Eduardo Restrepo Victoria
| Eduardo Restrepo Victoria | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 29, 1958 Pitalito, Huila Colombia |
| Other names | El Socio |
| Occupation | Member of the Norte del Valle Cartel |
| Criminal charge | Drug trafficking and smuggling, racketeering, money laundering, Comformation of paramilitary groups in Colombia |
| Criminal status | Captured |
Eduardo Restrepo Victoria alias "El Socio" (the Associate) (born September 29, 1958 in Pitalito, Huila) is a Colombian drug trafficker former member of the Norte del Valle Cartel and associate of Wilber Varela. Restrepo was wanted by Colombian authorities on charges of illegal drug trade, illicit enrichment and illegal arms possession. He was captured by Colombian and United States authorities on July 25, 2006 On July 20, 2006 the United States government asked for his extradition. He was extradited to the United States on December 10, 2007.
Restrepo was born and raised in the outskirts of Pitalito in the Department of Huila in central Colombia to a family of peasants workers. Most of his early life was spent working on rice fields in Lérida, Department of Tolima after migrating for better luck. In Lérida, Restrepo met important rice producers who employed him, including associates of Diego León Montoya Sánchez, and worked in haciendas that had airstrips in Espinal, Ibagué and Venadillo. He became a sort of air controller for flights used by the mafia of the Norte del Valle Cartel back then led by Montoya-Sánchez, among others.
According to Colombian National Police accounts, after being introduced to the illegal drug trade Restrepo began to manage properties of another drug baron, Henry Loaiza Ceballos aka "El Alacran". Loaiza sent him to Mexico in 1995 where he established contacts with the Mexican Drug Cartel ; the Juarez Cartel led by Amado Carrillo Fuentes aka "El Senor de los Cielos". In Mexico Restrepo massed a fortune by controlling drug flow and the contacts between the Colombian and Mexican mafias.
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