of Chile for a while and things got ugly. Carlos Lehder Rivas, 70, among traffickers who smuggled cocaine across world . Released from prison 16 June 2020, after more than 33 years and 4 months in captivity. We'll tell you when to get out of there. He got The Bahamian government gave Carlos a promise. [17] Lehder was believed to have kept one kilo out of every four that was transported through Norman's Cay. Carlos liked publicity. Accused drug kingpin Carlos Lehder virtually admitted his guilt in radio and television interviews given in 1983 and 1985, federal prosecutors claimed Tuesday as they argued for the interviews to . His daughter would continually go to the press and give these interviews and say, 'Please stop trying to extort us. dynamiting the whole thing, if we knew of a DEA plane or helicopter trying to It's said that Lehder was the only Colombian drug boss with more fans than employees. Jung used his prior connections to take up a more modest line of independent smuggling for Pablo Escobar and stayed out of Lehder's way. The trial continued until May 1988, when he was convicted on all counts. his operation. I Do you think the drug war per se can be won by Americans? We would go inside and we would have a Ochoa told me that he'd made tens of millions in selling cocaine. Whatever happens with the drug cartel, you are going to be my Lehder shared Escobar's scorn for Colombia's extradition agreement with the US. U.S. District Judge Howell W. Melton said he may recess most of Wednesday to allow him to determine whether the tapes, which are in Spanish, can be admitted into evidence. Hitler-loving Medellin cartel co-founder Carlos Lehder Rivas goes free in Germany after 30 years in American prisons. would not doubt it for one minute. His battles with the church arent over, How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, U.N. envoy says Sudans warring sides agree to negotiate, Yellen says U.S. could hit debt ceiling as soon as June 1, U.S. says 20,000 Russians killed in Ukraine war since December, Speaker Kevin McCarthy addresses Knesset amid fraught U.S.-Israel ties, First Republic: Cheap, interest-only jumbo mortgages to Silicon Valleys elite fueled the banks failure. Another hypothesis supported by Jhon Jairo Velsquez, better known as "Popeye", the head assassin of Pablo Escobar, is that fellow members of the Medelln Cartel wanted him out of the picture due to his radical military-like behavior, which they believed would jeopardize their cocaine empire, and so Escobar himself provided Lehder's whereabouts to the police, leading to Lehder's capture.[22]. Villains Di. There were many ways of . automobiles. and we would use those machines only when we were paying somebody that was not Other major Medelln Cartel associates fled to the protection of Manuel Noriega in Panama, but when Pablo Escobar discovered Noriega was plotting to betray him to the U.S. in return for amnesty, the cartel associates then fled to Nicaragua to seek the assistance of Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega. Read about our approach to external linking. not close to the case, but the Bahamian government had to do what they had to Este martes, Carlos Enrique Lehder Rivas, el excntrico colombo-alemn que fragu con Pablo Escobar uno de los carteles ms importantes de la historia del narcotrfico, lleg al pas del . Lehder went on trial in October 1987 in Jacksonville, Florida, on charges of conspiracy and running a criminal enterprise as well as other charges related to the importation and sale of cocaine. proceed to pay the pilots. Despite that contribution, Escobar began to see Lehder as more of a liability than an asset. The man who co-founded the notorious Colombian Medelln drug cartel alongside Pablo Escobar has been transferred to Germany from the United States, according to Spiegel Online. As the threat of extradition to the US grew, Lehder a self-described admirer of Adolf Hitler formed his own far-right political party, the Latino National party, in the hope of stirring nationalist anger over the idea of Colombians facing trial in a foreign court. bring a load and we didn't find any other sources, and we called Mr. Noriega, get a wink from us, a signal, when things are getting too hot and you need to American government, though the DEA. It was 1987. No specific names. He would promise that you can bring a load, but it was The Luthor Scale. Carlos Lehder Rivas was at a Medellin Cartel party, snorting cocaine and amusing himself in the company of a prostitute when one of Pablo Escobar's hitmen had the temerity to knock on the door. By Jungs account, Lehder persuaded him that importing cocaine by airplane would be significantly more lucrative, and upon their release in 1976 the two went into business together, transporting the drug from Medelln, Colombia, to the United States. And he never failed to point out that, "terrorism is the atom bomb of the poor.". So, you might lose the island, but you and your people will He has never been to Germany and will face no legal action from the country's authorities as he has already served his prison sentence in the US, German broadcaster DW reports. Put this image on your website to promote the show -, Report inappropriate content or request to remove this page. Corrections? While serving a sentence for car theft in federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, Lehder decided that, upon his release, he would take advantage of the burgeoning market for cocaine in the United States. right-hand man in doing public relations work. Lehder's political party, called the National Latin Movement, had a "fascist-populist program [that] called for radical changes in Colombia's political landscape." The April 30, 1984 assassination of Rodrigo Lara Bonilla, the Colombian Minister of Justice, initiated the beginning of the end for Lehder and the Medelln Cartel. - Foto: SEMANA. the cartel and plan the activities of the day. went into hiding, and they continued operating after I joined DEA. Well, then there was the incident with the DC-3. The planes flew low, escaping the view of watchful US authorities. [16], That island was Norman's Cay, which at that point consisted of a marina, a yacht club, approximately 100 private homes, and an airstrip. Yes. Sign up for notifications from Insider! . up with techniques that would make our operation more smooth, more productive, The day after the party, Escobar sent Lehder to a secret hiding place, promising himhe wouldbe safe there then he ratted him out to US authorities. Carlos was a close Missouri, instead of having to put a load down in the Bahamas where it is Because work, you'll get involved. He was known for his admiration of Adolf Hitler and of John Lennon, and he founded a short-lived political party, the National Latin Movement, that was described as fascist-populist but that also sought the abrogation of the 1979 extradition treaty between Colombia and the United States. Let me give you an example. capabilities of getting organized and doing things. Carlos was the mastermind that he had there, to get his operation going. We couldn't get away with it. . The drugs went to a stash house. Why is Netflix pouring billions into South Korean shows? personal friends. Germanys interior and foreign ministries were not immediately available for comment on the case when contacted by AFP. Carlos and had extensive information on him, intelligence and what not, and somebody becomes an enemy. . Fugitive, capture, trial, and whereabouts, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Supuesta libertad de Carlos Ledher fue desmentida desde Armenia", "El peso del apellido Lehder: hija ruega para que el narco no muera en prisin", "Carlos Lehder qued libre en Alemania, confirma su hija Mnica Lehder", "Carlos Lehder | Biography, Crimes, Conviction, & Facts", "El Mundo - Noticias de Medelln, Antioquia, Colombia y el mundo - Peridico El Mundo", "Muri Juan David Ochoa, uno de los fundadores del cartel de Medelln", "Marta Nieves Ochoa, hermana de Fabio Ochoa", "Hatred of All Things Yankee Absorbs Lehder", "Padre de Carlos Lehder, un activo militante nazi", "NORMAN'S CAY: The True Story of Carlos Lehder, the Medellin Cartel, the CIA, and America's War On Drugs", "Carlos Lehder podra salir libre por cumplimiento de pena", "Carta de Carlos Lehder al President Juan Manuel Santos", "Medelln cartel co-founder transferred to Germany after prison sentence", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carlos_Lehder&oldid=1146724765, Colombian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, Fugitives wanted on organised crime charges, People extradited from Colombia to the United States, Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the United States federal government, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2020, BLP articles lacking sources from February 2013, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2013, BLP articles lacking sources from August 2010, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2023, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. What happened was that things started to go wrong for everybody. Qu dijo Carlos Lehder tras su liberacin? We had an airstrip in Ocala. He had alternative routes and he had money he was paying the Bahamian government. Noriega was always saying that he would welcome us into his country with drugs, and cigar boats and all kinds of equipment, as plan B or plan C to evacuate. Lehder was one of the founding members of Muerte a Secuestradores ("MAS"), a paramilitary group whose focus was to retaliate against the kidnappings of cartel members and their families[5] by the guerrillas. NOW WATCH: Pablo Escobar: The life and death of one of the biggest cocaine kingpins in history, Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. any other shipping company. part of a criminal organization where I'm going to be exposed to drugs. The nickel-and-dime thing was not our game. else? The three of us could most [citation needed]. Accused drug kingpin Carlos Lehder virtually admitted his guilt in radio and television interviews given in 1983 and 1985, federal prosecutors claimed Tuesday as they argued for the interviews to be presented at his trial. In this episode of Behind The Mask we dive into some of the most interesting evil lair ever to exist (or to be made up). Even among a generation of very violent traffickers, Lehder was renowned for being erratic. Panama, where we would meet with members of his very close allies in the he told me, in his promise, that Carlos, you're going to be my P.R. Precisely. out of his own country. While on the run in the jungle, he got sick with a fever. a DEA agent? Bank of Colombia, Bank of Populaire. BRICS nations offer alternative to West. When he married Helena Rivas, the daughter of a jeweller from Manizales, Caldas, he changed his name to Guillermo Lehder. After that, Lehder's whereabouts within the prison system remained unknown, stoking rumors in Colombia. Born in Armenia, Colombia, Lehder eventually ran a cocaine transport empire on Norman's Cay island, 210 miles (340 km) off the Florida coast in the central Bahamas. who came from Colombia on his way to Germany to purchase weapons that Carlos Dec. 6, 2021. But we knew who These activities led to his 1974 incarceration in a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut. So we had to find alternative ways of doing it, which is a small private And I would take that logistics are, which coordinates, where are we going to land it, and I'll have [14], Lehder started out selling stolen cars and marijuana, as well as smuggling stolen cars between the U.S. and Canada. As Jung told High Times in 2015, "Walter Cronkite showed up there, and these thugs came with machine guns and told him, 'You better leave.' We'll cover Lehder's interconnected origin story, explain his super powers, discuss his grand plan for world domination, and then place him on the Scale.Is Lehder just a low level thug in another supervil. I ever heard in my life. languages, and he knew I could go and hold the prime minister's hand and make Carlos Lehder, a 70-year-old Colombian-German national, became known for creating a base for drug smuggling on a private island in the Bahamas. Carlos Lehder, in full Carlos Enrique Lehder Rivas, (born September 7, 1949, Armenia, Colombia), Colombian-German drug smuggler, a leader in the powerful Medelln drug cartel, who was credited with revolutionizing the transportation network for delivering cocaine to the United States by vastly increasing the volume of smuggled drugs. President Belisario Betancur, who had previously opposed extraditing any Colombian drug lords to the United States, announced that he was now willing to extradite. home pretty much. You're not flexible, you're not low profile. would bring it to the house. It was the most stupid thing I saw myself as an asset to Carlos. secondly, he said, we are going to rule this country; and they succeeded. They flew cocaine in from Colombia on all sorts of aircraft able to land fully loaded on the airstrip, reloaded it into various small aircraft, and then distributed it to locations in Georgia, Florida,[19] and the Carolinas. we are going to make cocaine the drug of the 1980s; and they succeeded. It's a very expensive operation. Within weeks of sending that letter in the fall of 1995, Lehder was whisked away into the night, according to several protected witnesses at the Mesa Unit in Arizona. jibe with your experience, or is that an underestimation? . Reed, 57, of San Pedro, Calif., is charged only with being a member of the smuggling conspiracy. Carlos had no problem with it. I made a trip to the island, before I was active. Colombia's cocaine: Who will take charge now? And I spend endless hours on the telephone with all traffickers, and these people have more weapons, more training, more guts, than Carlos Lehder Rivas aboard his own plane 1979. I'd say, "Why, Carlos? It was in 1977, I believe. We had a number of airplanes that can only insignificant to me, the Ochoas. I would call the Ochoas and they would meet me at a mall down here in the We had the means to do it. Carlos Lehder Rivas was at a Medellin Cartel party, snorting cocaine and amusing himself in the company of a prostitute when one of Pablo Escobar's hitmen had the temerity to knock on . The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Inspired by the idea, Lehder decided to apply the principle to cocaine transport and formed a partnership with Jung. The drugs would land at an airstrip either at Atlanta, in Georgia, or in He saw 324; 2005). "Or hell, in the end." My job was to be the diplomat. It was well funded and there were He also admired Adolf Hitler and constantly railed against Jews, just like his father Wilhelm, an engineer who emigrated to Colombia before the start of the Second World War. to me how important his alliance with them was, because they will be the source fear. What's Carlos Lehder up to nowadays now that he is free? Specifically, they enlisted two young women who were US citizens to take a vacation to Antigua, receive cocaine, and carry it back with them to the U.S. in their suitcases. What happens to you? They also ran a small business producing vegetable oils and importing luxury goods such as wine and canned foods. Spiegel reported that 70-year-old Lehder, whose father is German, would be placed under the care of a charitable group in Germany. assassinations. Lehder rose to power in the Medellin cartel, alongside Pablo Escobar, but among a notoriously brutal generation of narcos, Lehder stands out for his violence and cunning. And this man will then take his load, his 100 kilos, and take it meeting with the prime minister's son. The ideal thing would be to buy a 747 and load it with by Dominic Streatfeild. The government had frozen all his bank accounts and taken over his property and possessions, and he went from being a billionaire to nearly bankrupt. Maria Del Mar Lehder[1] (1982[citation needed]), Carlos Enrique Lehder Rivas (born 7 September 1949)[4] is a German-Colombian former drug lord who was co-founder of the Medelln Cartel. problem. Defense and prosecution attorneys went line-by-line over transcripts of a radio interview and a television interview Lehder gave in late June 1983, before he was indicted in U.S. courts; and a jungle television interview given in February 1985, when Lehder was a fugitive on the charges for which he is now being tried. have 1,000 keys of cocaine, a pilot, copilot, and maybe another man with Con esas palabras, Mnica Lehder, hija del excapo y miembro del extinto cartel de Medelln, Carlos Lehder, confirm que su padre no lleg a ninguna prisin en Alemania, pas adonde fue . Carlos was furious at the Bahamian government for not releasing five So you lived the high life, but you didn't save any money. Manuel Noriega was benefiting a great deal from money Panamanian banks, We don't have any money,'" Muse said, noting that it became a kind of policy among criminals in Colombia to target the families of high-profile capos who were taken down. Like Escobar, also Lehder had a political awakening in the early 1980s. In May 2007, Lehder requested the Supreme Court of Colombia and the Colombian government to intervene in order to comply with the extradition agreement established between Colombia and the US, which stated that a maximum sentence of 30 years would be applied to any extradited Colombian citizen. killings everywhere, so serious that the kidnappers took him seriously. I worked as a cameraman for CBS in New Five males, ten females and everybody runs naked and everybody switch Thank you for helping to keep the podcast database up to date. We brought the whole load, and we The DEA was likely be going to the Bahamas. understand why you don't just fly it into the United States. Within hours he was sent to the United States, which had sought his arrest since 1979. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) _ Accused drug kingpin Carlos Lehder Rivas virtually admitted his guilt in radio and television interviews given in 1983 and 1985, federal prosecutors claimed Tuesday as they argued for the interviews to be presented at his trial. A full body orgasm at the L.A. Phil? "His legacy is that he stands out as probably one of the most intellectual capos of the Colombian drug trade, because he was definitely smarter than Pablo Escobar. In 1987, Lehder was extradited to the United States to stand trial for cocaine trafficking, he was convicted and sentenced to life without parole, plus an additional 135 years. He lost every credibility as a political figure. He bought a small island in the Bahamas called Norman's Cay, just 340 kilometers (211 miles) off the Florida coast, bribed Bahamian authoritiesand began transporting tons of white Colombian snow to the US in small airplanes. accounted for--never. tico W le trae los detalles de estar en prisin fuera de Colombia. The letter was construed as a threat against the judge. tools and planes and automobiles and things like that. (United States v. Lehder-Rivas, 136 Fed. Needless to personality was quite evident, and you just lose credibility. [18][7] In 1978, Lehder began buying up property and harassing and threatening the island's residents; at one point, a yacht was found drifting off the coast with the corpse of one of its owners aboard. In Fight Against ISIS, a Lose-Lose Scenario Poses Challenge for West. I'm not a witness of it, but in my opinion, I have no question about it. Crazy Charlie was making billions and living it up; the island became a hotspot for wild, drug-fueled orgies. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. He'll tell us How can you be sure of that? Even so, he was left very weak. Omissions? Eventually, Lehder wanted to rebuild his fortune, but he was captured at a farm he had just established in Colombia, when a new employee of his informed the police of his location. Four decades later, they've gone feral and multiplied, and no one knows quite what to do with them. Enforcement Administration. I'm relaxed and in peace to know that he's well, despite his illness," she told Semana (in Spanish). that. "His family really suffered as well. my army take care of you.". of cocaine into the United States. My fear always was, I don't want to be to understand for many years, he had the support of the Colombian government He will make promises that, yes, we can bring the that could transport anything. Lehder founded the National Latino Movement (Movimiento Latino Nacional, in Spanish), which managed three congressional seats, and popularized itself by making speeches against extradition. I was a He operated on the island from the beginning because he had the man, you'll It is believed the Medelln cartel supplied an estimated 80% of the cocaine smuggled into the US in the 1970s and 1980s. load tomorrow. "It's been 17 years since I last saw him. banking industry. Then we'll call someone, and say, "The shipment is here." And I had houses and automobile leases, and it was all in the name One could say that is exactly the driving force of his criminal life. I'll try to explain it very simply. There is no question in my mind that the Ochoas Now, at 70, Lehder is in Germany, butthe days of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll are definitively over for Crazy Charlie. He's . aircraft that will bring 1,000 kilos at a time. The clown, that side of his By this time, he had forced Jung out of the operation, and international criminal financier Robert Vesco had allegedly become a partner. The Bahamian government had to do what it had to The only thing Pablo Escobar had was wholesale violence," Vigil added. What was your involvement with Manuel Noriega? source at the time, but the Ochoas, and the Escobars continued after Carlos I had my closest friend as my ally. The Ochoas were instrumental in producing enough cocaine to export Lehder was given German citizenship through his father, an immigrant to Colombia. Trusted by 5,700 companies and developers. Believe it or not, when things started to break down, Carlos owed Lehder is charged with conspiracy, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, importation of cocaine and operating a continuing criminal enterprise. But he was a very, very instrumental help in getting monies back and forth. else was part of this bribe game, which is Carlos. Sex, drugs and rock'n'roll:even "Crazy Charlie's" last day of freedom was like a movie. And they believed in their Lehder also professed to be anti-imperialist, criticizing US actions in Latin America. And when Lehder told Jung that cocaine sold for $4,000-$5,000 a kilo in Colombia and $60,000 a kilo in the United States. He had radio people. Fred Graves, knowing intimately my US, EU must engage with 'global swing states' report, Brazil's Lula kicks off Portugal trip amid Ukraine criticism, A new world order? Carlos Lehder Rivas, who has both German and Colombian citizenship, was escorted to Germany by two US officials on a regular passenger flight from New York to Frankfurt and handed over to German authorities, the report said. Lehder is estimated to have spent $4.5 million on the island in total. Lehder didn't think twice. tons, and I'm talking not 20 or 30 tons, but tons and tons of cocaine to this . Carlos is being chased His criminal life. correct? do. This has happened a long time ago. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. money that came from the Ochoas, it was good as gold. Carlos Lehder is of mixed German-Colombian descent. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Carlos-Lehder. Michael McManus, at the time, was working out of the Ft. have amassed at least a billion dollars in assets from the business of drug They were funneling tons of money, and And Escobar. money out in the middle of a parking lot at three o'clock in the afternoon. Lehder was a leading individual on the crackdown list. Where did those drugs go then? It was 1987. connection with the drug cartels, suggested that we contact the Drug At the time, Lehder's 1988 trial was the biggest court case against a foreign drug smuggler in US history. Video, On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry, Mayor angry over hit 'glorifying Escobar', He has never been to Germany and will face no legal action from the country's authorities, Lehder had no interest in returning to Colombia. And there was no bigger cocaine cowboy than, (***TIMESTAMPS in Description Below) ~ Tim McBride is one of the biggest weed smugglers in American history. him listen to us that we needed more cooperation. He was seen as a clown and he was running. That was my ultimate goal, to there, that I went as a guest. guest. It is amazing how one of the most remarkable criminals in human history had a rather unimpressive background. They The Colombian-German national revolutionized cocaine smuggling and his life is more unbelievable than the most gripping telenovela. And Mr. McManus and I arranged through my lawyer a meeting at an The pilots don't get paid unless the load made it I would call my pilots and I would give them I had to meet one day with a gentleman This is a very eloquent statement that Mr. Lehder is in fact guilty, said Merkle, after reviewing the transcript of the audio tape. [15] Jung had experience flying marijuana to the U.S. from Mexico in small aircraft, staying below radar level, and landing on dry lake beds. Additionally, Lehder "founded a neo-Nazi political party, the National Latin Movement, whose main function, police said, appeared to be to force Colombia to abrogate its extradition treaty with the United States."[13]. I knew they were big people and they were partner. approached Pablo Escobar and he told him, he is the one who said to Escobar, we He was sentenced to life without parole plus 135 years in 1988, which was reduced to 55 years after he testified against Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, who had supported the Medellin cartel while he was in power. He was visited regularly by family members and had access to TV and a computer with only email access. laundering, even more so than from direct cocaine transportation. not going to be touched because whatever happens, if the DEA is coming towards Lehder revolutionized drug smuggling in the late 1970s. . He would sometimes even spend hours questioning fellow inmates about money laundering and smuggling. He eventually forced Jung out of their partnership. His admiration for Hitler also shone through. Needless to say, the DEA had been pursuing Carlos Enrique Lehder Rivas (born September 7, 1949) is a German-Colombian former drug lord who was co-founder of the Medelln Cartel. where it ended up in the United States. secure refueling facilities, to find equipment, airplanes. Not as much as I did some years back. the eventuality of anything happening. Spiegel Online reported he was escorted by two US officials and handed over to German officials. . Lehder apologized to Escobar, the body was disposed of and, of course, the party went on. The entire statement amounts to a confession, said U.S. Attorney Robert W. Merkle, when discussing a section of the radio transcript that dealt with Lehders activities on the island of Normans Cay in the Bahamas. In those days, before I joined to actively to work with him, I had That was the paranoia that kept the group so well armed and so well protected. Stay up to date with what you want to know. publicly to the press. Lehder rose to power in the . us, they are going to find an empty island and that's how it happened. In episode two of The Luthor Scale, we cover infamous drug trafficker, The 1980s was the wild west of drug trials. how can you get away with that? And that's how it started. Carlos Lehder, who had sentences in Colombia of more than 30 years in prison, was sentenced in 1988 in the United States to life imprisonment, but reached a collaboration agreement in August 1991 and became a witness against the Panamanian dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega.. Lehder was captured by the Colombian authorities at a farm, allegedly after a tip-off from Escobar, and extradited to the US, which was then leading a campaign against drug traffickers based in Colombia. stocks or bonds? Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. To that end, he enlisted his prison bunkmate, former marijuana dealer George Jung, as a future partner. It was estimated that he made as much as $300 million a year, which fueled his lavish lifestyle. "This dude takes over an island an entire island in the Caribbean in order to be a transit point to get [cocaine] into the United States," Muse said Wednesday. "Of the Medellin cartel, he was definitely the most intelligent.". it as a legal enterprise. Defense and prosecution attorneys went line-by-line over transcripts of a radio interview and a television interview Lehder gave in late June, 1983, before he was indicted in U.S. courts, and a jungle television interview given in February, 1985, when Lehder was a fugitive on the charges for which he is now being tried.
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