José Rafael Abello Silva (alias: "Mono Abello") is a former top-ranking member of

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

's notorious

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 ...

. He was considered among the major

drug traffickers The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or narcotrafficking 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 ...

in the

Santa Marta Santa Marta (), officially the Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta (), is a port List of cities in Colombia, city on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. It is the capital of Magdalena Department and the fou ...

region and the reputed chief of Caribbean coast operations on the cartel's behalf. During January 1987, Abello was included in a group of 128 major narcotics figures whose capture was ordered by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Virgilio Barco Virgilio Barco Vargas (17 September 1921 – 20 May 1997) was a Colombian politician and civil engineer who served as the 27th President of Colombia serving from 7 August 1986 to 7 August 1990. Early life Barco was born in Cúcuta in the Nor ...

. Although he was captured in

Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of the Atlántico department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean region of Colombia, Caribbean coast region; as of 2018, it had a popul ...

during that same month, he was released shortly thereafter, apparently with the help of Miguel Pinedo Barros, a senator in

La Guajira La Guajira () is a departments of Colombia, department of Colombia. It occupies most of the Guajira Peninsula in the northeast region of the country, on the Caribbean Sea and bordering Venezuela, at the northernmost tip of South America. The ca ...

and reputed protector of cocaine traffickers. He was indicted by a United States federal

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, during 1987 on charges of conspiring to import and distribute cocaine into the United States. The

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 a ...

said that Abello "was considered a major transporter for the Medellín cartel," responsible for "major shipments of cocaine and

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

into the states." Abello was the cartel's chief of operations for Colombia's northern coast. Specifically, the DEA estimated that Abello's trafficking ring was responsible for the importation of more than 1,700 pounds of cocaine into the United States.

Arrest, extradition and sentencing

Abello was arrested Wednesday, October 11, 1989, while dining at a restaurant in

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

. According to the Colombian Administrative Security Department, at the time of his arrest Abello was the seventh-ranking man in the Medellín cartel hierarchy. On October 16, 1989, he was transferred into the custody of

U.S. Marshals Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the U.S. federal judiciary. It is an agency of the U.S. Department of Jus ...

agents and was immediately put on a plane to Tulsa, Oklahoma. His extradition brought to five the number of accused drug traffickers sent to the United States since President

re-established extradition on August 18, 1989, in response to a string of assassinations attributed to the cocaine cartels.

Trial

By the time he came to

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...

during April 1989, the

prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

charged that Abello had undergone plastic surgery to alter his appearance, had arranged numerous killings in Colombia, and had attempted to

bribe Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official duty, to act contrar ...

the Colombian police who arrested him. According to the U.S. government, Abello was guilty as charged and probably guilty of many other crimes. Abello, however, claimed he is innocent, that he is a wealthy cattle rancher, automobile importer, and part-time bullfighter. He also claimed he was the victim of the complementary interests of a jailed Colombian intent on escaping punishment and a U.S. public prosecutor intent on showing progress in that country's fight against drug dealers.

Sentencing

On May 19, 1990,

Federal district A federal district is a specific administrative division in one of various federations. These districts may be under the direct jurisdiction of a federation's national government, as in the case of federal territory (e.g., India, Malaysia), or the ...

Judge Thomas Brett in Tulsa, Oklahoma sentenced José Abello to 30 years in prison and fined him $5 million. Abello was convicted on one count of

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

to import cocaine and

into the United States and one count of conspiracy to possess drugs with the intent to distribute. In passing the sentence, Judge Thomas Brett said the

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

under which the defendant was extradited from Colombia during Fall 1989 provided a maximum sentence of 30 years. However, Abello's sentence was later reduced and he was released on July 23, 2007.

Murder attempts

After being released from prison and being back in Colombia, he survived three murder attempts in the city of Santa Marta. The first in 2007, 2008 which left him severely injured and in 2012 on the beach of El Rodadero which he survived as well.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abello Silva, Jose Medellín Cartel traffickers Colombian drug traffickers Colombian people imprisoned abroad Fugitives wanted on organised crime charges Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People extradited from Colombia to the United States

Arrest, extradition and sentencing

Trial

Sentencing

Murder attempts

See also

Notes