Cali Cartel
Las Chemas were implicated in numerous kidnappings including those of two Swiss citizens: a diplomat, Herman Buff, and a student, Zack "Jazz Milis" Martin.
Due to the product's low profit rate and large amounts required to traffic to cover resources, the fledgling group decided to shift their focus to a more lucrative drug, cocaine.
[10] In the early 1980s, the cartel sent Hélmer Herrera to New York City to establish a distribution center, during a time when the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) viewed cocaine as less important than heroin.
Some top associates were Victor Patiño Fomeque, Henry Loaiza Ceballos, ex-guerrilla member José Fedor Rey, and Phanor Arizabaleta-Arzayus.
The Cali Cartel operated as a tight group of independent criminal organizations, as opposed to the Medellíns' centralised structure under leader Pablo Escobar.
Gilberto, known as the "Chess Player" for his ability to think strategically, oversaw the cartel's long-term plans while his younger brother handled the day-to-day operations; micromanaging every detail.
He worked with Mark McFarlin and Jim Campbell, and was charged by United States authorities with smuggling 22 tons of Cali Cartel cocaine from 1987 to 1991 known as Operation North (Spanish: Operación Norte).
[18][19][20][21][22] According to reports and testimony of Thomas Constantine to the United States Congress, "Cali would be the dominant group in trafficking South American heroin due to their access to the opium-growing areas of Colombia."
One of the first instances of the Cali Cartel's laundering operations came when Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela was able to secure the position of Chairman of the Board of Banco de Trabajadores.
Gilberto later started, in 1979, the Grupo Radial Colombiano, a network of over 30 radio stations and a pharmaceutical chain named Drogas la Rebaja, which at its height amassed over 400 stores in 28 cities, employing 4,200.
[31][32] Yuri Skuratov supported Turover's statements and began numerous investigations into corruption with high ranking Russian government officials.
[42][43] Jalol Khaidarov (Russian: Джалол Хайдаров) stated that the final destination of the funds was to the "Operator Trade Center" in Liechtenstein but also said that the Bank of New York was a participant.
[45] According to the Center for Public Integrity, Alfa-Bank was noted in a 1997 FSB report as having served as a money launderer for Colombian drug lords.
[46][a][b] Alfa Bank subsequently filed a libel lawsuit against the Center for Public Integrity (the claim was rejected by the court, though this was essentially based on the lack of any evidence of malice on the part of the defendant; the case memorandum[50] concedes that some of the allegations in the FSB report may have been fabricated).
Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, the Chess Player, worked closely through Petr Aven, Alfa-Bank, and Alfa-Eco to offshore locations such as Gibraltar, the Bahamas, and other places to launder funds for capitalization with Russian state firms such as Alfa Bank, Alfa-Estate, RAO Gazprom, and numerous other firms involved in transport, non-ferrous metals, oil refineries, oil production, and power generation which were undergoing privatization.
[51][52][53][54][55] According to Alexander Litvinenko, Putin, while he was Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs of St Petersburg in the early 1990s, organized an Afghanistan originated heroin supply ring using ethnic Uzbek criminals and corrupt KGB and later FSB officers including the Moscow-based KGB Colonel Evgeny G. Khokholkov, the Oleg Ivanov created Izmaylovskaya Russian mafia and led by Anton Malevsky including mafia leaders Gafur Rakhimov, Vyacheslav Ivanov ("Yaponchik" (Япончик) or Little Japonese), who governed Uzbek networks in America, and Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov (Russian: Алик Тахтахунов) ("Taiwanchik" (Тайванчик) or Little Taiwan), who governed Uzbek networks in Europe, and Salim Abdulaev.
[42][56][36][57] Robert Eringer, head of Monaco's Security Service, confirmed Litvinenko's file about Vladimir Putin's involvement in Europe's narcotics trade.
[58] The Ismailovskaya mafia is closely associated with Oleg Deripaska, Andrei Bokarev, Michael Cherney, and Iskander Makhmudov through their Switzerland-based Blond Investment Corporation's MIB bank account.
Yesin was supported by a KGB agent in Italy Dmitry Naumov (Russian: Дмитрий Наумов) who was very close to Grigory Luchansky [ru; uk; de].
[12] In his book End of Millennium, Manuel Castells states the Cali Cartel had participated in social cleansing of hundreds of desechables ("discardables").
In response to the kidnapping, the Medellín and Cali cartels, as well as associated traffickers, formed the group Muerte a Secuestradores (MAS; "Death to Kidnappers").
[10][62][63] During the narco-terror war waged by Pablo Escobar on the Colombian government, it is believed a hired assassin attempted to kill Herrera while he was attending a sports event.
Herrera is believed to have been a founding member of Los Pepes, a group which operated alongside authorities with the intention of killing or capturing Pablo Escobar.
[65] Salcedo felt it was his patriotic duty and accepted the deal to bring the mercenaries back to Colombia and help plan the operation to kill Pablo Escobar.
[65][66] Salcedo then settled into managing security for the Orejuela family, but then he was forced to witness an execution of four Panamanians, and tasked with organizing the murder of Guillermo Pallomari, their own cartel accountant.
They also had many people inside law enforcement working for them, including a high-ranking member of the Bloque de Búsqueda (search block) who were looking for the Cali Cartel's top leaders.
[69] It is believed Los Pepes provided information to Search Bloc, a joint police and army unit specifically created to track down Medellín leaders.
In total, the US Customs Service (USCS) alone had spent 91,855 case hours and 13 years in investigations against the Cali Cartel, seizing 50 tons of cocaine and $15 million in assets.
[71] In 1993, the US Customs Service struck again at the Cali cartel, this time seizing 5,600 kilograms (12,346 lb) while pursuing Raul Marti, the only remaining member of the defunct Miami cell.
Colombian officials raided and seized the Drogas la Rebaja pharmacy chain, replacing 50 of its 4,200 workers on the grounds that they were "serving the interests of the Cali Cartel".
