|
THE CALI CARTEL |
||
|
|
||
|
--Cali cartel learned form their rivals example, its the money that makes things work not the violence |
||
|
THE STRATEGISTS...
The structure and reason for the Cali Cartel being called a cartel is the same for that of the Medellin Cartel. The Cali cartel is known for how deceptive and intelligent they run the illicit drug exporting business. They have learned from the mistakes of some members of the Medellin cartel who attempted to take over the industry through shear force, and decided to have a different approach. The drug syndicated decided to legitimize their drug money by investing it in business in Colombia and in the US. They also tried to establish good relationships with the government, by bribing them, trying to place their own people in the government, and so forth. The Cali cartel was so well thought of by the government that they were nicknamed the "gentlemen," while the Medellin cartel was nicknamed the "hoodlums."
SPLITTING UP OF TERRITORY... Cali and Medellin members collaborated on only a few things such as to work against the government concerning extradition, to send out large shipments, and to work against the guerillas that would kidnap people just for the sake of getting a ransom. This last reason actually lead to the formation of an anti-guerilla paramilitary force that to this day exists to terrorize the citizens of Colombia and protect the coca plant growers. The quick story as to the origin of the group is that the Ochoa brother's sister was kidnapped. They called a meeting at their ranch in 1981, and most of the leaders of the drug trafficking business came. A group was formed called Muerte a Sequestradores (Death to Kidnappers), also referred to as MAS. The purpose of this group was to find out who was doing all the kidnappings and serve justice to them their own way. The group would work with he government to fight the left-wing guerillas. The kingpins that attended the meeting agreed to never pay a ransom for anymore kidnappings and to deal harshly with any kidnappers. Some analysts believe that at this meeting the routes and or portioning up of the US was decided. The Cali cartel got New York and the Medellin were to have Florida. THE BLOODY CARTEL WAR... This truce or alliance between the cartels did not last long. Starting around 1984 or so the alliance broke down. The Medellin cartel started trying to move into the New York territory and accused the Cali cartel of collaborating with the Colombian government to have leaders of the Medellin cartel arrested. This lead to the very bloody war between the cartels where many Colombian citizens were killed and also a lot of drug dealers and gang members are reported to have died because of this war. Because of the violent nature of the Medellin cartel their leaders were targeted more and eventually all were put into jail or killed. The last member of the Medellin cartel to be placed in a position where he couldn't control his business was Pablo Escobar, who was killed in 1993. This gave the Cali cartel the monopoly of drug exportation throughout Colombia. The Cali cartel enjoyed this for only a short time because by 1996 all the original Cali kingpins were behind bars as well. THE CIA'S INVOLVEMENT IN THE WAR AGAINST DRUGS... Not much literature or media articles deals with the Cali Cartel. Most of the writings and articles deal with Medellin Cartel members. I am not sure why this is, one author gave the hint to the answer by saying that the CIA has connections and informants that work with close associates of the members of the Cali cartel. There were many times when the CIA would have an agent talk about an incident that involved both Cali and Medellin, but when the CIA documents came out they only mentioned Medellin members. The Cali cartel is supposedly broken up now. With all the original kingpins or leaders in jail. After the death of Pablo Escobar, the leaders didn't fear being assassinated in jail anymore and so they turned themselves in to serve a reduced sentence and be able to keep most of their money. This was similar to why the Ochoa brothers turned themselves in in the early 1990s. |
||
| Here are some informative links concerning the CALI cartel: | ||
|
--Cali's power: |
||
|
--CIA's involvement in the drug industry: www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/special/cia.html |
||
|
--Inside the Cali Cartel: www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/business/inside/colombian.html |
||
|
REFERENCES:
Thoumi, Francisco E. (1995). Political Economy & Illegal Drugs in Colombia. Colorado: Lynne Rienner George, Susan (1992). The Debt Boomerang. San Francisco: Westview Press Scott, Peter D. & Marshall, Johnathan (1991). Cocaine Politics. Los Angeles: University of California Press Gootenberg, Paul (1999). Cocaine; Global Histories. New York: Routledge The Economist (US), Dec 25, 1993 v329 n7843 p58(2) (Electronic Journal)
|
||
|
|
||
