Rodríguez Orejuela, who suffered from cancer, had been transferred to the medical center a month ago due to his serious health condition and apparently died of heart problems, according to the Colombian press. Along with his brother Miguel, who is also in a US prison, he was the head of the Cali cartel. The Rodríguez Orejuela brothers became the most powerful drug traffickers in the world, in competition with the late Pablo Escobar, at the head of the Medellín cartel.
Drug trafficker Gilberto José Rodríguez Orejuela, popularly known as the chess player, has died at the age of eighty-three in a U.S. prison, where he was extradited by the Colombian government in 2004. Rodriguez founded the Cali cartel in conjunction with his brother Miguel and José Santacruz Londoño. Following the death of Pablo Escobar (1993), the organization is believed to have controlled 80% of cocaine exports to the United States.
Unlike Escobar, who declared war on the Colombian government, the Cali cartel has always maintained a lower profile to prevent possible conflicts with the authorities from having a negative impact on its business. However, with the disappearance of the Medellín capo, the Rodríguez Orejuela began to appear on the radars of the United States and the Colombian law enforcement forces.
In addition to his involvement in the world of drugs, the older brother of the Rodríguez Orejuela also stood out for his fondness for the world of football. Thanks to millions of cocaine smuggling, and as Escobar did with Atlético Nacional de Medellín, he made Cali’s America one of the most formidable teams in South America (in 1996 he was runner-up in the cup). Liberators).
Finally, in June 1995, Rodríguez Orejuela was arrested after a long police search of one of his properties. Police officers discovered that the drug dealer had been hiding in a secret compartment behind a closet.
Seven years later he was released by court order, but a few months later he was arrested again and imprisoned. In 2004, due to pending cases in the United States, he was extradited and sentenced to prison until 2034. Recently, his figure had regained some popularity thanks to Netflix’s Narcos series, in which he is played by a Mexican actor. Damián Alcázar.
Amelia Warner
Amelia Warner writes all the Latest Articles. She mostly covers Entertainment topics, but at times loves to write about movie reviews as well.
