Jorge Ochoa
This poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. )Find sources: "Jorge Ochoa" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2011) |
Jorge Ochoa | |
---|---|
Drug trafficking |
Jorge Luis Ochoa Vásquez (born 30 September 1950) is a Colombian former
Criminal career
Medellín Cartel |
---|
|
Early years and the founding of the Medellín Cartel
Jorge Luis Ochoa Vázquez was the son of
1984–1986
On 30 April 1984, Colombian Minister of Justice
On 17 July 1984,
Ochoa was responsible for coordinating operations in the United States and Western Europe on behalf of the Medellín Cartel. He claimed he shipped an average of six metric tons of cocaine per month during the early 1980s (until his 1984 arrest). Ochoa had also invested in major properties at Repelon, Atlántico Department, and Acandi in Uruba, Chocó Department, from where drugs were shipped to the United States. He was also part owner of the ill-fated Banco Ganadero (Gandero Bank) where he was represented on the board of directors by Federico Molina. Molina was also his surrogate on the board of Fedegan, the Antioquia livestock federation, and the state-owned company Vecol.
After 1986
On November 18, 1986, a Miami grand jury accused Ochoa of conspiracy to import 1,452 pounds of cocaine through Nicaragua in cooperation with Federico Vaughan, an aide to Nicaragua's interior minister Tomás Borge.[2]
On July 14, 1986, a Spanish court decided to extradite Ochoa to stand trial in Colombia. Once in Colombia, on 17 August 1986, and despite extradition requests from the U.S., Ochoa vanished after receiving a suspended sentence on charges of falsifying documents for importing fighting bulls from Spain.[3]
On November 21, 1987, Jorge Ochoa was held in prison on the bull-smuggling charge for which he was extradited from Spain. Twenty-four hours later a gang of thugs arrived at the house of Juan Gómez Martínez, the editor of Medellín's daily newspaper El Colombiano. They presented Martínez with a communique signed by "The Extraditables," which threatened execution of Colombian political leaders if Jorge Ochoa were extradited. On 30 December 1987, Ochoa was released from prison on a habeas corpus petition.[4]
In 1987, Forbes magazine listed Ochoa among the world's twenty richest men with an estimated worth near $3 billion. In early 1988, an unknown entity calling itself the "Anti-Mafia Command of Carlos Mauro Hoyos" claimed it was going after the ranking Medellín Cartel members headed by the Ochoas. Included in the list were José Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha, Jario Mejia, Elkin Cano, Mara Ospina, Gustavo Gaviria, and the Cardenas brothers. In January 1988, the murder of Colombian Attorney General Carlos Mauro Hoyos was claimed by the Extraditables.[5]
During September 1990, Colombian President
Popular culture
Jorge Luís Ochoa Vasquez is portrayed by the Colombian actor
In TV Series Tres Caínes is portrayed by the Colombian actor Mauro Urquijo as the character of Eduardo Rocha.
André Mattos portrayed Ochoa Vásquez in the 2015 Netflix crime drama series Narcos. The hit show is a serialized take on drug kingpin Pablo Escobar (played by Brazilian actor Wagner Moura) and the Medellín Cartel.
Alejandro Edda portrayed Ochoa Vásquez in the 2017 biographical crime film American Made, whose plot centers around former TWA pilot Barry Seal.[7]
Harlys Becerra portrayed Ochoa Vásquez in the 2018 Spanish crime drama series Fariña.
See also
- Cocaine Cowboys
- War on Drugs
Notes
- Witness Protection, resulting in his assassination on 19 February 1986, by gunmen hired by the cartel.
References
- ^ Baca, Claudia (27 November 1991). "Un policía español testifica en Miami en el juicio contra el general Noriega". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 February 2020.
- ^ MAITLAND WERNER, LESLIE (28 July 1984). "11 INDICTED BY U.S. AS DRUG SMUGGLERS". New York Times. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ "Colombia Frees Suspect". The New York Times. 17 August 1986.
- ^ "Ochoa Release Souring U.s.-Colombian Bonds".
- ^ Times Wire Services (26 January 1988). "Colombia's Chief Prosecutor Murdered". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-87436-985-4.
Juan David Ochoa Vásquez.
- ^ "Alejandro Edda". IMDb.