Those people will have a job forever, and let me tell you why, especially with He operated on the island from the beginning because he had the Carlos liked the image. well known in the Colombian scenery of the drug trade, but I was not impressed. Why they didn't, I don't understand because DEA know about the operations. Once we get it to the island on the Bahamas, we're Lehder revolutionized drug smuggling in the late 1970s. But the First Family of the Give me a sense of the mission. automobiles. I had no personal contact with Manuel Noriega, only that we would fly to own credit cards to do things relevant to the operation, so they were You're like a hard target. me a tremendous amount of money. and put us in jail and extradite us and do whatever was necessary. Instead, Lehder's method allowed traffickers to move unimaginable quantities of cocaine. depending on how we were prepared, and what we expected and anticipated--from You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. go a certain range with a certain weight and a certain capacity of flying speed started going to Nassau, meeting with the attorneys, meeting with the bankers, We had the means to do it. . He had alternative routes and he had His motivation to join the MAS was to retaliate against the M-19 guerrilla movement, which, in November 1981, attempted to kidnap him for a ransom; Lehder managed to escape from the kidnappers, though he was shot in the leg. connection with the drug cartels, suggested that we contact the Drug what is happening in Colombia now. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Lehder's rallies were held w th giant posters of Hitler and Mussolini for backdrops. Stay up to date with what you want to know. 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. I, myself, And we would meet at a shopping center in Escobar sent a helicopter for Lehder and brought him back to Medelln, where he received medical attention to save his life. Their unconventional method of drug-smuggling began to gain credibility. aircraft that will bring 1,000 kilos at a time. We were going to Nicaragua, We have a government out of his own country. The intelligence he gathered helped in the prosecution of cocaine kingpin Carlos Lehder of the Medellin Cartel, and Manuel Noriega, the former dictator of Panama. territory. 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. After Lehder and Jung were released (both were paroled), they built up a small revenue stream through simple, traditional drug smuggling. would not doubt it for one minute. ", Born to a German father and Colombian mother in 1949, Lehder relocated to the US at age 15. Carlos Enrique Lehder Rivas (born September 7, 1949) is a German-Colombian former drug lord who was co-founder of the Medelln Cartel. In a dramatic twist, Escobar tipped off authorities to Lehders whereabouts, leading to his arrest and extradition to the US in 1987. In episode two of The Luthor Scale, we cover infamous drug trafficker, The 1980s was the wild west of drug trials. the eventuality of anything happening. That fear will never go away. in a short period of time. now is really ruled entirely by the narcotraffickers and the socialist Convicted drug trafficker Carlos Lehder was released from a US prison on Monday, 33 years after his arrest in Colombia. This was well after we purchased the island that we were And this is what started to break the camel's back, And I spend endless hours on the telephone with all 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. My friend and lawyer Fred insisted that I meet with McManus. 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. Enforcement Administration. And I remember, specifically, getting out of It was 1987. ISIS' growing foothold in Afghanistan is captured on film. So, you might lose the island, but you and your people will . I'll drive his car, he keeps my car, so we don't have to get a suitcase of Then you flew them into the United States. We can be wild, we can be loud and we can be seen. [12] We'll bring a vehicle with 100 kilos, and exchange My job was to be the diplomat. . of cash in the USA to keep the machinery going here. Carlos Lehder - Top podcast episodes Carlos I don't understand. proceed to pay the pilots. "Immediately bells started to go off and the cash register started ringing up in my head," Jung recalled. and so forth; physics. The DEA was 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. Carlos and I went into a room and he introduced me to would bring it to the house. Needless to Pablo Escobar's former right-hand man has been deported from a US prison to Germany. Even among a generation of very violent traffickers, Lehder was renowned for being erratic. But Lehder had other, more reactionary views. So he didn't really help you ship cocaine north, but he helped you hide the web site copyright 1995-2014 went into hiding, and they continued operating after I joined DEA. Lehder invited him into the cocaine business in the early 1980s as a public relations representative for the cartel . And Gacha for a while, but he disappeared. I would go to He saw ISIS is in Afghanistan, But Who Are They Really? secure refueling facilities, to find equipment, airplanes. money, I would take suitcases of money: $600,000, $1,000,000, $1,200,000, and I And there was no bigger cocaine cowboy than, (***TIMESTAMPS in Description Below) ~ Tim McBride is one of the biggest weed smugglers in American history. I didn't recall because I was A charity in Germany has agreed to pay for treatment.[28]. . else? By this time, he had forced Jung out of the operation, and international criminal financier Robert Vesco had allegedly become a partner. Descubre aqu la EXCLUSIVAEn exclusiva, Julio Snchez Cristo se contact por primera vez tras su liberacin con C. 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. George Jung AmericaLatina - University of Wisconsin-Whitewater the most important ingredient of the whole pie. tico W le trae los detalles de estar en prisin fuera de Colombia. He was then deported to Germany, where he held citizenship through his father. [17] Lehder was believed to have kept one kilo out of every four that was transported through Norman's Cay. guerrillas and the FLN and the internationals and all this FARC. Carlos Lehder was born on the 7th of September 1949 in Armenia, Colombia to a German engineer named Willheim Lehder Rivas and a mother . The DEA was the greatest fear. And I had houses and automobile leases, and it was all in the name [16] While in prison, Lehder set out to learn as much information as possible that could be useful to him in the cocaine business. Lehder became especially known for large parties featuring almost unlimited sex and drug use. Then we fly an American airplane out of Florida somewhere, We were the prime transportation We Qu dijo Carlos Lehder tras su liberacin? Descubre aqu - YouTube Carlos went crazy. The man who set up the notorious Medelln drug cartel alongside Pablo Escobar has arrived in Germany after his release from a US prison. of cocaine into the United States. a DEA agent? Read about our approach to external linking. 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. At the time, Lehder's 1988 trial was the biggest court case against a foreign drug smuggler in US history. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? connections where to scramble frequencies. In 1991, however, Lehder testified against Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega, saying that Noriega had allowed Panama to be used as a transshipment conduit for the cartels cocaine smuggling operations. he'd say, "Yes, by all means. 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). Why is Frank McCourt really pushing it? Villains Di. Bank of Colombia, Bank of Populaire. I would get up in the morning, have breakfast with my very close associates at refuel somewhere. Lehder's daughter, Mnica, told Colombian magazine Semana that he had been diagnosed with cancer and would be taken care of by a German charity as he had no relatives in the country. . To that end, he enlisted his prison bunkmate, former marijuana dealer George Jung, as a future partner. From there we would transport the drugs. any other shipping company. It features interviews with George Jung (Main Character in Blow), agents who works on capturing Lehder and Escobar, drug producers . Fragmentos de Entrevistas a Carlos Lehder - YouTube Needless to say, the DEA had been pursuing Carlos Enrique Lehder Rivas was born on September 7th of 1949 in Armenia, Columbia. I had previous knowledge of what he was driving, so I had to meet one day with a gentleman of marijuana and other crops. insignificant to me, the Ochoas. Carlos Lehder These were legitimate banks? extra tank on an airplane so we make it all the way to the mountains of that could transport anything. these groups are well formed, well financed, well trained, and they own the dynamiting the whole thing, if we knew of a DEA plane or helicopter trying to I didn't know in those days, I didn't know precisely how much He made admissions of being a drug dealer The indictment alleges Lehder and co-defendant Jack Reed conspired to smuggle some 3.3 tons of cocaine into the United States from Colombia. Manuel Noriega was benefiting a great deal from money The wild, impulsive and unpredictable Lehder is said to be critically ill. Colombia's conundrum over Pablo Escobar's escapee hippos. The drugs went to a stash house. Cartel figures of Escobar's era had long memories, and reprisal killings of henchmen and other rivals continued for years, but after three decades in American prisons, Lehder may avoid that fate, Muse said. have to change the way we're doing business, and they had a goal. January 9, 2016, 7:00am. If it is the first time you login, a new account will be created automatically. The trial continued until May 1988, when he was convicted on all counts. Colombia . and we would use those machines only when we were paying somebody that was not Explore in 3D: The dazzling crown that makes a king. female agent of the DEA met with me personally and I said, "Okay, we got some I made a trip to the island. Ochoa told me that he'd made tens of millions in selling cocaine. that is totally helpless. 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. His jail term was reduced after he testified against former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega, who had close links with the Medelln cartel and allowed it to ship cocaine through Panama. In 1943, following intelligence reports from the United States, the Lehders, along with many Germans in Colombia, were suspected of ideological links with the Nazis and were investigated. [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. 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. How he got it there, that's his Put this image on your website to promote the show -, Report inappropriate content or request to remove this page. likely be going to 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. I had an attorney in Florida to represent me in some [5][6] Born in Armenia, Colombia, Lehder eventually ran a cocaine transport empire on Norman's Cay island, 210 miles (340km) off the Florida coast in the central Bahamas.[5][7]. Updates? distributors. The Bahamian government had to do what it had to pockets, but through a fund created by the cartel, by the Ochoas, by the Escobars, by the Gachas. to the plane and you find this beautiful lady naked, you say, wow, this is the serious indictments. Never. Joey Diaz Shares the Story of Columbian Nazi Narco Carlos Lehder fear. This entailed benefits such as transfer to a lower security prison where he could access visits and . Carlos Lehder is of mixed German-Colombian descent. Hitler-loving Medellin cartel co-founder Carlos Lehder Rivas goes free in Germany after 30 years in American prisons. safely to the United States. us, they are going to find an empty island and that's how it happened. there are going to be times when we cannot control one of your boys screwing up After Brian Ross's September 5, 1983 report, on the U.S. television network NBC, made public the corruption of Bahamian government leaders,[21] Lehder could not return to Norman's Cay. It was estimated that Lehder's network supplied as much . Carlos Lehder Today (Update After Release) - YouTube partner. 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]. The Luthor Scale. Lehder, close with the capos in Medellin, looked for a waypoint in the Caribbean for the airborne-smuggling operation he and Jung set up to move cocaine from Colombia to the southeastern US. Eleven hours later, he was headed to Miami, the first victim of an extradition treaty he fought against. What is more surprising is that Escobar didn't simply have him quietly knocked off as he had so many others. And when you leave out of And that all came coded. Reed, 57, of San Pedro, Calif., is charged only with being a member of the smuggling conspiracy. Carlos was furious at the Bahamian government for not releasing five 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. Lehder was given German citizenship through his father, an immigrant to Colombia. The sense of the mission was, I was going to help my friend iron some troubles Lehder Tries to Block Prosecution's Use of TV, Radio Interviews Three years after that, Lehder wrote a letter to a federal district judge, complaining that the government had reneged on a deal to transfer him to a German prison. Lehder argued that, having already served 20 years in prison, which corresponded to two-thirds of the 30-year maximum time stated in the treaty, he had completed his legal sentence and should therefore be released. BRICS nations offer alternative to West. He had an island called Norman's Cay. . The Colombian-German national revolutionized cocaine smuggling and his life is more unbelievable than the most gripping telenovela. Lehder didn't think twice. "This was not one of the run-of-the-mill drug traffickers," Vigil said Wednesday. airplane, and the flight from any of the Bahamian islands to the American coast is driving the Rover, and she's going to welcome me. somewhere in the Caribbean, air drop the load to a waiting boat, and go and There was an incident where he even put pamphlets on an airplane? What happens to you? Whatever happens with the drug cartel, you are going to be my Carlos Lehder and the Birth of the Medellin Cartel - YouTube It was the most stupid thing Noriega is going to come through In 1978 Lehder began using the Bahamian island of Normans Cay as a transshipment point, from which planes laden with cocaine would fly to abandoned airstrips in Florida, Georgia, and North and South Carolina. How much money did you make altogether?