Carlos Alberto "Beto" Rentería Mantilla (born 11 March 1945 in

Tuluá Tuluá (), is a city located in the heart of Valle del Cauca, Colombia. A major industrial and commercial center, it is the region's fourth-largest city after Cali—the department capital— Buenaventura and Palmira. Founded around 1741 by Ju ...

, died 16 September 2020 in

, Valle del Cauca) was a former

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

narcotrafficker The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...

and

crime boss A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, Don, gang lord, gang boss, mob boss, kingpin, godfather, crime mentor or criminal mastermind, is a person in charge of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss typically has absolute or nearl ...

, presumed leader of the

Norte del Valle Cartel The Norte del Valle Cartel ( es, Cártel del Norte del Valle), or North Valley Cartel, was a drug cartel that operated principally in the north of the Valle del Cauca department of Colombia, most notably the coastal city of Buenaventura. It ros ...

. Rentería was believed by the

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government to be holding a leadership position within the drug cartel, he had been labeled "one of Colombia's most powerful and sophisticated narcotics traffickers" by Adam Szubin, Director of the

Office of Foreign Assets Control The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the U.S. Treasury Department. It administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions in support of U.S. national security and foreign policy ob ...

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

. The

Attorney General of Colombia The Office of the Attorney General of Colombia ( es, Fiscalía General de la Nación; literally "General Prosecutorial Office of the Nation") is the Colombian institution part of the Colombian judicial branch of Government with administrative a ...

and the

Colombian National Police The National Police of Colombia (Spanish: ''Policía Nacional de Colombia'') is the national police force of the Republic of Colombia. Although the National Police is not part of the Military Forces of Colombia (Army, Navy, and Air Force), it c ...

accuse Rentería of drug trafficking and money laundering.

Role

As chief in the Norte del Valle Cartel, it is believed Rentería shared in the decision making of the cartel in aspects of transportation of drug shipments,

bribery Bribery is the Offer and acceptance, offering, Gift, giving, Offer and acceptance, receiving, or Solicitation, soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With reg ...

of political officials and

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

s. Rentería also operated his own organization under the Cartel capable of multi-ton cocaine shipments, as well as investing in other cocaine smuggling transports. The Norte del Valle cartel operates principally out of the North Valle del Cauca region. It is believed the cocaine is shipped from around the neighboring Colombian Departments as well as

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and other

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n countries before being transported again via trucks and airplanes to the Pacific Coast port of

Buenaventura, Colombia Buenaventura is a coastal seaport city in the department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia (South America). Buenaventura (Spanish for "good fortune") is the main port of Colombia in the Pacific Ocean. Buenaventura is a city with a population of 333,19 ...

. From Buenaventura the cocaine, through Renterías' operation, is primary transported to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

before being shipped again to the United States via

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s, and other maritime shipping methods.

Government actions

Law enforcement

While it is believed Rentería had been involved in drug trafficking since the 1970s. The first

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a legal person, person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felony, felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concep ...

regarding Rentería was unsealed in 1994 in the Southern District of Florida, charging Rentería with conspiracy to import, possess and distribute cocaine in the United States. In 2004 an indictment was unsealed in the

District Court for the District of Columbia The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a federal district court in the District of Columbia. It also occasionally handles (jointly with the United States District Court for the District of ...

, charging Rentería with violating the

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was en ...

(RICO). In addition to the indictments a

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of $5 million was placed for information leading to the capture of Rentería.

Finances

Beginning on March 17, 2005, the United States Department of Treasury announced its first actions targeting the financial holdings of Rentería. In 2005 Rentería was first declared a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker, the label permits the United States to seize assets connected to Rentería through

front companies A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy gro ...

and associates. Since 2005 the Department of Treasury had announced over seven actions targeting Renterías financial holdings. The companies designated range from agricultural, clinics, hotels, accounting firms and the Colombian soccer team

Cortuluá Cortuluá, officially named Cortuluá Fútbol Club S. A. and previously known as Corporación Club Deportivo Tuluá, is a Colombian football club from the municipality of Tuluá in the Valle del Cauca. It was founded in 1967 and plays in the Cate ...

. It is believed Renterías' money contributed significantly to the economic growth in the area, as business operations, hotels and clinics began to be built to launder his money through. On September 1, 2006, Colombian authorities confiscated around 34 properties in the northern

Caribbean region The Caribbean region of Colombia or Caribbean coast region is in the north of Colombia and is mainly composed of 8 departments located contiguous to the Caribbean.Cartagena and in other regions of Colombia; in the capital

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

and near his major area of operations; Valle del Cauca Department. The operation was dubbed "Patria 44" by the Colombian

Central Directorate of the Judicial Police and Intelligence The Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Interpol es, Dirección de Investigación Criminal e Interpol (DICI), formerly the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police and Intelligence ( es, Dirección Central de Policía Judicial e Inteligen ...

(DIJIN).

Arrest and extradition

On July 4, 2010, at 4:00 p.m. Mantilla was captured in Venezuela by local security forces with the assistance of British intelligence services. He was extradited to the United States on July 13, 2010.

Popular culture

Rentería is portrayed by the Colombian actor Luis Fernando Montoya as the character of 'The Primo' (the cousin) in the second season of TV Series El Cartel as the cousin of Milton Jimenez 'El Cabo' (

Wilber Varela Wilber Alirio Varela Fajardo (November 6, 1957 – 2008), also known as ''Jabón'' ("Soap"), was a Colombian drug trafficker. He was the leader of the Norte del Valle Cartel. A Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act indictment was fi ...

'Jabón'), although in the series 'Primo' is killed in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

by the corrupt General Morales.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Renteria Mantilla, Carlos Alberto 1945 births Colombian drug traffickers Living people Norte del Valle Cartel traffickers Colombian people imprisoned abroad People extradited from Venezuela People extradited to the United States People from Valle del Cauca Department Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government