Jorge Luis Ochoa Vásquez | |
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Picture of Jorge Luis Ochoa Vásquez
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Born |
Jorge Luis Ochoa Vázquez September 30, 1950 Medellín, Colombia |
Nationality | Colombian |
Criminal charge | Drug trafficking |
Criminal status | Turned in - Released by decree |
Spouse(s) | Maria lia posada |
Jorge Luis Ochoa Vásquez (born September 30, 1950) is a former Colombian drug trafficker who was one of the key founding members of the notorious Medellín Cartel in the late 1980s. The cartel's key members were Pablo Escobar, Carlos Lehder, José Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha, Jorge Ochoa and his brothers Juan David and Fabio.
Jorge Luis Ochoa Vázquez was the son of Fabio Ochoa Restrepo whose family was in the cattle-breeding and family-restaurant businesses until they began trafficking with narcotics during the mid-1970s. In 1976, Ochoa assumed leadership of what was basically an Ochoa family operation. Starting at least in 1978, his Miami contact was Rafael Cardona Salazar. Between 1981 and 1982, an alliance between the Ochoa family, Pablo Escobar, Carlos Lehder, and Rodríguez Gacha strengthened into what eventually became known as the Medellín Cartel. The traffickers cooperated in the manufacturing, distribution and marketing of their cocaine. In 1981, the kidnapping of Ochoa’s sister, Martha Nieves Ochoa Vasquez, by the Colombian guerrilla organization M-19 consolidated their alliance. The traffickers formed a group known as Muerte a Secuestradores, ("Death to Kidnappers") announcing the imminent execution of any guerrilla kidnappers. After being threatened with reprisals, M-19 released Martha Nieves unharmed several months later.
John Jairo Velásquez ("Popeye"), one of the main paid killers of Pablo Escobar Gaviria, argued in an interview that Jorge Luis Ochoa Vázquez was actually the boss of Pablo Escobar Gaviria.