Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Orejuela (born August 15, 1943) is a convicted Colombian drug lord, formerly one of the leaders of the Cali Cartel, based in the city of

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...

. He is the younger brother of Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela. He married Miss Colombia 1974, Martha Lucía Echeverry.

Cali Cartel

The Rodríguez brothers and "Jose" formed the Cali cartel in the 1970s. They were primarily involved in

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 ...

trafficking. In the 1980s, they branched out into

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

trafficking. For a time, the Cali Cartel supplied 80% of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and 90% of the

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

cocaine market. The Cali Cartel was less violent than its rival, the Medellín Cartel. While the Medellín Cartel was involved in a brutal campaign of violence against the Colombian government, the Cali Cartel grew. The cartel was much more inclined toward bribery rather than violence. However, after the demise of the Medellín Cartel, the Colombian authorities turned their attention to the Cali cartel. The police campaign against the cartel began in the summer of 1995.

Arrest

On August 6, 1995, Rodriguez Orejuela was arrested when the Colombian National Police broke down the door of his apartment (Hacienda Buenos Aires) in the exclusive Normandia neighborhood in Cali, Colombia as he was about to slip into a secret closet called a caleta. Rodriguez was betrayed by Jorge Salcedo, his main bodyguard. Rodriguez Orejuela was not eligible for extradition to the U.S. for crimes committed prior to December 16, 1997. However, while he was detained in Colombia, Rodriguez Orejuela continued to engage in drug trafficking. As a result, the United States requested his extradition.

Extradition

On March 11, 2005, Rodriguez Orejuela was extradited to the United States. His brother, Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, had already been extradited. On September 26, 2006, both Gilberto and Miguel were sentenced to 30 years in prison, after pleading guilty to charges of conspiring to import cocaine to the U.S. in exchange for the United States agreeing not to bring charges against their family members. Their lawyers, David Oscar Markus and Roy Kahn, were able to obtain immunity for 29 family members. On November 16, 2006, the brothers pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to engage in

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

. Both were sentenced to an additional 87 months in prison. The two prison terms were set to run concurrently. Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela is serving his 30-year sentence at FCI Loretto in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. His inmate number is 14022–059 with a release date of July 15, 2028.

Gallery

Image:Rossoserrano.png, General of the Colombian National Police, Rosso José Serrano personally escorting Cali Cartel drug lord Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela. Image:Miguelrodriguez-extradition.png, Miguel Rodriguez-Orejuela is escorted by DEA agents after being extradited to the United States.

In popular culture

* In Caracol 2010 TV Series '' El cartel'' is portrayed by the actor Víctor Cifuentes as the character of Emmanuel Villegas. In 2021 prequel series '' The Snitch Cartel: Origins'', a younger version of the characters are portrayed by Carlos Manuel Vesga and Sebastián Osorio. * Is portrayed by Ricardo Vélez in 2012 TV Series '' Escobar, el patrón del mal'' as the character of Manuel González. * In RCN 2013 TV Series '' Tres Caínes'' is portrayed by Jarol Fonseca as the character of Manuel Ramírez Rajuela. * In RCN TV Series '' En la boca del lobo'' is portrayed by Luis Alfredo Velasco as the character of Manuel Ramírez Orjuela. *In the 2015

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

Original series, '' Narcos'', Orejuela is portrayed by Francisco Denis.

References

External links

Plea agreement
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez Orejuela, Miguel 1943 births Living people Cali Cartel traffickers Colombian drug traffickers Colombian people imprisoned abroad Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government People extradited from Colombia to the United States People from Tolima Department Rodríguez Orejuela family