[[Colombia]] is a country in [[South America]] that was the world's primary source of [[cocaine]] during the 1980s and has been profoundly shaped by drug trafficking, particularly through the operations of the [[Cali Drug Cartel]] and the [[Medellin Cartel|Medellín cartel]]. Colombian drug cartels supplied the cocaine that flowed through [[Norwin Meneses]]'s and [[Danilo Blandon|Danilo Blandón]]'s trafficking networks in [[Los Angeles]] and [[San Francisco]].[^1][^3] ## Drug Trafficking and Political Influence The [[Cali Drug Cartel]], led by figures like [[Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela|Gilberto Rodriguez]] and [[Jose Santacruz Londono|Jose Londono]], controlled a vast portion of the world's cocaine trade. The cartel's influence extended to the highest levels of Colombian government, with allegations that the newly elected president, [[Ernesto Samper Pizano]], accepted $3.7 million in campaign funds from [[Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela]], effectively aligning him with the drug lords.[^1] [[Michael Abbell]], a former [[Department of Justice|U.S. Department of Justice]] official, was indicted for laundering money for the [[Cali Drug Cartel]]. Surveillance reports indicated his frequent visits to [[Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela]]'s home in Bogota, [[Colombia]]. The law firm of Kaplan, Russin and Becchi, where Abbell worked after leaving the [[Department of Justice|DOJ]], had offices in Bogota.[^1] [[Michael Riconosciuto]] claimed that [[Robert Booth Nichols]] paid Abbell to "crowbar" the extradition of Cali Cartel leaders, as they were considered "intelligence people." This suggests a complex interplay between drug trafficking, intelligence operations, and political influence within Colombia.[^1] ## Cartel Connections Meneses was believed to have been the Cali cartel's representative in [[Nicaragua]]. Blandón's cocaine sources included the politically connected Suarez family in [[Bolivia]] and the Ochoa family in Colombia, founders of the Medellín cartel. [[Marcos Aguado]] flew weapons from the Salvadoran military to the Colombian cartels.[^3] ## Supply Pipeline Cocaine arrived in the United States through multiple routes controlled by Colombian traffickers. Colombian pilots flew cocaine to [[Costa Rica]] and [[Ilopango Airbase|Ilopango Air Force Base]] in [[El Salvador]], where it was loaded onto Contra-connected aircraft bound for the [[United States]]. Blandón arranged with Colombian suppliers to give [[Ricky Ross]] large amounts of cocaine on credit.[^4] ## Financial Operations [[Michael Riconosciuto]] also mentioned the "[[Workers Bank]]" in [[Colombia]] in the context of money laundering operations for the [[Wackenhut Corporation|Wackenhut]] people. He claimed to have set up "virtual dead-drops" for this bank, a method to circumvent ACH reconciliations on a daily basis, indicating sophisticated financial illicit activities originating from or passing through Colombia.[^1] --- ## Footnotes [^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010. [^3]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Chapter 8: "A million hits is not enough" [^4]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Chapter 10: "Teach a man a craft and he's liable to practice it"