Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela

Colombian drug lord (1939–2022)

2 min read

Why this is trending

Interest in “Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-02-25.

Categorised under Entertainment, this article fits a familiar pattern. Articles in the entertainment category often trend when tied to award ceremonies, film releases, celebrity news, or viral social media moments.

GlyphSignal tracks these patterns daily, turning raw Wikipedia traffic data into a curated feed of what the world is curious about. Every spike tells a story.

2026-01-27Peak: 2,4332026-02-25

30-day total: 34,454

Key Takeaways

Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela (30 January 1939 – 31 May 2022) was a Colombian drug lord and one of the leaders of the Cali Cartel.
The cartel emerged to prominence in the early 1990s, and was estimated to control about 80% of the American and 90% of the European cocaine markets in the mid-1990s.
He obtained early release in 2002, and was re-arrested in 2003, after which he was extradited to the United States.
Early life Gilberto José Rodríguez Orejuela was born on Jan.
His family moved to Cali when he was a child.

Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela (30 January 1939 – 31 May 2022) was a Colombian drug lord and one of the leaders of the Cali Cartel. Orejuela formed the cartel with his brother, Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela, José Santacruz Londoño, and Hélmer Herrera. The cartel emerged to prominence in the early 1990s, and was estimated to control about 80% of the American and 90% of the European cocaine markets in the mid-1990s. Rodríguez Orejuela was captured after a 1995 police campaign by Colombian authorities and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He obtained early release in 2002, and was re-arrested in 2003, after which he was extradited to the United States. There, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison, where he died in 2022.

Early life

Gilberto José Rodríguez Orejuela was born on Jan. 30, 1939, in Mariquita, Colombia, about 110 miles northwest of Bogotá. His family moved to Cali when he was a child. His father, Carlos Rodríguez, was a painter; his mother, Ana Rita Orejuela, was a homemaker. After leaving high school at 15, he began working as a drugstore clerk. He rose to become a manager, and opened his own store at age 25.