2023 Oscars predictions: See who will win at the 95th Academy Awards. But cartel-friendly police arrived. Jorge Velsquez Biographical Information Nickname (s) Navegante (Navigator) Status Deceased Death 1995 Cali, Colombia Cause of death Shot by Jorge Salcedo Nationality Colombian Fictional? Key operatives were arrested and had to be bribed, or killed, to keep silent. Its secret chamber gave up a trove of records that delighted Serrano -- 30,000 checks, cartel payments to police, 150 politicians, reporters, everyone, Salcedo said. It was an absurd idea. I wanted to go to someone, but I didnt even know on what door to knock, he said. The compound of drug lord Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela filled a city block and contained a swimming pool, tennis court and half a soccer field. Salcedos military service in the late 1980s coincided with one of Colombias bloodiest periods. So I realized I couldn't use any of those to get a job with any experience that I could showin order to eliminate all sources of being found. The eventual head of security had a background in civil engineering and used to work for oil refinery companies on . Jorge Salcedo les haba entregado a las autoridades al ltimo capo del Cartel de Cali. For a . Singer, who has also pleaded guilty, recorded his phone calls with parents and coaches and is expected to be the star witness for the prosecution in any cases that go to trial. Lo sac de Colombia, le dio otra identidad y lo ubic en una direccin desconocida en Estados Unidos en la que hasta hoy permanece oculto. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, D.C.s cherry blossoms coming early due to confusing weather, Biden rallies House Democrats to tout their legislative success to voters, Caregiver accused in Manhattan Beach child sexual abuse case believed to be in Philippines, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, Yet more rain expected to hit California in March. He also knew who was marked for assassination. The drug boss had just been rescued from an escape vault with the help of a local police captain. However, others are less sure. Only through the recruitment of his wife did Guillermo agree to leave. It was kind of a double-checking of everything: How was that? Get to know Family Physician Dr. Jorge A. Salcedo, who serves patients in Houston and Round Rock, Texas. Welcome to the Quantum Realm. Inside the apartment they found no one. I have been in witness protection for 22 years. Who contacted you? He made an excuse and tried to leave the house. Dr. Salcedo works at Salcedo Family Care in Cedar Park, TX with other offices in Cypress, TX. Since then, the entire Cali cartel hierarchy has been extradited, thanks to Salcedo. But the six assassins ended up dead. [3][pageneeded], In 1995, Gilberto Rodrguez Orejuela was captured by a joint task-force in Cali. I've never killed anybody! Jose Santacruz Londono got right to the point. He attended the University of Los Andes, from which he earned a degree in industrial economics. He was secretly dispatched to Europe by military leaders to assemble a team of mercenaries. It was a cross-examination of everything. Narcos recap: You Will Cry Tears of Blood. What are you doing in the middle of a cane field? one officer inquired. In January 2021, Salcedo agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery. I told myself I was not one of them.. Salcedo used it to steer Pallomari toward the DEA. I also left a home, a country, friends, family, even my past. The Colombian drug lords Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela, 63, and Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, 67, entered guilty pleas and were ushered off to federal prison for the next 30 years -- no Miami Vice-like dramatics, no bodies riddled with gunfire in the manner of Medellin rival Pablo Escobar. On August26, 1995, after six-and-a-half years with the cartel, he was extradited to the United States. Jorge Salcedo told the judge that he joined in the college admissions bribery scheme because he was desperate for cash after buying a house his family couldn't afford. He. THE Orejuela brothers saw that U.S. pressure on the Bogota government was forcing Colombian authorities to crack down on the cartels. Miguel was getting paranoid, Salcedo said. So I established connections with very high-level companies in Great Britain. How did you do that? After Jorge determined Miguel's location, the DEA agents planned a raid of the apartment complex. I had to go. He said, "Well, I know someone who's good. He became proficient in electronic surveillance, which increasingly drew him into counter-terrorism assignments. You look tired." Jorge Salcedo, former UCLA men's soccer coach, departs federal court in Boston in March 2019. In the wrong hands, his records of bribes and business dealings posed a greater threat to cartel operations than confinement in a Colombian jail. One of the few who consistently knew where to find them was Salcedo. He saw traitors everywhere.. On season 3 of Netflix's Narcos, it doesn't take long to realize that one man is at the center of all the action: Jorge Salcedo. [5], Salcedo was portrayed by Matias Varela in the third season of the Netflix-produced television series Narcos. I know something about corruption and organized crime. The ploy deflected suspicion. Jorge Salcedo has big brass balls. How did you get involved with this project? Faced with orders to kill a colleague and friend, Salcedo grew desperate. And, then, Mexican leaders need to sweep out officials at all levels who have sold their souls to organized crime. But I knew too much already. But maybe my experience will help show the importance of fighting corruption as a way to fight the cartels. Calling on a secure phone line from an undisclosed location, Salcedo, now in his late 60s, spoke at length about his time with the cartel, his life since then in the federal witness protection program, and all the things the show gets rightincluding some of the most harrowing scenes. Salcedo later came to work in the field of security. [3][pageneeded] On August6, Salcedo and the DEA collaborated on another assault on Miguel, this time on the Hacienda Buenos Aires. So I had to give up. [4] Salcedo viewed this as an opportunity to begin his relationship with United States law enforcement. Its limited cargo space wasnt designed for bombs. [3][pageneeded] His resignation was denied by Miguel Rodrguez Orejuela, and he was forced to continue his relationship with the cartel. He cost $20,000 a month. [3][pageneeded] In 1992, Salcedo coordinated the purchase and retrieval of several Salvadorian bombs in another plot to kill Escobar. He was very well known, so eventually, he was called by some friends who were connected to the cartel. No sign of Miguel, the agents told him. In an unusual move largely financed by Medellin cartel bosses, he was to organize an off-the-books, paramilitary operation -- an armed assault on a guerrilla mountain fortress called Casa Verde. I dont know where to direct your call, the voice in Langley responded, according to Salcedo. In Colombia, even honest people have to deal with the cartels.. Miguel was getting paranoid, Salcedo said. FILE - In this March 25, 2019, file photo Jorge Salcedo, former University of California at Los Angeles men's soccer coach, departs federal court in Boston after facing charges in a nationwide . But it was not the end of the Cali cartel. It didn't happen that way. And what do you think? As U.S. prosecutor Ryan later would note, then the bodies began to show up., THE far-flung cartel was directed by Cali-based Colombians, but its operatives included many non-. "Hoy estoy en los 60. He wanted to know what I was doing to complete the assassination of Pallomari. And there was nothing I could do. Salcedo had previously worked on behalf of British commandos, who worked with the Colombian government to counter the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Many safe houses conceal vaults in the walls for escapes. There's a scene where the Americans are coming to arrest Miguel in his home. Then he got another opportunity and called his DEA contacts in Bogota. 2023 Cable News Network. BOSTON A Florida man was sentenced today in federal court in Springfield for sending threatening communications to the Department of Veterans Affairs. So I had sympathy [for the Cali Cartel's goals] at that time. At its peak, the family ran what one U.S. Justice Department official told Congress was the most prolific and successful criminal enterprise in history.. A former men's soccer coach at the University of California, Los Angeles was sentenced on Friday to eight months in prison after admitting he accepted $200,000 in bribes to facilitate the admission of two students as fake athletic recruits. They treated him like a crackpot -- I confirmed that, drug enforcement agent Edward J. Kacerosky testified years later. Lauren Isackson was listed as a midfielder on the teams roster for the 2017 season but had zero soccer experienceand never set foot on the field during a game, prosecutors said. March 12, 2019 10:55 AM PT Longtime UCLA men's soccer coach Jorge Salcedo was placed on leave by the school Tuesday morning after being indicted as part of a widespread corruption scheme. A second assault was planned, this time from a base in Panama. Salcedo realized it was more than interrogation. Thanks to Salcedo, the entire Cali cartel hierarchy was extradited. Desperate for protection from what they feared most -- extradition to the United States -- the cartel bosses poured millions of dollars into the bank accounts of Colombian politicians. Financed by Medellin cartel bosses, he was to organize a paramilitary operation for an assault on a guerrilla mountain fortress called Casa Verde. My role kept changing. No. He has done an inestimable service to the U.S. and Colombia, said his lawyer, Robert F. Dunlap of Miami. Salcedo was born on November 25, 1947, in Bogot, Colombia. Salcedo also agreed with Singer to recruit another student in return for $100,000. The soft-spoken family man once known as Jorge Salcedo was an unlikely drug-gang recruit. On season 3 of Netflix's Narcos, it doesn't take long to realize that one man is at the center of all the action: Jorge Salcedo. He told me, "You get there first just to make sure the road is clear is safe for me." Four drug traffickers and members of the now-defunct Cali Cartel cover faces on January 15, 2009, in Bogota. I never wanted to be a part of that, I wanted to be outside. Louis Matias Karl Padin Varela (23 de junio de 1980), ms conocido como Matias Varela, es un actor sueco, hijo de padres espaoles. Miguel heard them too late. Military leaders grew restless with the impotent and corrupt government and tried to fill the vacuum, taking military actions without approval from Bogot. The cartel had important friends in the military, too from helicopter pilots to generals. As Colombian citizens, the Orejuela brothers could not be extradited to the United States. Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal. Dr. Saucedo attended the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico where he received his medical doctorate followed by training in . He traveled to El Salvador and, through a military contact, purchased four 500-pound bombs for about half a million dollars. Heres a list, Rescuers comb wreckage of Greeces deadliest train crash, Ohios U.S. senators introduce bipartisan rail safety bill in wake of East Palestine derailment. [Laughs] So we had to accommodate to the lifestyle. It bought time. My strategy was to avoid confrontation. I see police and judicial corruption as the biggest price of organized crime. Salcedo waited for the chance to use a public phone at a Cali telecommunications building. In January 2021, Salcedo agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery. In addition to being a corporate, tax and government affairs attorney, he specializes in both domestic and international transactions, as well as real estate and international tax planning. Los Angeles, A $150,000 executive protection dog? Now that your story is so central to a very popular TV show internationally, do you worry that it might revive interest in you? Cartel documents turned over to Colombian authorities exposed a vast network of corruption. Politicians were considered a long-term investment. Postal Service was sentenced today in federal court in Worcester for stealing packages containing cocaine on at least eight occasions. I will say, though it's horrendous, it's not far from the [actual] happenings. Jorge Salcedo Cabrera (born November 25, 1947) is a Colombian civil engineer, countersurveillance specialist, and former head of security for Miguel Rodrguez Orejuela and the Cali Cartel who turned confidential informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration. However, they present some happenings so that it was me that did them when that was not really the case. I didn't have to be there. The Medellin boss had escaped from prison, and from continuing Cali assassination plots, in 1992 only to be tracked down by national police 15 months later. Jorge Salcedo told the judge that he joined in the college admissions bribery scheme because he was desperate for cash after buying a house his family couldn't afford. The Orejuela brothers earlier had dispatched a hit squad to Medellin, 155 miles northwest of the capital. Local authorities closed in. Got 11 minutes? But Miguel said, Do your job, Salcedo recalled. Salcedo said he takes . One day, I came first, and he came second. Salcedo immediately helped devise an assault on Escobars Medellin compound. So I got locked in a room by the cartel. Under threat of arrest, the U.S. agents and Serranos team abandoned their search for Miguel Orejuela. The drug boss had just been rescued from an escape vault with the help of a local police captain. Have a question about Government Services? Fortunately, I had the means to start a company. That's where the scene of suffocation comes fromit could have happened if I didn't have that news. Salcedo has demonstrated that he is a perpetual cheat, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Kearney said. Cartel bosses launched an internal bloodbath targeting other extraditables. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani deferred acceptance of the plea until sentencing, which is scheduled for Nov. 24, 2020. The MCUs tiniest heroes are kicking off its biggest phase yet, setting up the next several years of storytelling. For his service, the relocated Colombian received rewards of about $1.7 million. I had to escape, he explained. Now that Pablo was dead, not everybody wanted to make peace with Cali. The sensational evidence was rushed back to Bogota. Miguel, the younger of the two Orejuela brothers, was even more direct: He wanted Escobar dead. In May1989, the attack was set to occur, but heavy cloud cover resulted in a helicopter crash, with most of the commandos failing to make it to Escobar's hideout, Hacienda Npoles. He tried again to signal U.S. authorities. I told them it was unlikely to succeed. Later he ran an oil recovery business. Escobar had escaped from prison, only to be tracked down by national police 15 months later. The story in general remains the same [as the truth]. It was one of those things, I think the DEA guys did that. Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. In the days after, the entire Cali cocaine cartel infrastructure was exposed. I started using very high-level equipment for communications and location detection. In Miami, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents targeted the Cali cartels distribution organizations. Enter Salcedo. Dr. Salcedo is a warm and compassionate family physician who has been in private practice in Houston, Texas since 2017. Federal drug agents would have to prove that the cartel leaders continued to operate their smuggling empire from prison, after the extradition ban was lifted. Salcedo pleaded guilty in Miami to a single count of racketeering. He saw traitors everywhere.. This raid was successful, and the DEA arrested Miguel. Obviously, Im not looking for celebrity -- it would jeopardize our safety, he told The Times. The raiding party that hit Miguels door the next morning included two DEA agents and a search team under Gen. Jose Serrano, chief of the Colombian national police. 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