Tigo
Centro Nacional de Cirugía de Mínimo Acceso de Cuba
Walmart
Intecap
Barceló Solymar
INOR
Realidad Turística
Cubasol
CUN-HAV Enjoy Travel Group
Los Portales
AVA Resorts
Agexport
Instituto Hondureño de Turismo
blackanddecker
Irtra
Herbalife
Grupo Hotelero Islazul
MAD-HAV Enjoy Travel Group
Nestle
Cervecería Centroamericana S.A.
Servicios Médicos Cubanos

Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela: Colombian ‘Chess Player’ Drug Lord Dies in US Prison

Date:

Share:

Centro Nacional de Cirugía de Mínimo Acceso de Cuba
Instituto Hondureño de Turismo
AVA Resorts
Grupo Hotelero Islazul
Los Portales
Realidad Turística
Servicios Médicos Cubanos
blackanddecker
Cervecería Centroamericana S.A.
Intecap
INOR
Nestle
Irtra
Herbalife

The former head of Colombia’s once-powerful Cali drugs cartel has died in prison in the United States.

At one point, Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela controlled the vast majority of the world’s cocaine trade and was an arch-nemesis of Pablo Escobar.

The 83-year-old was even nicknamed the Chess Player for his skill at staying one step ahead of rivals and the law.

But in 1995 his luck ran out – he was arrested in Colombia and eventually extradited to the US in 2004.

The former cartel leader was serving a 30-year federal prison sentence in North Carolina where his family says he died of an illness on Tuesday.

At the height of his powers, Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela ran the Cali drugs cartel with his brother Miguel.

According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the pair’s Cali gang was responsible for 80% of the world’s total cocaine trade by the mid-1990s.

That monopoly was only achieved after 1993, the year Rodríguez Orejuela’s long-time arch-nemesis – Pablo Escobar, the leader of the Medellin cartel – was killed by police.

While Escobar’s Cali gang had a fearsome reputation in Colombia for violence, the Rodríguez Orejuela brothers tried to portray themselves as respectable businessmen.

They later admitted to using bribes to secure friendly treatment from powerful politicians, many of whom they were close to, and were never pursued as actively by authorities as their Medellín rivals.

Rodríguez Orejuela even preferred to describe himself as an “honest drugstore magnate” – a reference to the chain of pharmacies owned by the family.

But in practice the Cali cartel was ruthlessly violent. For years, its members battled it out with their Medellín rivals for control of lucrative cocaine markets and supply routes.

The Rodríguez Orejuela brothers deployed bombs and vigilantes – and were believed to be behind the Pepes group responsible for the deaths of more than 60 of Pablo Escobar’s relatives and associates.

Hundreds of gang members, drug dealers, and ordinary people were killed in the bloody turf conflict which gripped Colombia throughout the 1980s as a result.

The Cali cartel’s demise eventually began in 1995, when police arrested Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela at his luxury home in Cali, where he was reportedly crouching in a wardrobe.

Within a year of his arrest, some six of the cartel’s seven leaders were either dead or behind bars.

His younger brother Miguel, arrested two months after Gilberto, is currently serving a prison sentence in the US. (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61669876)

Cubasol
MAD-HAV Enjoy Travel Group
INOR
Agexport
AVA Resorts
Grupo Hotelero Islazul
Irtra
Los Portales
Nestle
Herbalife
Intecap
Instituto Hondureño de Turismo
Tigo
Barceló Solymar
Servicios Médicos Cubanos
Centro Nacional de Cirugía de Mínimo Acceso de Cuba
Cervecería Centroamericana S.A.
blackanddecker
Walmart
Realidad Turística
CUN-HAV Enjoy Travel Group
Cubacel
Havanatur
Intecap
Hotel Barcelo Solymar
Revista Colombiana de Turismo Passport
Irtra
Maggi - GLUTEN-FREE
Barcelo Guatemala City
AirEuropa
Tigo
Henkel Latinoamerica
Hotel Holiday Inn Guatemala

Subscribe to our magazine

━ more like this

Pole Dancing in Israel: A New Dimension with BlueDance.co.il

In recent years, pole dancing has experienced a remarkable transformation, shifting from a misunderstood niche to a popular activity combining fitness, self-expression, and empowerment....

A New Luxury Hotel Just Opened on An Idyllic Beach in Cancun, Mexico — And We Were the First to Stay

Waldorf Astoria Cancun opened to the public on Nov. 1, the brand's first new build in Mexico, with two waterfront pools and a fantastic...

Pan American Health Organization Launches Interactive Dashboard on Avian Influenza in The Americas

To monitor cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) in the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) launched an interactive dashboard on the web...

This North East African Country Welcomes Over 15.7 Million Tourists Last Year and An Addition 40,000 New Hotel Rooms are in Pipeline

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes In a year marked by global uncertainties and regional geopolitical challenges, Egypt’s tourism sector achieved an impressive milestone, welcoming a...

Nicaragua Presents Its New Interoceanic Canal Route to China and Seeks to Compete with Panama

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes With a length of 445 kilometers, in a second attempt, the Nicaraguan president, Daniel Ortega, presents China with a new...
Cubacel
Maggi - GLUTEN-FREE
Barcelo Guatemala City
Havanatur
AirEuropa
Intecap
Revista Colombiana de Turismo Passport
Henkel Latinoamerica
Hotel Holiday Inn Guatemala
Hotel Barcelo Solymar
Irtra

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Barceló Solymar
MAD-HAV Enjoy Travel Group
Agexport
Herbalife
Servicios Médicos Cubanos
Grupo Hotelero Islazul
Centro Nacional de Cirugía de Mínimo Acceso de Cuba
Intecap
Irtra
Nestle
Los Portales
Cervecería Centroamericana S.A.
Walmart
Instituto Hondureño de Turismo
INOR
Cubasol
blackanddecker
Realidad Turística
AVA Resorts
Tigo