Medellín cartel co-founder transferred to Germany after prison sentence
The man who co-founded the notorious Colombian Medellín drug cartel alongside Pablo Escobar has been transferred to Germany from the United States, according to Spiegel Online. Carlos Lehder Rivas, who has both German and Colombian citizenship, was escorted to Germany by two US officials on a regular passenger flight from New York to Frankfurt and handed over to German authorities, the report said. Along with Escobar, Lehder ran the Medellín cartel that smuggled cocaine worth billions on the streets to the US in the 1970s and 80s. At his 1988 trial, prosecutors alleged that he was responsible for shipping 80% of the cocaine into the US. At the centre of Lehder’s operation was Norman’s Caye, an island off the Bahamas, which he transformed into the hub of his smuggling operation with the help of corrupt local officials. As the threat of extradition to the US grew, Lehder – a self-described admirer of Adolf Hitler –formed his own far-right political party, the Latino National party, in the hope of stirring nationalist anger over the idea of Colombians facing trial in a foreign court. In a dramatic twist, Escobar tipped off authorities to Lehder’s whereabouts, leading to his arrest and extradition to the US in 1987. The following year, Lehder was sentenced by a US court to life plus 135 years in prison but later cooperated with the authorities and was put in a witness protection programme. As he has already served his time in the US, he would not be asked to answer again to the same charges before a German court. Spiegel reported that 70-year-old Lehder, whose father is German, would be placed under the care of a charitable group in Germany. Germany’s interior and foreign ministries were not immediately available for comment on the case when contacted by AFP. Escobar was killed by Colombian police in 1993 while on the run to avoid extradition to the US.
The man who co-founded the notorious Colombian Medellín drug cartel alongside Pablo Escobar has been transferred to Germany from the United States, according to Spiegel Online. Carlos Lehder Rivas, who has both German and Colombian citizenship, was escorted to Germany by two US officials on a regular passenger flight from New York to Frankfurt and handed over to German authorities, the report said. Along with Escobar, Lehder ran the Medellín cartel that smuggled cocaine worth billions on the streets to the US in the 1970s and 80s. At his 1988 trial, prosecutors alleged that he was responsible for shipping 80% of the cocaine into the US. At the centre of Lehder’s operation was Norman’s Caye, an island off the Bahamas, which he transformed into the hub of his smuggling operation with the help of corrupt local officials. As the threat of extradition to the US grew, Lehder – a self-described admirer of Adolf Hitler –formed his own far-right political party, the Latino National party, in the hope of stirring nationalist anger over the idea of Colombians facing trial in a foreign court. In a dramatic twist, Escobar tipped off authorities to Lehder’s whereabouts, leading to his arrest and extradition to the US in 1987. The following year, Lehder was sentenced by a US court to life plus 135 years in prison but later cooperated with the authorities and was put in a witness protection programme. As he has already served his time in the US, he would not be asked to answer again to the same charges before a German court. Spiegel reported that 70-year-old Lehder, whose father is German, would be placed under the care of a charitable group in Germany. Germany’s interior and foreign ministries were not immediately available for comment on the case when contacted by AFP. Escobar was killed by Colombian police in 1993 while on the run to avoid extradition to the US.
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