden inside of concrete posts was intercepted with the help of a drug-sniffing cad at the Miami seaport. It led to the seizure of 12,000 kilograms ( 26,455 pound ) of cocaine and respective arrests, beginning what the US Customs Service would dub Operation Cornerstone, which lasted 14 years. In another capture the adopt year, a USCS wiretap on Harold Ackerman, whose affiliation was derived from the 1991 seizure, enabled the halt of seven individuals and 6,000 kilograms ( 13,228 pound ) of cocaine hidden in a load of broccoli. [ 8 ] Accounting ledgers were seized in relate arrests, which allowed the recognition of another dispatch being sent to Panama hide in tiles. This information was passed to panamanian authorities and led to the capture of 5,100 kilograms ( 11,244 pound ). [ 60 ] In 1993, the US Customs Service struck again at the Cali trust, this clock seizing 5,600 kilograms ( 12,346 pound ) while pursuing Raul Marti, the only remaining member of the defunct Miami cell. It is believed these consecutive raids forced the trust to funnel its shipments through Mexico ; however, that did not stop the US Customs Service. Three maritime ships were intercepted in 1993, with a total of 17,000 kilograms ( 37,479 pound ). [ 60 ]

major arrests [edit ]

Between June and July 1995, the remaining six of the seven heads of the trust were arrested. [ 13 ] Gilberto was arrested in his dwelling, and Henry Loaiza-Ceballos, Victor Patiño-Fomeque and Phanor Arizabaleta-Arzayus surrendered to authorities. Jose Santa Cruz Londoño was captured in a restaurant, and a calendar month late, Miguel Rodriguez was apprehended during a raid. It is wide believed that the trust continued to operate and run trafficking operations from within prison. [ 22 ] [ 24 ] [ 52 ] The Rodríguez brothers were extradited in 2006 to the United States and pleaded guilty in Miami, Florida, to charges of conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States. Upon their confession, they agreed to forfeit $ 2.1 billion in assets. The agreement, however, did not require them to cooperate in other investigations. They were entirely responsible for identification of assets stemming from their cocaine traffic. colombian officials raided and seized the Drogas louisiana Rebaja pharmacy chain, replacing 50 of its 4,200 workers on the grounds that they were “ serving the interests of the Cali Cartel ”. [ 24 ] [ 61 ]

See besides [edit ]

References [edit ]

bibliography [edit ]