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. 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 mainly involved in the marijuana trade. In the 1980s they became involved in the cocaine trade. For a time, the Cali Cartel supplied 80% of the United States cocaine market and 90% of the European 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 was growing. The cartel was much more inclined to bribery than to violence. However, after the demise of the Medellín Cartel, Colombian authorities turned their attention to the Cali Cartel. The police campaign against the cartel began in the summer of 1995.
To 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 of Cali, Colombia, as he was about to sneak into a secret closet called a caleta . Rodriguez was betrayed by Jorge Salcedo, his main bodyguard. Rodriguez Orejuela was ineligible for extradition to the US for crimes committed before December 16, 1997. However, while 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 into the US in exchange for the United States agreeing not to press charges against their relatives . Their lawyers, David Oscar Markus and Roy Kahn, managed to obtain immunity for 29 family members.
On November 16, 2006, the brothers pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Both were sentenced to an additional 87 months in prison. The two prison sentences would run concurrently.
Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela is serving his 30-year sentence at FCI Loretto in Pennsylvania.
His inmate number is 14022-059 with a release date of July 15, 2028.
