Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, alias "El Ajedrecista" ("The Chess Player"), is a 65 year-old Colombian drug lord, who led the Cali Cartel, based in the south part of Colombia, around the city of Cali.
According to some estimates, the Cali cartel controlled at its height 80% of the cocaine exports from Colombia to the United States. Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela founded the Cali Cartel in the 1970s together with José Santacruz Londoño.
Some time after the death of rival drug lord Pablo Escobar of the Medellín Cartel, Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela and his brother Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela were captured in Cali in 1995, during the administration of president Ernesto Samper Pizano, whose term was haunted by widespread accusations of allegedly receiving donations from the Cali Cartel.
Gilberto Rodríguez was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, which was eventually reduced to seven for good behaviour and confession of several of his drug-related crimes.
He was temporarily freed in early November 2003, due to a controversial judicial order issued by deputy judge Pedro José Suárez, who considered that the above reduction was applicable through habeas corpus.
Four months later, Gilberto Rodríguez was recaptured by Colombian authorities in Cali during March 2004, accused of having shipped 150 kilograms of cocaine to the US in 1990, a crime which he had not previously confessed and therefore allowed for his new arrest.
US authorities initially accused him of continuing to direct his illegal activities from the Colombian jail in which he had been held since the mid-1990s, specifically for shipping drugs to the U.S. in 1997.
Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela was extradited to the United States on December 3, 2004, Miguel in March 11, 2005.
Later declarations made by federal attorney Marcos Daniel Jiménez after the druglord's arrival in the U.S. apparently referred to the possibility of Gilberto Rodriguez being tried for his entire criminal record (including his pre-1997 activities), have generated some controversy. As a reaction, Colombian authorities were quick to point out that, under the extradition authorization terms set by the Colombian Supreme Court (which the Colombian government is obliged to keep), the US may not process Gilberto Rodríguez for his previous criminal record. See [1] (in Spanish)
U.S. authorities later clarified the situation by stating that earlier statements had been taken out of context and that the U.S. would stand by the terms of the extradition documents and only prosecute him for his post-1997 actions.
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