[1] Londoño and the Rodríguez Orejuela brothers formed the Cali Cartel in the 1970s.

After the demise of the Medellín Cartel, the DEA and Colombian authorities turned their attention toward Cali.

However, Londoño escaped on January 11, 1996, from La Picota prison in Bogotá, after bribing several people, Londoño escaped through security glass from a faceless prosecutor's interrogation room and fled in a van.

Being at war against the Norte del Valle Cartel, the leaders of this organization contacted the corrupt Colonel Danilo González for the eventual capture of him.

They allied themselves with the paramilitary chief Carlos Castaño Gil and after the news that Santacruz was allying with the FARC to rebuild the Cali Cartel and form urban militias, Castaño and González set a trap for him and killed him along with a companion, pretending that Santacruz had eluded a police checkpoint.