Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela
Guatemalan drug lord
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Key Takeaways
- Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Orejuela (born August 15, 1943) is a convicted Colombian drug lord, formerly one of the leaders of the Cali Cartel, based in the city of Cali.
- He married Miss Colombia 1974, Martha Lucía Echeverry.
- They were primarily involved in marijuana trafficking.
- For a time, the Cali Cartel supplied 80% of the United States and 90% of the Europe cocaine market.
- While the Medellín Cartel was involved in a brutal campaign of violence against the Colombian government, the Cali Cartel grew.
Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Orejuela (born August 15, 1943) is a convicted Colombian drug lord, formerly one of the leaders of the Cali Cartel, based in the city of Cali. He is the younger brother of Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela. He married Miss Colombia 1974, Martha Lucía Echeverry.
Cali Cartel
The Rodríguez brothers and "Jose" formed the Cali cartel in the 1970s. They were primarily involved in marijuana trafficking. In the 1980s, they branched out into cocaine trafficking. For a time, the Cali Cartel supplied 80% of the United States and 90% of the Europe cocaine market.
The Cali Cartel was less violent than its rival, the Medellín Cartel. While the Medellín Cartel was involved in a brutal campaign of violence against the Colombian government, the Cali Cartel grew. The cartel was much more inclined toward bribery rather than violence. However, after the demise of the Medellín Cartel, the Colombian authorities turned their attention to the Cali cartel. The police campaign against the cartel began in the summer of 1995.
Arrest
On August 6, 1995, Rodriguez Orejuela was arrested when the Colombian National Police broke down the door of his apartment (Hacienda Buenos Aires) in the exclusive Normandia neighborhood in Cali, Colombia, as he was about to slip into a secret closet called a caleta. Rodriguez was betrayed by Jorge Salcedo, his main bodyguard. Rodriguez Orejuela was not eligible for extradition to the U.S. for crimes committed prior to December 16, 1997. However, while he was detained in Colombia, Rodriguez Orejuela continued to engage in drug trafficking. As a result, the United States requested his extradition.
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