According to court documents, „El Loco“ bought cocaine paste from the guerrillas, processed it, and then smuggled it to the U.S., Europe, and Africa through Venezuela and Central America. He had sought leniency given that his client attempted to cooperate with authorities, including offering information to locate a FARC bomb maker and by encouraging other drug traffickers to surrender. The drug empire generated tens of millions of dollars, which Barrera laundered, and protected by dozens of armed guards and enforcers, many of whom at his direction threatened or killed individuals who owed money or posed a threat, prosecutors said. Woods, who also fined Barrera $10 million and ordered him to forfeit the same amount, called the Colombian national a „smart, talented, maybe even gifted man“ who went from working as a farm hand to heading a violent drug trafficking organization.
And that king of kingpins may have actually himself been a snitch, if local press reports are to be believed. On February 7, 1990 Barrera was arrested on drug charges by Colombian authorities. In 2012, Barrera, who allegedly underwent plastic surgery and burned off his fingertips with acid to elude authorities, was arrested while standing inside a phone booth in the Venezuelan town of San Cristobal in a joint operation between Colombian, Venezuelan, and U.S. authorities. Colombian drug trafficker Daniel Barrera (C) aka ‚El Loco‘ is escorted by policemen before being deported to the United States at the Antinarcotics Police Airport on July 9, 2013 in Bogota. He was sentenced Monday by Judge Gregory Woods, who rejected a defense lawyer’s request for leniency. Prosecutors said that from 1998 to 2010, Barrera ran a cocaine manufacturing and trafficking syndicate that produced an estimated 5,000 kilograms of cocaine a month, resulting in more than 720 tons of cocaine being produced during the scheme.
The fees Barrera paid to the AUC also allowed him to move the processed cocaine safely through and out of Colombia. Meanwhile, Gen. Oscar Naranjo, the retired commander of the Colombian national police and now security adviser to the new Mexican President, has alleged the Caicado-Barrera organization worked as suppliers to the Sinaloa Cartel. But if that’s true, then it’s also a sign of how far the Colombian cartels have fallen and been supplanted by the larger and more dangerous Mexican cartels, with the Colombian gangs playing a more supporting role. Though, it also doesn’t help their place in the world when the cartel’s senior leadership gets busted, and then eats itself. El Loco’s arrest in Venezuela last September was heralded as a major victory in the war on drugs. Barrera, on the run, had undergone plastic surgery and burnt his fingertips, according to officials.
Ecuadorean police arrested El Loco Barrera’s alleged contact with the Sinaloa cartel. Venezuelan authorities arrested one of the founders of the Rastrojos, “Diego Rastrojo,” and a second founder, “Comba,” surrendered to U.S. authorities. In 2007, both Don Diego and fellow-capo “Chupeta” were arrested, leaving the cartel’s drug trafficking business to Jabon and his Rastrojos. From 1998 until 2010, BARRERA ran a cocaine manufacturing and trafficking syndicate out of Colombia.
That Venezuelan officials were cooperating with the CIA and DEA was also strange, with one theory that Colombian police worked as middlemen between the two sides, without officials from Caracas and Washington ever coming into direct contact. Cesar Barrera, detained in Miami, changed his plea on drug trafficking charges from “not guilty” to “guilty” within 48 hours of the start of his October 2013 trail. In November, Chacon left Guatemala for five days to an unknown location before returning. In 2012, Guatemala’s Attorney General’s Office announced that it had not found any evidence against Chacon, and the National Civil Police (PNC) confirmed that they were not investigating her. Nevertheless, the US Department of Justice referred to her as a “fugitive.” In 2015, after Chacon had pleaded guilty, Guatemala’s Interior Minister, Mauricio Lopez Bonilla, said there were in fact several cases open against her for drug trafficking, but gave no further details. Barrera has pleaded guilty to trafficking charges in two other indictments in New York — Thursday’s case was originally brought in the state of Florida, but Barrera, who is being held in New York, waived his right to be heard there.
The FARC, which has been dedicated to the violent overthrow of the democratically elected government of Colombia, has been the world’s largest supplier of cocaine and has engaged in bombings, massacres, kidnappings, and other acts of violence within Colombia. https://1investing.in/ Since his arrest, no one has been able to replicate Barrera’s stature among drug lords. Henry de Jesús López, alias “Mi Sangre,” was seen as a possible contender to be the next big drug capo, but was captured in Argentina the month after Barrera’s arrest.
Colombian authorities began pressuring the capo on a personal level too; arresting his mother, cousins and nephews and even his brother, who suffers Down syndrome. Barrera’s brother was murdered in the late 1980s and, after taking bloody revenge on his brother’s killers, the now-dubbed “El Loco” was arrested and imprisoned in early 1990. Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that STEVEN JONES was sentenced to 200 months in prison by U.S. The Southern District of New York case is being handled by that office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit, with Assistant United States Attorney Andrea Surratt in charge of the prosecution.
After processing the cocaine powder in his laboratories, BARRERA arranged for the shipment and transportation of the cocaine powder to locations on four continents, including the United States. Although BARRERA purchased raw materials for cocaine production from the FARC, he was able to maintain his network of cocaine-processing laboratories in AUC-controlled territory, in part by paying monthly “taxes” to the AUC. The fees BARRERA paid to the AUC also allowed him to move the processed cocaine safely through and out of Colombia. After processing the cocaine powder in his laboratories, Barrera arranged for the shipment and transportation of the cocaine powder to locations on four continents, including the United States. Although Barrera purchased raw materials for cocaine production from the FARC, he was able to maintain his network of cocaine-processing laboratories in AUC-controlled territory, in part by paying monthly “taxes” to the AUC.
- The Southern District of Florida case is being handled by that office’s Narcotics Unit, with Assistant United States Attorney Adam Fels in charge of the prosecution.
- Each month, Barrera processed approximately 5,000 kilograms of raw cocaine base into about the same amount of cocaine powder, resulting in approximately 60,000 kilograms of cocaine annually and approximately 720,000 kilograms during the course of the conspiracy.
- Later, he purchased from the FARC’s 43rd Front, controlled by Gener Garcia Molina, alias “Jhon 40,” and started selling to Jose Miguel Arroyave, of the Bloque Centauros of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia – AUC).
- Barrera purchased the raw cocaine base or paste from the designated terrorist group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (the “FARC”).
July 15, 2013— — One of the world’s most wanted drug lords will soon stand trial in New York. „The magnitude of the defendant’s violence and drug trafficking outweighed any cooperation he could provide,“ she said. Ruben Oliva, Barrera’s lawyer, in court called the sentence „unreasonable and greater than necessary.“ Media reported that Barrera’s massive wealth allowed him to profoundly corrupt local police authorities in Venezuela, holding off his eventual arrest for years and allowing him to travel to Brazil and Argentina.
Playing Chess in a Miami Court
On that day, judge Stephen Brown ordered the indictment to be sealed, until Chacon was captured or the court dictated otherwise. Cesar Barrera played his intermediary role until, in May 2009, his bosses sent less cocaine to the Zetas than was agreed upon. The Zetas kidnapped Barrera near the Guatemala-Mexico border, in order to kill him. He escaped, although he was shot in the head and in the back after a confrontation between his kidnappers and the Mexican soldiers who liberated him. Barrera fled to Colombia, where he announced years later that he would hand himself over to the DEA. But his leaving Guatemala did not stop Borrayo and Chacon’s drug trafficking operations.
For her role as an organizer and leader of criminal activity that involved five or more accomplices, they recommended a sentence of five to 40 years in prison and a fine of between $5 million and $25 million dollars. This sentencing range is similar to what was given el loco barrera net worth to the Fernandez Barrero brothers. She quickly counted among her clients prominent drug traffickers and suspects the US Treasury accused of money laundering. She worked with Jack Denaro on some cases, a lawyer based in Miami who was also representing Chacon.
Colombian Drug Lord Gets 35 Years in US Prison
In court documents, Chacon admitted to having conspired to traffic five or more kilos of cocaine knowing they would be smuggled into the United States. She indicated that she knew her sentence would be imposed after a consideration of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, and that the court would also consider evidence presented against her. The document indicates that Chacon would not be able to rescind her guilty plea once she received her sentence. Under US law, for conspiring to distribute five or more kilos of cocaine, Chacon could be given a fine of up to $10 million dollars and receive a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of a life sentence in prison. In 2012, Klapper was described in Colombia as a fiercely anti-mafia former prosecutor. In California, she specialized in investigating money laundering cases related to drug trafficking.
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In Mexico, Barrera had made contacts with the feared Sinaloa cartel, one of the biggest exporters of illicit drugs to the United States. Barrera allegedly also exported cocaine — through Venezuela — to Europe, and to Brazil. El Loco’s biggest climb on the drug trafficking ladder came between 2004 and 2008 when he aligned with “Cuchillo,” a then mid-level commander of the Bloque Centauros paramilitary group. Colombia has extradited one of the country’s most notorious drug lords to the US, officials have said. Barrera was captured in Venezuela in September 2012 following an international manhunt. Prior to his capture, he altered his appearance through plastic surgery and even attempted burning off his fingerprints to avoid being identified.
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„It is probable that as part of Don Lucho’s cooperation, he provided authorities intelligence about Barrera, which may have helped lead to his capture,“ wrote analyst Elyssa Pachico of Latin American crime monitoring group InSight. „Barrera’s previous service to Don Lucho’s organization — which apparently included participating in torture — likely counted for little once Don Lucho found himself in a U.S. prison and needing to negotiate.“ According to an 2010 indictment from the Eastern District Court of New York, Caicado and Barrera had been involved in tens of millions of dollars in cocaine transactions (.pdf) in 2007 and 2008 alone, with average sale of $11 million in cocaine per shipment.
BARRERA purchased the raw cocaine base or paste from the designated terrorist group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (the “FARC”). The FARC, which has been dedicated to the violent overthrow of the democratically elected Government of Colombia, has been the world’s largest supplier of cocaine and has engaged in bombings, massacres, kidnappings, and other acts of violence within Colombia. This included contacts in Colombia’s intelligence service (Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad — DAS), which was disbanded in November 2011. Barrera also allegedly played a significant role in the murder of two top traffickers, which led directly to him taking over some of their drug trafficking operations and routes.
Over the years, the ill-gotten proceeds added up into the hundreds of millions of dollars, possibly even billions. Barrera had parallel illegal drug businesses also with FARC’s enemy, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) bloc; Vencedores de Arauca Bloc which was led by Miguel Ángel y Víctor Mejía, aliased „Los Mellizos“ (the twins). According to Colombian authorities Barrera also assassinated the commander of the Centauros Bloc of the AUC after presumably having differences. On August 25, 2011, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida formally accused Chacon of conspiring to traffic at least five kilos of cocaine.
The Eastern District of New York case is being handled by that office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit, with Assistant United States Attorney Soumya Dayananda in charge of the prosecution. The Southern District of Florida case is being handled by that office’s Narcotics Unit, with Assistant United States Attorney Adam Fels in charge of the prosecution. Mr. Bharara, Mr. Capers, and Mr. Ferrer also thanked the Colombian National Police, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs for their assistance in this prosecution. Barrera, now 51, was arrested in Venezuela in September 2012 while making a call in a phone booth. “El Loco” Barrera, who earned his nickname for the revenge he exacted on a group of men who killed his brother, was the closest case Colombia has had to a modern Pablo Escobar.