Drug Lords: The Rise and Fall of the Cali Cartel

by Ron Chepesiuk

For 20 years, the Cali drug cartel, a vast criminal conspiracy, pumped thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States, laundered billions of dollars in profits and was responsible for endemic political corruption and an untold number of murders and assassinations. It ultimately controlled 70 percent of the world’s cocaine market, flooding towns and cities with the addictive white powder dubbed the “champagne of drugs.” Through organized violence, terrorist strategies, intimidation and bribery, the cartel became a major threat to Colombia’s fragile stability. It also brought an unprecedented degree of strategy and planning to the drugs trade. It would take more than two decades and a global effort to bring it down. In this first-ever account of the cartel’s rise and fall, author Ron Chepesiuk provides a compelling insight into the history of international drug trafficking, organized crime and US drug policy. He draws vivid pictures of the gang’s founders—Jose “the Chess Player” Londono and brothers Miguel and Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela—and reveals how they built their empire, carving up the massive US market with their rival Medellin New York going to Cali, Miami to Medellin. Unlike Medellin, headed by the vicious Pablo Escobar, the men from Cali kept their complex operation in the shadows. It grew quickly and came to operate like a multinational corporation. In time, they became too big to share their spoils and fought an indescribably bloody war with the Medellin mob, a war they ultimately won. Written with the pace and vividness of a thriller, Drug Lords also illustrates the similarities between global traffickers and international terrorists and compares the current war on terror with the war on drugs.

Genres: Crime, True Crime, History

326 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Nocheevo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reasonably thorough account of the Cali cartel, one of the two big Columbian cocaine cartels, rivals to Escobar's mob. Where Escobar's group were thugs, the Cali mob was more calculated in a business approach. The McDonald's of coke and made a ridiculous amount of money.

The chapters covering money laundering and the operation were the best. Like the book "Killing Pablo" I think the book is weighted a little too much to the hunt for the bosses. I found the history of Columbia, political setting and the rise of the cartel much more interesting.

The closing references to comparing the approach to the 20 year war against the cartels and the war on terror certainly is worth pondering.

[WIlliam Gerrard · Rating 5 out of 5]

If the Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel can be regarded as the Henry Fords of the Drugs business then the Cali cartel with its corporate business acumen can certainly be regarded as the McDonalds. This well-written, detailed biography tracks the rise and fall of the most successful drug cartel in history. Closely focusing on the cartel leaders: Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela, Chepe Santacruz and Pacho Herrera - we see how a criminal enterprise can spread its tentacles across the globe. Gilberto the Chessplayer manipulates the board, Miguel's micromanagement combined with Chepe's ultraviolence and Pacho's style, turn this bunch of bandits from the southern Colombian city of Cali into a most feared and efficient drug exporting organisation. There are links to the Italian Mafia and other international gangs such as the Yakuza. Cali were always one step ahead of the law and the DEA had to face unremitting work in order to bring this cartel down over several decades of watching them dominate the markets. They had control of the lucrative New York City cocaine trade from way back in the 1970s and went on to control 70-80% of Colombian cocaine exports. There was war with the Medellin cartel but an uneasy truce with the Colombian government with a web of corruption extending right to the top with Ernesto Samper's Presidential campaign allegedly being infiltrated by large inputs of Cal narco-dollars. The story could be that of any large multinational corporation - the Cali Godfathers were experts at laundering their money in conventional businesses. The tale is ultimately a massive success for law enforcement but the amazing true narrative will shock readers and leave you in awe of what can be deemed as the ultimate organisation in the world of narco-trafficking. A five star read.

[scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book is informative and factual read about the Cali Cartel but not all that exciting of a read.

[Trevor · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strange book because it's interesting and quite boring at the same time!

[daniel dirnfeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice to read but nothing new

[Kathryne]

I love it