Ex-drug lord Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, who was long considered one of the world’s biggest drug traffickers after the death of Pablo Escobar, has died aged 83 in a US prison, his lawyer has confirmed , Wednesday 1is June to Agence France-Presse (AFP). “We mourn the death of Gilberto last night”, said his lawyer, David Oscar Markus, in an email that does not specify the cause of death. This rival organization of the Medellin Cartel, led by Pablo Escobar, took over the white powder market after the charismatic “King of Cocaine” was shot dead by local police in 1993.
Sentenced to fifteen years in prison in 1995 in Colombia, Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela was released after seven years in detention. Arrested again in 2003, he was imprisoned in Colombia until his extradition to the United States in December 2004.
Escobar and Netflix
He and his brother had been sentenced to thirty years in prison each for importing 200 tons of cocaine into the United States. The two brothers finally experienced planetary fame with the series Narcos, from Netflix, which notably depicts their rivalry with Pablo Escobar. According to US authorities, the Cali Cartel controlled up to 80% of cocaine trafficking to the United States at its peak. It was dismantled in the mid-1990s.
Gilberto and his brother had made a place for themselves among the economic and political elites in Colombia. Unlike Pablo Escobar, who offered a reward for every policeman killed, the Cali Cartel brothers preferred bribes.
The Rodríguez family controlled America de Cali, the football club with the most victories at the time, as well as horse-breeding businesses and beauty queen contests. In the last years of his life, “the Chess Player”, from a modest family, who had started life on his bicycle as a home meal deliverer, was seriously ill. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer and colon cancer. He also suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. His family had tried, in vain, several appeals so that the drug trafficker could spend his last days in Colombia.
Colombia remains, by far, the world’s largest producer of cocaine, with the American market as the main export destination.
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Ex-drug lord Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, who was long considered one of the world’s biggest drug traffickers after the death of Pablo Escobar, has died aged 83 in a US prison, his lawyer has confirmed , Wednesday 1is June to Agence France-Presse (AFP). “We mourn the death of Gilberto last night”, said his lawyer, David Oscar Markus, in an email that does not specify the cause of death. This rival organization of the Medellin Cartel, led by Pablo Escobar, took over the white powder market after the charismatic “King of Cocaine” was shot dead by local police in 1993.
Sentenced to fifteen years in prison in 1995 in Colombia, Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela was released after seven years in detention. Arrested again in 2003, he was imprisoned in Colombia until his extradition to the United States in December 2004.
Escobar and Netflix
He and his brother had been sentenced to thirty years in prison each for importing 200 tons of cocaine into the United States. The two brothers finally experienced planetary fame with the series Narcos, from Netflix, which notably depicts their rivalry with Pablo Escobar. According to US authorities, the Cali Cartel controlled up to 80% of cocaine trafficking to the United States at its peak. It was dismantled in the mid-1990s.
Gilberto and his brother had made a place for themselves among the economic and political elites in Colombia. Unlike Pablo Escobar, who offered a reward for every policeman killed, the Cali Cartel brothers preferred bribes.
The Rodríguez family controlled America de Cali, the football club with the most victories at the time, as well as horse-breeding businesses and beauty queen contests. In the last years of his life, “the Chess Player”, from a modest family, who had started life on his bicycle as a home meal deliverer, was seriously ill. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer and colon cancer. He also suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. His family had tried, in vain, several appeals so that the drug trafficker could spend his last days in Colombia.
Colombia remains, by far, the world’s largest producer of cocaine, with the American market as the main export destination.
