He asked that his family not be disturbed, unless strictly necessary for legal reasons.
Colombia News.
Journalist Daniel Coronell, in his program El Reporte Coronell on La W, revealed a document that could have great political and social implications in Colombia. This is a letter sent by Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela, former head of the Cali Cartel, to President Gustavo Petro.
In it, the drug trafficker, currently imprisoned in the United States, offers to tell “the whole truth” about his life and criminal activities as an act of reconciliation with the country.
Details confirmed by President Petro
President Petro confirmed the existence of the communication, pointing out that it responds to Rodríguez Orejuela’s desire to contribute to the clarification of historical facts without expecting legal benefits.
In the words of the president: “He says he is willing to tell the whole truth about his life without compensation and as an act of service to the country at the end of his days.”.
Likewise, Rodríguez Orejuela, 81, requested that his family not be inconvenienced unless it is absolutely necessary in legal terms.
His brother Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, also former head of the Cali Cartel, died in prison in 2022, leaving Miguel as the last survivor of one of the most powerful cartels in the history of drug trafficking.
The request for clemency in the United States
At the same time, El Reporte Coronell also obtained details of another letter sent by Rodríguez Orejuela to the Court of the Southern District of Florida.
In this document, dated October 31, he requests a humanitarian reduction of his sentence under the program “Level two reduction”arguing good behavior and his advanced age.
In the communication, written by Rodríguez Orejuela himself without legal representation due to lack of resources, the former drug trafficker claims to comply with all the requirements for a reduced sentence. He argues that:
- He was not involved in terrorist acts or hate crimes.
- His sentence did not include weapons, sexual crimes or serious human rights violations.
- He did not directly cause serious harm to third parties nor did he benefit from an ongoing criminal enterprise.
Despite these arguments, experts consulted consider that their possibilities of obtaining clemency are limited.
US intelligence links the Cali Cartel to violent acts, such as the placing of explosives in the Mónaco building, inhabited by Pablo Escobar’s family, and to a sustained drug trafficking operation that affected millions of people.
