Roberto Suárez Goméz
| Roberto Suárez Goméz | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 8 January 1932 Trinidad, Beni, Bolivia |
| Died | 20 July 2000 (aged 68) Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia |
| Nationality | Bolivian |
| Other names | King of Cocaine El Padrino (The Godfather) El Robin Hood del Beni (The Robin Hood of Beni) Don Roberto |
| Successor | Jorge Roca Suarez |
| Criminal charge | Drug trafficking and smuggling |
| Criminal penalty | 15 years imprisonment |
| Spouse(s) | Ayda Levy |
| Children | Roberto Suárez Gary Suárez Levy Heidy Suárez Levy Harold Suárez Levy |
| Parent(s) | Nicomedes Suarez and Blanca Gomez Roca |
Roberto Suárez Goméz (January 8, 1932 – July 20, 2000), sometimes spelled Roberto Suárez Gómez, also known as the King of Cocaine, was a Bolivian drug lord and trafficker who played a major role in the expansion of cocaine trafficking in Bolivia. At his prime, Suárez made $400 million annually, was one of the major suppliers of the Medellin Cartel, the leader of the largest Bolivian drug empire and considered to be the biggest cocaine producer in the world.
Born to a prominent ranching family, Suárez entered the drug trade and made millions from cocaine in the 1970s and 1980s. He is known for financing the 1980 coup d'état, known as the "Cocaine Coup", and was a major supplier of cocaine for various criminal organizations.Suárez was arrested in 1988 and sentenced to 15 years in prison but released after serving half his sentence. He died in July 20, 2000 from a heart attack.
Suárez was born on January 8, 1932 to a wealthy cattle-ranching family in the tropical Beni Department of Bolivia. His parents were Nicomedes "Cattle King" Suarez and Blanca Gomez Roca. Suárez was the descendent of the Suárez brothers "rubber barons", famous for expanding the rubber trade worldwide, expanding westernization in the Bolivian northern Amazon and for singlehandedly financing the Columna Porvenir, during the Acre war with Brazil.
In the 1970s, Suárez first entered into the cocaine trade to conducting business with the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and after that he started to recruit Bolivian coca producers into his company "La Corporación" (the Corporation). Suárez had a fleet of aircraft, primarily the Cessna 206 and the Douglas DC-3, which flew cocaine shipments from the Bolivian Amazon to Colombia, selling the cocaine at $9,000 per kilogram.
Suárez's wife Ayda Levy recounted in detail that Fidel Castro and Raul Castro contacted Suárez and Escobar in January 1983 and invited them to Cuba. Upon visiting the island nation, Castro had planned to use drugs as a weapon against "Yankee imperialism". Fidel and Raul charged millions of dollars per day in exchange for giving coverage to cocaine trafficking and the use of airports for refueling airplanes. In self defense against the DEA, Suárez established his own private air force, private army of 1,500 soldiers and Libyan-trained bodyguards.
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