Medellín Cartel
The Medellín Cartel () was a powerful and highly organized Colombian drug cartel and terrorist organization originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia, that was founded and led by Pablo Escobar. It is often considered to be the first major Colombian "drug cartel" and was referred to as such (a ''cartel'') due to the organization's upper echelons and overall power-structure being built on a partnership between multiple Colombian traffickers operating alongside Escobar. Other members included Jorge Luis Ochoa Vásquez, Fabio Ochoa Vásquez, Juan David Ochoa Vásquez, José Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha, and Carlos Lehder. Escobar's main partner in the organization was his cousin Gustavo Gaviria, who handled much of the cartel's shipping arrangements and the more general and detailed logistical aspects of the cocaine trafficking routes and international smuggling networks, at its peak the Medellin cartel was supplying at least 80% of the world's cocaine, smuggling 15 tons of c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Medellín
Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Department, Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central region of the Andes Mountains, in northwestern South America. The city's population was 2,427,129 at the 2018 Colombian census, 2018 census. The Metropolitan Area of Medellín, metro area of Medellín is the second-largest urban agglomeration in Colombia in terms of population and economy, with more than 4 million people. In 1616, the Spaniard Francisco de Herrera Campuzano erected a small indigenous village (''poblado'') known as "Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence of Aburrá" (''San Lorenzo de Aburrá''), located in the present-day El Poblado (Medellín), El Poblado commune. On 2 November 1675, the queen consort Mariana of Austria founded the "Town of Virgin of Candelaria, Our L ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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La Corporación
La Corporación ("The Corporation"), also known as the Santa Ana Cartel, was a Bolivian drug cartel and criminal organization, headed in the 1970s and 1980s by notorious drug lord Roberto Suárez Gómez, known as the "King of Cocaine". "La Corporación" was founded in the 1970s by several drug traffickers and transnational criminals. After the 1980 coup d'état, "La Corporación" received political protection from the Bolivian military dictatorship, effectively making Bolivia a narco-state, and became one of the largest cocaine producers in the world. They were allied with several Mexican and Colombian drug cartels and had a notable presence in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. History In the 1970s, Suárez created "La Corporación" and began hiring various Bolivian coca producers, becoming one of the largest cocaine producers in the country. Because of the relationship with Suárez and Pablo Escobar, "La Corporación" became a major supplier to the Medellín Cartel. Drugs were smuggled ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Drug Cartel
A drug cartel is a criminal organization composed of independent drug lords who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the illegal drug trade. Drug cartels form with the purpose of controlling the supply of the illegal drug trade and maintaining prices at a high level. The formations of drug cartels are common in Latin American countries. Rivalries between multiple drug cartels cause them to wage turf wars against each other. Drug cartels often transport both drugs and narcotics, and most often the term "Narcotics cartel" is not used to describe an organization that transports the latter legally defined set of illegal substances, such as marijuana. Structure The basic structure of a drug cartel is as follows: Falcons Considered as the "eyes and ears" of the streets, the "falcons" are the lowest rank in any drug cartel. They are scouts, who are responsible for conducting reconnaissance, such as reporting the activities of the police, the milit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and conducting covert operations. The agency is headquartered in the George Bush Center for Intelligence in Langley, Virginia, and is sometimes metonymously called "Langley". A major member of the United States Intelligence Community (IC), the CIA has reported to the director of national intelligence since 2004, and is focused on providing intelligence for the president and the Cabinet. The CIA is headed by a director and is divided into various directorates, including a Directorate of Analysis and Directorate of Operations. Unlike the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the CIA has no law enforcement function and focuses on intelligence gathering overseas, with only limited domestic intelligence collection. The CIA is responsibl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating illicit Illegal drug trade, drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act, sharing concurrent jurisdiction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The DEA is responsible for coordinating and pursuing U.S. drug investigations both domestically and internationally. It was established in 1973 as part of the U.S. government's War on Drugs, war on drugs. The DEA has an DEA Office of National Security Intelligence, intelligence unit that is also a member of the U.S. Intelligence Community. While the unit is part of the DEA chain-of-command, it also reports to the Director of National Intelligence, director of national intelligence. The DEA has been criticized for sche ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Government Of The United States
The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. Powers of these three branches are defined and vested by the U.S. Constitution, which has been in continuous effect since May 4, 1789. The powers and duties of these branches are further defined by Acts of Congress, including the creation of executive departments and courts subordinate to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the federal division of power, the federal government shares sovereignty with each of the 50 states in their respective territories. U.S. law recognizes Indigenous tribes as possessing sovereign powers, while being subject to federal jurisdiction. Naming The full name of the republic is the "United States of America". No other name appears in the Constitution, and this is the name that appears on mon ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Government Of Colombia
The Government of Colombia is a republic with separation of powers into executive, judicial and legislative branches. Its legislature has a congress, its judiciary has a supreme court, and its executive branch has a president. The citizens of Colombia cast votes concerning their government, and they employ a ''public'' sector office for an inspector general to oversee the public interface of the government. This safeguards the public, and guarantees the human rights spelled out in the '' Constitution of 1991'', which provides the framework for a welfare state and a unitary republic. Colombia has "control institutions" that mix government and public officials, who work alongside one another. For example, the public's inspector general works closely with the government's controller general, whose job it is to ensure governmental fiscal responsibility. An independent Ombudsman deals with maladministration complaints and functions. Executive The executive branch ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Search Bloc
The Search Bloc () is the name of three different ad hoc special operations units of the National Police of Colombia (Policía Nacional de Colombia). They were originally organized with a focus on capturing or killing highly dangerous individuals or groups of individuals. First Search Bloc The original Search Bloc was created in 1986 by President of Colombia, President Virgilio Barco with the sole objective of arrest, apprehending drug lord Pablo Escobar and his associates. Its original commander was Colonel Hugo Martínez (police officer), Hugo Martinez. Over 600 Search Bloc members received training from the Colombian army and were specially selected to be impervious to police corruption from the Drug cartel#Colombia, drug cartels. Throughout its mission, Search Bloc faced many obstacles, including a spy within the group. There were claims that the Search Bloc collaborated with anti-Escobar vigilante groups such as Los Pepes, including vigilantism in the suspicious deaths of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Los Pepes
Los Pepes, a name derived from the Spanish phrase Los Perseguidos por Pablo Escobar ( English: ), was a paramilitary group composed of enemies of Pablo Escobar. They waged a small-scale war against the Medellín Cartel in 1993, which ended the same year following the death of Escobar. The group was financed by the Cali Cartel and was led by the Castaño brothers. An example of their acts could be seen on the streets of Medellín, such as hangings of Pablo's hitmen. History Links to authorities There are reports that Los Pepes had ties to some members of the Colombian National Police, especially the Search Bloc, with whom they exchanged information in order to execute their activities against Escobar. According to documents released to the public by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 2008, Colombian National Police director general Miguel Antonio Gómez Padilla said that he "had directed a senior CNP intelligence officer to maintain contact with Fidel Castaño ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gulf Cartel
The Gulf Cartel ( , or ''Golfos'') is a criminal syndicate, Drug cartel, drug trafficking organization, and U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, which is perhaps one of the oldest organized crime groups in Mexico. It is currently based in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, directly across the U.S. border from Brownsville, Texas. Their network is international, and is believed to have dealings with crime groups in Europe, West Africa, Asia, Central America, South America, and the United States. Besides drug trafficking, the Gulf Cartel operates through protection rackets, assassinations, extortions, kidnappings, and other criminal activities. The members of the Gulf Cartel are known for intimidating the population and for being particularly violent. Although its founder Juan Nepomuceno Guerra smuggled alcohol in large quantities to the United States during the Prohibition in the United States, Prohibition era, and heroin for over 40 years, it was not until the 1980s that the cart ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Galician Clans
The Galician mafia are drug smuggling groups in the Spanish region of Galicia. Due to the activities of these clans, Galicia is often cited as being the main European entry point for Colombian cocaine. Activities Traditionally the region of Galicia made its money from the fishing industry, to which the coastal geography of the region lent itself. Following the crippling of the fishing industry, local fishermen began smuggling tobacco to keep their business alive. The successfulness of these tobacco smuggling activities led to the creation of clan-based groups who made their entire living off smuggling. Galician smuggling networks nowadays not solely concentrate on tobacco. It was when local criminal clans began making contacts in Colombia and Morocco that the illegal smuggling business began to thrive. Using their Colombian and Moroccan contacts, Galician organized crime groups traffic cocaine and hashish, aside from illegal tobacco, into the Spanish mainland. From Galicia it ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |