The former drug trafficking leader will land in Bogotá.
News Colombia.
This December 2024 will mark a milestone in the history of Colombian drug trafficking with the return of Fabio Ochoa Vásquez, one of the last great bosses of the infamous Medellín Cartel.
After more than two decades behind bars in the United States, Ochoa will be deported to Colombia, where he will land in Bogotá on an official deportee flight. The news, confirmed by media such as Blu Radio and W Radio, revives the memories of one of the darkest episodes of drug trafficking in Colombia.
Fabio Ochoa Vásquez, along with his brothers Jorge Luis and Juan David, was a key figure in the Medellín Cartel, led by Pablo Escobar.
In the 1980s and 1990s, this organization controlled much of the cocaine trafficking to the United States.
See: The return of Fabio Ochoa: this day the former boss of the Medellín cartel would arrive in Colombia
Although Ochoa always tried to keep a low profile, His involvement in the murder of DEA pilot and informant Barry Seal in 1986 put him on the radar of international authorities.
After years of operating underground, his connection to cocaine smuggling between 1997 and 1999 led him to be captured on October 13, 1999.
In 2001, the then president of Colombia, Andrés Pastrana, authorized his extradition to the United States. where he faced a trial that culminated in 2003 with a 30-year sentence for crimes of conspiracy, human and drug trafficking, and organized crime.
Fabio Ochoa and a return under public scrutiny
Ochoa arrives in a country that has changed considerably since the years of his heyday. The Minister of Justice, Ángela María Buitrago, made it clear that the government does not plan to offer him legal benefits or include him in the “total peace” policy programs that seek the reintegration of illegal actors..
These statements also extend to other drug traffickers, such as Juan Carlos Ramírez Abadía, alias ‘Chupeta’.
Journalist Daniel Coronell revealed that, although Ochoa’s family tried to arrange a direct charter flight to Medellín, the US authorities decided that the former boss will be deported to Bogotá. The procedure is expected to be completed without a hitch this Monday, December 23 before Christmas.
A sentence that leaves open questions
Retired federal prosecutor Richard Gregorie, who participated in Ochoa’s case, reflected on the nature of his conviction. Although he was a renowned drug trafficking leader, Ochoa was tried only for crimes committed after 1997 due to legal limitations on extradition..
«He served jail time for the least of his crimes, but his position in the Medellín Cartel and his role in drug trafficking weighed on his sentence.«Gregory stated.
Ochoa will set foot on Colombian soil again, but his legacy as one of the main actors of the Medellín Cartel persists as an indelible chapter in the country’s recent history.
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