Jorge Salcedo Cabrera was a counter-surveillance expert employed by the Cali cartel . Business improved noticeably after December 1993. He found the four held in different rooms of the house, each bound and tied to a chair -- three men and a woman. I got a call from Miguel, and he said, "You have to get me out of this building," because all of a sudden it was surrounded by police, so I had a request by Miguel. And then after Pablo was dead, you tried to leave the cartel? That's where the scene of suffocation comes fromit could have happened if I didn't have that news. The sensational evidence was rushed back to Bogota. Instead, it ends up being an execution. In January 2021, Salcedo agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery. The Cali brothers earlier had dispatched an unsuccessful hit squad to Medellin, 155 miles northwest of the capital. I will say, though it's horrendous, it's not far from the [actual] happenings. For years he had protected the bosses, their wives and children. If that call didn't happen, I most likely wouldn't be alive. 2023 Cable News Network. [3][pageneeded] He entered the Federal Witness Protection Program, where he remains to this day. He stayed close to Miguel and his family, sharing car rides and meeting with them alone to let his vulnerability erode suspicions. Jorge Salcedo Cabrera (born November 25, 1947) is a Colombian civil engineer, countersurveillance specialist, and former head of security for Miguel Rodrguez Orejuela and the Cali Cartel who turned confidential informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was an absurd idea. Within a few months, about 130 people were indicted. "I have this Forrest Gump-ian way of touching something and it becomes a hit!" The student was subsequently admitted to UCLA as a student-athlete on the mens soccer team with a 25% scholarship. 1 to be killed, Ryan said. The families were huge. We've received your submission. I had no option. He has done an inestimable service to the U.S. and Colombia, said his lawyer, Robert F. Dunlap of Miami. The new constitution included a no-extradition provision for native Colombians. [3][pageneeded] In 1992, Salcedo coordinated the purchase and retrieval of several Salvadorian bombs in another plot to kill Escobar. Pablo Escobar of Medellin was a bandit a criminal a crazy guy who was threatening their wives and children. It doesn't matter if you're a wife or anyone. I immediately started investigating the leak.. Finally, threatened with arrest, the brothers fled their palatial homes. I was never told the truth, I was lured to the place as a standard procedure. The fourth bomb was abandoned and Salcedo barely escaped El Salvador and arrest. Salcedo waited for the chance to use a public phone at a Cali telecommunications building. Star Matias Varela on Season 3, His Breakout Role, and the Real Jorge Salcedo. He tried again to signal U.S. authorities. WITHIN a week of his first conversation with a U.S. agent, Salcedo faced his first life-threatening decision. I was hiding for a long time. Jorge Salcedo is a Colombian civil engineer who worked in the Army during the 1980s. The four, three men and a woman, were held in different rooms, each tied to a chair. He traveled to El Salvador and, through military contacts, purchased four 500-pound bombs for about a half-million dollars. But those guys look like Boy Scouts compared toPablo. Founder Mr. Salcedo is the founder and proprietor of Salcedo Attorneys at Law P.A. At a sentencing hearing, he was praised by agents and prosecutors who recommended leniency. There was public outrage. THE wonkish, soft-spoken family man was an unlikely drug gang recruit. After Pablo was dead, I said, "I'm going. Immigration activists rallied outside the Legislative Office Building Thursday to protest the planned deportation of U.S. Army veteran Jorge Luis Salcedo, a Glastonbury resident with a wife and . Salcedo scrapped the mission. Salcedo accepted $200,000 in bribes as part of the college admissions bribery scheme across the country. In Bogot, the Clinton administration pressed Colombian political leaders to arrest major traffickers. He had very good connections, and when he retired he started working for some oil and chemical companies. Miguel was getting paranoid, Salcedo said. In Colombia, even honest people have to deal with the cartels.. Finally the raucous strangers attracted so much attention, including television news coverage, that Salcedo was forced to scrap yet another mission. So to get out from under that. They never got into their brains that the best thing they should have done is to give up and say "Hey, Pablo is gone, we're done." So I established connections with very high-level companies in Great Britain. The police demanded identity papers and prepared to search their cars. In Bogota, the Clinton administration pressed Colombian political leaders to arrest major traffickers. Salcedo became the head of security for the Cali cocaine cartel and gradually was drawn deeper and deeper into the dark, violent side of the cartel. He traveled to El Salvador and, through a military contact, purchased four 500-pound bombs for about half a million dollars. And I went there just to resolve questions. That night, Salcedo arrived just ahead of the police. Almost immediately, people began to disappear -- Salcedo and his family, Pallomari -- but this time it was into the custody and protection of U.S. authorities. Between sources like the army sergeant, the police captain and others, my bosses and I were kept informed about dates, times and places for raids and such things as which cartel cars were being followed and what phone numbers were being tapped. I know something about corruption and organized crime. Back then, GPS was in the hands of the military only, and I had them. Salcedo was escorted to a wing of the residence that contained Miguels offices -- with marble floors, wood paneling, leather furniture, fine porcelain and four cartel dons who were waiting to see him. Listening in on the phone conversation, Salcedos only thought: What a nightmare. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. I left my name in Colombia when I entered the U.S. witness protection program 16 years ago. But the six assassins ended up dead. Still no sign of Miguel, the agents told him. Accompanied by two U.S. agents, the 15-man team of Colombian national police poured silently into the building. So I got locked in a room by the cartel. All Rights Reserved. Neither the author nor CNN know Mr. Salcedos whereabouts or his new name. Besides law enforcement, the cartel bought a piece of Colombias justice system with payoffs to prosecutors who lost evidence, misplaced paperwork, blocked search warrants or released prisoners before they could be questioned. Yes, well, William Rodriguez was his oldest son and his successor. UPDATE, March 23, 6:12 a.m.: Former UCLA soccer coach Jorge Salcedo said he couldn't afford the $1.9 million Century City home he bought for his family in 2016. Lo sac de Colombia, le dio otra identidad y lo ubic en una direccin desconocida en Estados Unidos en la que hasta hoy permanece oculto. Then, he double-crossed them. I had been fighting against the guerrillas. Threatened with arrest, the billionaire brothers fled their palatial homes and managed the syndicate while moving from one safe house to another. And this man is a businessman, and he's got night vision, heat detectors, and GPS." Local authorities closed in. This raid was successful, and the DEA arrested Miguel. A daily brisk walk could lower risk for early death. No. Last edited on 3 September 2022, at 05:41, Learn how and when to remove this template message, United States Federal Witness Protection Program, United States Army Command and General Staff College, "Revelan identidad del hombre que compr las bombas MK-82", "The real Jorge Salcedo talks about what the show gets right", "A daring betrayal helped wipe out Cali cocaine cartel", "Defense lawyer pleads guilty to aiding cartel", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jorge_Salcedo_Cabrera&oldid=1108223474, This page was last edited on 3 September 2022, at 05:41. I always got to appointments first, to check the security around and make sure there wasn't an ambush or anything. And I was there when Cali cartel lawyers were allowed to rewrite our national constitution to outlaw extraditions of Colombian traffickers to the United States. In January 2021, Salcedo agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery. Dr. Jorge Salcedo, MD is a Family Medicine Specialist in Cedar Park, TX. He infiltrated the Medellin Cartel in order turn Jose Rodriguez Gacha over to the DEA, and he would take part in the war with Medellin from 1992 to 1993. He took the police aside and pulled out 500 pesos. Jorge Salcedo told the judge that he joined in the college admissions bribery scheme because he was desperate [] BOSTON (AP) A former University of California, Los Angeles men's soccer coach was sentenced to eight months behind bars Friday for pocketing $200,000 in bribes to help applicants get into the school as bogus athletic . He must have brass balls this big.. They are foreigners and will be very embarrassed by any questions.. His father was a retired Colombian army general and respected diplomatic figure. Former UCLA men's soccer coach Jorge Salcedo pleaded guilty Monday for his role in the college admissions scandal, the US Attorney's Office in Massachusetts said. or "Would you consider it?" And at that point, he gave me the chance to speak to him, and I said, "William, the advice I can give you is: Don't inherit that throne. Jorge Salcedo admitted to participating in the college admissions bribery scheme involving . The enforcer insisted Salcedo stay. The drug boss had just been rescued from an escape vault with the help of a local police captain. In Miami, DEA agents targeted the Cali cartels distribution organizations. [3][pageneeded], Salcedo stayed in Colombia, awaiting diplomatic permission from the Colombia government to leave. But whatever it was, I got the picture. It was very risky, but I was trapped in a nightmare, in a totally corrupt environment. Waiting at a rural airstrip for the cargo plane from Cali to pick up the illicit munitions, Salcedo saw an executive jet swoop out of the clouds. Across town, Salcedos pager went off. He had emerged bleeding, an angry, wounded bear, apparently injured by one of the power drills. In telephone interviews ranging from a few minutes to more than an hour, he shared details of his role in the cartel and occasional frustrations with life in U.S. exile. I was hiding in my apartment with my family, protected like a bunker, loaded with guns and grenades to be able to reject any surprise taking of the apartment. So I had sympathy [for the Cali Cartel's goals] at that time. Jorge Salcedo worked for Cali drug cartel in Colombia as security for a godfather Salcedo paid off police, military, politicians, justices, prosecutors with millions in drug money One military. And not just the cartel, but the entire corrupt government and the system. The raiding party that hit Miguels door the next morning included two DEA agents and a search team under Gen. Jose Serrano, chief of the Colombian national police. Bhem tto funkce se stal tajnm informtorem federln protidrogov agentury USA (DEA - Drug Enforcement Administration) a sehrl klovou roli v zaten hlavnch pedstavitel kartelu a rozbit cel organizace. It was kind of a double-checking of everything: How was that? He knew where Miguel would be in the morning. [3][pageneeded] At this initial meeting, the Cali godfathers asked Jorge to coordinate an attack on Pablo Escobar, a rival drug cartel leader. So we always arranged our meetings in the woods. With two U.S. agents, the team of Colombian national police poured silently into the building. In the wrong hands, his extensive records of bribes and business dealings posed a greater threat to operations than the inconvenience of the brothers spending a few years of lavish confinement in a Colombian jail. Two heavily armed Hughes 500 helicopters, painted in the olive green of Colombias national police, flew a 12-man team of Salcedos mercenaries to a mountain staging area. My strategy was to avoid confrontation. Abcarian: Mask mandates? A former men's soccer coach at the University of California, Los Angeles was sentenced on Friday to eight months in prison after admitting he accepted $200,000 in bribes to facilitate the admission of two students as fake athletic recruits. I told them it was unlikely to succeed. Its secret chamber gave up a trove of records that delighted Serrano -- 30,000 checks, cartel payments to police, 150 politicians, reporters, everyone, Salcedo said. He directed the raiding party to a desk. However, others are less sure. He held degrees in mechanical engineering and industrial economics. Not with Harleys, they used two Land Cruisers. Only three fit, stacked in the passenger cabin. He held university degrees in mechanical engineering and industrial economics. It should have been the perfect lonely place, Salcedo said. The cartel had important friends in the military, too from helicopter pilots to generals. Got 11 minutes? Instead of preparing his report, Salcedo called in federal police. Colombian drug lords Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela, 63, and Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, 67, entered guilty pleas and were ushered to federal prison for the next 30 years. But descending through clouds, one chopper hit a mountaintop. Eran mediados de 1995 cuando un grupo del. Under threat of arrest, the U.S. agents and Serranos team abandoned their search for Miguel Orejuela. Caught sitting in a car by Navegante, the two have a creepy chat before Navegante pulls his gun . In May1989, the attack was set to occur, but heavy cloud cover resulted in a helicopter crash, with most of the commandos failing to make it to Escobar's hideout, Hacienda Npoles. Salcedo was escorted to Miguels offices and four cartel dons. They just said, "This is the plan." Cartel documents turned over to Colombian authorities exposed a vast network of corruption. In 14 previous seasons, Salcedo has led the Bruins to an overall record of 172-80-42. Im calling from Cali, Colombia, and I have important information on how to locate the heads of the cartel.. Get to know Family Physician Dr. Jorge A. Salcedo, who serves patients in Houston and Round Rock, Texas. Salcedo was paid a bribe of $100,000 for his actions. Calling on a secure phone line from an undisclosed location, Salcedo, now in his late 60s, spoke at length about his time with the cartel, his life since then in the federal witness protection program, and all the things the show gets rightincluding some of the most harrowing scenes. Within days, Salcedo and Agent Kacerosky were on the phone together. The raid operated off of documents seized from an inspection of an office owned and operated by Guillermo Pallomari, the cartel's chief accountant. The Orejuela brothers wanted four Panamanian operatives questioned. This time, it follows the richest cartel in history, the Cali Cartel, which rose to high echelons in the drug trafficking ring thanks to the vacuum left by Pablo . He started his. He made an excuse and tried to leave the house. He can also be found on staff at Seton Family of Doctors at Williamson. For years he had protected the bosses, their wives and children. Jorge Salcedo les haba entregado a las autoridades al ltimo capo del Cartel de Cali. My role was to be on the outside, make sure the road was clear. The Colombian television series En la boca del lobo focuses on the years Salcedo worked for the Cali Cartel. On a cartel radiophone, Salcedo overheard a call between Miguel and his son, William. [2] After the transaction was discovered by national police, Salcedo was outed as a member of the Cali Cartel. Salcedo later came to work in the field of security. About that time, however, cartel-friendly police arrived at the search site. He had been summoned to the hide-out to give an impatient Miguel a detailed report. In December '88, my friend retired from the army abruptly. Eventually, a total of $6 million in secret donations made Ernesto Samper our president. It bought time. Please call ahead to schedule an appointment and to . [3][pageneeded] On August6, Salcedo and the DEA collaborated on another assault on Miguel, this time on the Hacienda Buenos Aires. Aiding the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) unexpectedly and at great risk was a senior Cali cartel official, the head of security for the cocaine syndicate. [3][pageneeded], In 1995, Gilberto Rodrguez Orejuela was captured by a joint task-force in Cali. Now that Pablo was dead, not everybody wanted to make peace with Cali. Jorge Salcedo Cabrera (born November 25, 1947) is a Colombian civil engineer, countersurveillance specialist, and former head of security for Miguel Rodrguez Orejuela and the Cali Cartel who turned confidential informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration. They were in total despair. But in Cali, Salcedo found personal safety as he settled in to managing security for the Orejuela family. Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal. On one occasion, we knew that Miguel had time for lunch and a shower before the raiding party was scheduled to arrive. Nobody asked me, "Would you have a problem with this?" Tanto la serie como el libro de William C. Rempel y Jorge Salcedo han sido criticados abiertamente por William Rodrguez Abada, hijo de Miguel Rodrguez Orejuela, no solo por cmo es glorificado el narcotrfico, sino tambin por varias incongruencias mostradas en el libro afirmando adems que Jorge Salcedo entr a trabajar en el Cartel de Cali apenas meses antes de la . [5], Salcedo was portrayed by Matias Varela in the third season of the Netflix-produced television series Narcos. Jorge Salcedo, 48, of Dana Point, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to eight months in prison, one year of supervised release and forfeiture in the amount of $200,000. He also directed the raiding party to a desk in one of the rooms. Narcos season 3 premiered on Netflix on September 1, much to the joy of fans. Dr. Jorge A. Salcedo is a family medicine doctor in Cedar Park, Texas. Jorge Salcedo told the judge that he joined in the college admissions bribery scheme because he was desperate for cash after buying a house his family couldn't afford. Well, it's been a very different life from what people usually do at this time [in their life]. The mostly British mercenaries were in hotels for nearly two months awaiting orders to attack. Salcedo was invited to join the Cali Cartel in 1989, after Mario del Basto, a member of Salcedo's reserve unit, made first introductions. He became a new king, and my position was: He's the worst enemy I have. If I was seen talking to an American, I would be killed, he said. Salcedo emailed the UCLA womens soccer coaches the students transcript, test scores, and a fake soccer profile that he had received from Singer and Khosroshahin. But Salcedo refused, knowing more time was needed to evacuate his family from Colombia. The son was an officer in the army reserves, but he regarded himself more as an engineer than a soldier. But Miguel said, Do your job, Salcedo recalled. Salcedo realized that this was to be more than an interrogation session. He also helped agents raid a cartel bomb-making site and a weapons warehouse. And what do you think? Dr. Salcedo is a warm and compassionate family physician who has been in private practice in Houston, Texas since 2017. Thanks to Salcedo, the entire Cali cartel hierarchy was extradited. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani deferred acceptance of the plea until sentencing, which is scheduled for Nov. 24, 2020. Corruption is the oxygen that keeps organized crime alive. He said, "Well, I know someone who's good. In the wrong hands, his records of bribes and business dealings posed a greater threat to cartel operations than confinement in a Colombian jail. Did you encounter any technical issues? By unnerving coincidence, they were looking for the killer of a taxi driver. In January 2021, Salcedo agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery. They just changed my functions. BOSTON An Oxford man pleaded guilty on Feb. 2, 2023 in federal court in Worcester to using another individuals name and Social Security number to fraudulently obtain a federal BOSTON A supervisor for the U.S. I saw one episode, the first or something, where they pull apart one bad guy with two motorcycles. I had to escape, the former cartel official explained. But the British mercenaries, waiting months for orders to attack, got bored and rowdy. But Miguel said, Do your job, Salcedo recalled. One of the few who knew where to find them was Salcedo. According to court papers, in 2016, Salcedo agreed with William Rick Singer the college counselor mastermindof the $25 million cheating scheme to get Davina and Bruce Isacksons daughter on the womens soccer roster for a fee of $100,000. Colombians susceptible to extradition. In 1989, he was summoned by the Carli cartel to a meeting. But a few months after then, everything was falling. He was secretly dispatched to Europe by military leaders to assemble a team of mercenaries. ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How much ofNarcos have you seen, especially the new season? He saw traitors everywhere.. Editors Note: Jorge Salcedo is a former member of the Cali drug cartel, and his work with authorities helped destroy the organization. He dialed the main switchboard of the CIA in Langley, Va. Listen, this may sound unusual, he said he told the duty officer who answered. Jorge Salcedo, whose story is the basis for Narcos season 3 "Because at that point, they were suspecting about me. A Warner Bros. He wanted to know what I was doing to complete the assassination of Pallomari. He told Pallomari he was about to be arrested and would die in jail. Within a week, Salcedo faced his first life-threatening decision. Miguel literally tried to wipe out all non-Colombian nationals operating in Colombia, said Ryan. My story should start by saying, if you are invited into such an organization, stop -- stop and run away. But I knew too much already. Faced with orders to kill a colleague and friend, Salcedo grew desperate. We found a house, and my children were small, so I was taking care of school and friends and everything. In addition to living quarters, it contained a large swimming pool, a tennis court and half of a soccer field. He and his bodyguard were gunned down as they tried to flee across the rooftops. I was buying four U.S.-made bombs 500-pounders that the bosses wanted to drop on Pablo Escobar. Salcedo arrived in Cali in time for a business boom. Salcedo used it to steer Pallomari toward the DEA. Within days, Salcedo and Kacerosky were on the phone and Kacerosky landed one of the most remarkable confidential informants in international crime. Local police helped. They did that the same. The Times has no information about his whereabouts and no way to reach him. FILE - In this March 25, 2019, file photo Jorge Salcedo, former University of California at Los Angeles men's soccer coach, departs federal court in Boston after facing charges in a nationwide . Singer and Khosroshahin previously pleaded guilty in connection with their roles in the offense. A locked padlock So I had to give up. I did not feel I was a criminal, Salcedo recalled. "In Colombia, even honest people have to deal with the cartels." (via Seattle Times ). After Jorge determined Miguel's location, the DEA agents planned a raid of the apartment complex. Warmer storms could cause problems, Dramatic before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, Jaguars, narcos, illegal loggers: One mans battle to save a jungle and Maya ruins, No, theres still no link between video games and violence, Prosecution presents closing arguments in Alex Murdaugh murder trial, Intelligence agencies say theres no sign U.S. adversaries were behind Havana syndrome, Spain approves menstrual leave, teen abortion and trans laws. Jorge Salcedo told the judge that he joined in the college admissions bribery scheme because he was desperate for cash after buying a house his family couldn't afford. It was a bonus for the captains help getting the boss away from a police raid. These guys are too bad. As the head of security for the Cali Cartel and an eventual. Many safe houses conceal vaults in the walls for escapes. Salcedo had previously worked on behalf of British commandos, who worked with the Colombian government to counter the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. I had to watch him strangle them, Salcedo said. In that same year, Joel Rosenthal, an American lawyer who had helped the Cali Cartel with previous cases, was arrested for his connections to the cartel. . District of Massachusetts And I did engineering studies, and I was doing very specialized services for oil refineries and things like that. I was there when campaign officials for a presidential candidate came for help. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Salcedo and his U.S. handlers arranged to meet in a rural area outside Cali. Salcedos story is told in the book, At the Devils Table The Untold Story of the Insider Who Brought Down the Cali Cartel, by journalist William C. Rempel. Rich L.A. homeowners are snapping them up, Review: A reimagined Secret Garden fails to flower anew at the Ahmanson Theatre, Column: Supreme Court conservatives may want to block student loan forgiveness. From Austin Butler and Cate Blanchett to a potential Best Supporting Actress toss-up, see who EW thinks will win at the 2023 Oscars. Lock The Orejuela brothers unsuccessfully tried to negotiate a voluntary surrender. I had to go. Some judges became overnight millionaires. Lauren Isackson was listed as a midfielder on the teams roster for the 2017 season but had zero soccer experienceand never set foot on the field during a game, prosecutors said.
