Drug Trafficking—Cali Cartel

Sixty‑year old brothers Miguel “The Master” and Gilberto “The Chess Player” Rodriguez-Orejuela, said to be the brawn and brain behind the infamous Columbian Cali Cartel, have concluded a complex plea agreement in their drug trafficking case.^[1] The brothers have already been sentenced to 30 years in prison in addition to forfeiture and other terms described below.^[2]

Press releases from the DEA and ICE report that both pled guilty this week in federal court in the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to import narcotics (21 U.S.C. § 841 and 21 U.S.C. § 846). The brothers have also agreed to plead guilty at a later date to conspiracy to commit money laundering (18 U.S.C. § 1956) as charged in a separate indictment out of the Southern District of New York.^[3]

The plea agreement has been in the works for some time and includes some interesting and unusual terms.^[4]

• The brothers agreed to forfeit over $2 billion in property and assets, including assets listed in the names of family members.
• In a separate agreement, 28 Rodriguez-Orejuelas family members agreed to forfeit their right, title, and interest in all family business-related entities and assets worldwide, including the United States, in exchange for being dropped from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list of “Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers.” In exchange for having their assets unfrozen, the family members also agreed to continue cooperating with U.S. authorities.
• The government agreed to recommend that the brothers’ Florida and New York sentences run concurrently.

Although the brothers were imprisoned by Colombia in 1995, the U.S. charges are based on allegations that they continued to run the cartel from prison.^[5] Gilberto Rodriguez-Orejuela was extradited from Colombia in December 2004 and Miguel was extradited in March 2005.^[6] Miguel’s son William Rodriguez-Abadia has already begun serving a 21‑year sentence resulting from a March 8, 2006 federal conviction on charges stemming from his alleged role on the outside during the time the brothers were incarcerated.^[7]

The Cali Cartel is most well-known for its ingenious schemes for smuggling cocaine and other drugs into the country. Smuggling tactics are said to have included hiding drugs in chlorine gas canisters and in shipments of ceramic tiles, lumber, frozen vegetables, coffee beans, and pumpkins.^[8] Authorities have alleged that at one time the cartel was responsible for 80% of all cocaine shipped into the United States.^[9]

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[1] Dan Eggen, With Guilty Pleas, Cali Cartel Finished, U.S. Says, Washington Post, Sept. 27, 2006 [hereinafter Post].
[2] Michael J. Sniffen, Leaders of Colombian Drug Cartel Plead Guilty, Associated Press, Sept. 27, 2006 [hereinafter AP].
[3] Cali Cartel Leaders Plead Guilty to Drug and Money Laundering Conspiracy Charges, DEA Press Release, Sept. 26, 2006 [hereinafter DEA]. See also Cali Cartel Leaders Plead Guilty To Drug And Money Laundering Conspiracy Charges, ICE Press Release, Sept. 26, 2006.
[4] DEA supra note 3.
[5] DEA supra note 3.
[6] Post supra note 1.
[7] AP supra note 2.
[8] AP supra note 2.
[9] DEA supra note 3.