That night, Salcedo arrived just ahead of the police. The raiding party that hit Miguels door the next morning included two DEA agents and a search team under Gen. Jose Serrano, chief of the Colombian national police. It was kind of a double-checking of everything: How was that? He took the police aside and pulled out 500 pesos. Between sources like the army sergeant, the police captain and others, my bosses and I were kept informed about dates, times and places for raids and such things as which cartel cars were being followed and what phone numbers were being tapped. It was an absurd idea. They just changed my functions. From mid-July into August 1995, Salcedo played a dual role: the man in charge of security for Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela, and his secret betrayer. Another attempt with a car bomb succeeded only in injuring one of Escobars children. Immigration activists rallied outside the Legislative Office Building Thursday to protest the planned deportation of U.S. Army veteran Jorge Luis Salcedo, a Glastonbury resident with a wife and . The son was an officer in the army reserves, but he regarded himself more an engineer than a soldier. Jorge Salcedo, former UCLA men's soccer coach, departs federal court in Boston in March 2019. So even though I am an engineer and I have a degree and all that, it was in my namemy old name. My role kept changing. But that's the thing in intelligence, sometimes when you do something good, don't tell anybody. Salcedo said he takes complete responsibility for his actions that have destroyed the life he knew. Salcedos military service in the late 1980s coincided with one of Colombias bloodiest periods. The official end of the notorious Cali cocaine cartel came in 2006 in Miami with little more than the rap of a judge's gavel. They tried to negotiate a voluntary surrender. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. All Rights Reserved. BOSTON A Florida man was sentenced today in federal court in Springfield for sending threatening communications to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The pilot was killed. Boston Office:
They noted the physical damage -- broken desk and holes in the walls -- and found that the search team lacked a proper warrant. Actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, and her husband, designer Mossimo Giannulli, are among those jailed in the scandal. Still no sign of Miguel, the agents told him. My strategy was to avoid confrontation. I started using very high-level equipment for communications and location detection. Miguel was getting paranoid, Salcedo said. Right, they fail, but at the same time, Miguel has figured you out and is trying to kill you with a plastic bag over your head. Luckily for us, the good people at Netflix were able to connect us to Salcedo for an exclusive interview. At the same time, rival cocaine cartels were warring with one another, killing scores of police, judges, politicians and innocent bystanders. Escobar was the most powerful criminal in the world. It was a cross-examination of everything. That was the other thing. Something very close happened to that. Jorge Saucedo, MD, MBA, is the current Division Chief of Cardiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin and Director of Heart and Vascular services for the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin health network. Cartel documents turned over to Colombian authorities exposed a vast network of corruption. I've never seen so many important people in terms of the movies and TV sector. UCLA said that Salcedo has been placed on leave pending a review and will have no involvement with the team. So I got into the meeting, and I was able to tell him what was happening [with the police], so I was able to earn his trust. Updated Salcedo soon learned of the horrible situation.. The cartel official has lost his home, his country, his past, even his name. For years he had protected the bosses, their wives and children. I remember that it was surprisingly heavy. The eventual head of security had a background in civil engineering and used to work for oil refinery companies on . Springfield:413-785-0235
When UCLA compliance officers questioned how the applicant had been discovered and whether she actually played soccer, Salcedo created a fake backstory, resulting in her subsequent admission as a recruited walk-on for the womens soccer team. The thick top concealed a secret compartment. I had to escape, he explained. In January 2021, Salcedo agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery. Eventually, a total of $6 million in secret donations made Ernesto Samper our president. Jorge Salcedo admitted to pocketing $200,000 in bribes to help get students get accepted into the university under the guise of being athletic recruits. We've received your submission. I had to go. Salcedo admitted to taking another six-figure bribe to recruit the son of Xiaoning Sui, of Surrey, British Columbia, to his team, offering him a scholarship. Salcedo realized it was more than interrogation. So I established connections with very high-level companies in Great Britain. Under threat of arrest, the U.S. agents and Serranos team abandoned their search for Miguel Orejuela. The entire cartel brain trust would go to jail in exchange for a limited five-year sentence to be served at a prison built, or substantially remodeled, at cartel expense. The bosses handed out $20,000 checks like hospitality gifts. He directed the raiding party to a desk. One of the few who consistently knew where to find them was Salcedo. Only three fit, stacked in the passenger cabin. Obviously, Im not looking for celebrity -- it would jeopardize our safety, he told The Times. There was no turning back for Salcedo. Jorge Salcedo Cabrera (born November 25, 1947) is a Colombian civil engineer, countersurveillance specialist, and former head of security for Miguel Rodrguez Orejuela and the Cali Cartel who turned confidential informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration. Miguel, the younger of the two Orejuela brothers, was more direct: He wanted Escobar, the most powerful criminal in the world, dead. All contacts were by phone and were initiated by Salcedo. This time it was near a sugar cane plantation.. The next morning, he caught the first Avianca flight to Cali. They wanted to take care of all the politics and people around, because there was now a change in the importance of the Rodiguez brothers [now that Escobar had been eliminated]. Singer and Khosroshahin previously pleaded guilty in connection with their roles in the offense. On season 3 of Netflix's Narcos, it doesn't take long to realize that one man is at the center of all the action: Jorge Salcedo. Still, Salcedo used great care -- calling from a public phone and leaving only a vague message offering to be helpful.. He stayed close to Miguel and his family, at every opportunity sharing car rides and meeting with them alone to let his vulnerability erode suspicions. The drug boss had just been rescued from an escape vault with the help of a local police captain. Not much has been said about what sort of person was I. How did you get involved with this project? First, some background: I used to be Jorge Salcedo. In the show, they also depict you as someone who had a plan to leave the cartel to start your own security firm. Former UCLA All-American Jorge Salcedo is in his 15th season as head coach for the Bruins, making him the second-longest tenured men's soccer head coach in UCLA history. The early 1990s were the golden years for the cartel. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. My primary job in the Cali cartel was security for one of four godfathers, Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela, the daily operations boss. However, word of Salcedos role reached Cali, 185 miles southwest of Bogota. And then after Pablo was dead, you tried to leave the cartel? Heres a list, Rescuers comb wreckage of Greeces deadliest train crash, Ohios U.S. senators introduce bipartisan rail safety bill in wake of East Palestine derailment. He was chief of security for Colombia's Cali cocaine syndicate when he fled cartel assassins and corrupt police hit men for safety and a new life in the U.S. witness protection program. [3][pageneeded] On August6, Salcedo and the DEA collaborated on another assault on Miguel, this time on the Hacienda Buenos Aires. And they had all read the book, but I was interested that they knew me personally. Jorge Salcedo, el Hombre que Entreg a Miguel Rodrguez Orejuela narcos famosos 284K subscribers Subscribe 395K views 5 years ago Jorge Salcedo fue el jefe de seguridad de Miguel Rodrguez. In 1995, some hits were Salcedos responsibility, including cartel chief accountant Guillermo Pallomari, a Chilean. In the days after, the entire Cali cocaine cartel infrastructure was exposed. In reality, I never killed him. Jorge Salcedo told the judge that he joined in the college admissions bribery scheme because he was desperate [] BOSTON (AP) A former University of California, Los Angeles men's soccer coach was sentenced to eight months behind bars Friday for pocketing $200,000 in bribes to help applicants get into the school as bogus athletic . He held university degrees in mechanical engineering and industrial economics. Rich L.A. homeowners are snapping them up, Review: A reimagined Secret Garden fails to flower anew at the Ahmanson Theatre, Column: Supreme Court conservatives may want to block student loan forgiveness. So I had sympathy [for the Cali Cartel's goals] at that time. [3][pageneeded], Mario del Basto's arrest in 1995 promoted Salcedo to the cartel's chief of security. It was not an invitation I could refuse, he said. They have not yet been sentenced. I did not feel I was a criminal, Salcedo recalled. It was an absurd idea. The policemen took the 500 pesos and drove off. FILE - In this March 25, 2019, file photo Jorge Salcedo, former University of California at Los Angeles men's soccer coach, departs federal court in Boston after facing charges in a nationwide . Business improved even more after December 1993, when Escobar died in a blaze of gunfire. But people should know what I know now. Nobody asked me, "Would you have a problem with this?" Searchers dismantled the desk. He traveled to El Salvador and, through military contacts, purchased four 500-pound bombs for about a half-million dollars. Almost immediately, people began to disappear -- Salcedo and his family, Pallomari -- but this time it was into the custody and protection of U.S. authorities. Pablo Escobar of Medellin was a bandit a criminal a crazy guy who was threatening to kill their wives and children. Salcedo arrived ahead of the police. And I witnessed many, many millions more. BOSTON An Oxford man pleaded guilty on Feb. 2, 2023 in federal court in Worcester to using another individuals name and Social Security number to fraudulently obtain a federal BOSTON A supervisor for the U.S. Furthermore, the American drug agents were armed, a violation of Colombian law. Salcedo was a prime suspect, one of only five to 10 people who knew where Miguel was hiding. Salcedo also agreed with Singer to recruit another student in return for $100,000. He dialed the main switchboard of the CIA in Langley, Va. Listen, this may sound unusual, he said he told the duty officer who answered. So my role became other than just Pablo and became to focus on intelligence. A second assault was planned from Panama. So she was forced into being a full-time student. Later he ran an oil recovery business. That's where the scene of suffocation comes fromit could have happened if I didn't have that news. Key operatives were arrested and had to be bribed, or killed, to keep silent. This time he contacted a Miami lawyer he trusted who could make the connections. I never wanted to be a part of that, I wanted to be outside. Some were on the cartel payroll. The student was subsequently admitted to UCLA as a student-athlete on the mens soccer team with a 25% scholarship. Its limited cargo space wasnt designed for bombs. Salcedo said he responded: When they pressed for information, Salcedo told them: We are homosexuals. The Medellin boss had escaped from prison, and from continuing Cali assassination plots, in 1992 only to be tracked down by national police 15 months later. And the other thing is that when you get into this program, you don't go to cities that are highly populated. With two U.S. agents, the team of Colombian national police poured silently into the building. But Salcedo refused, knowing that more time was needed to evacuate his extended family from Colombia. But suddenly police surrounded them. One night, a police raid was scheduled to arrest Pallomari at a hiding place. "I have this Forrest Gump-ian way of touching something and it becomes a hit!" He traveled to El Salvador and, through a military contact, purchased four 500-pound bombs for about half a million dollars. At a sentencing hearing, he was praised by agents and prosecutors who recommended leniency. That scene where they have me and Miguel locked in a room [where Miguel asks Jorge to stay on as security head] is identical. In those days, hundreds of high-ranking and lower level police were on the cartels secret payroll tens of thousands of dollars paid every month for inside tips or for looking the other way. Lock If you've finished the season, you probably know that he's currently under witness protection in the United States. I got a call from Miguel, and he said, "You have to get me out of this building," because all of a sudden it was surrounded by police, so I had a request by Miguel. The American DEA agents insisted on taking him into protective custody immediately. Salcedo insisted that the drug lord was there. Whereas his previous role involved avoiding detection from Escobar's network, Salcedo now assisted Cali's men with avoiding detection by the National Police of Colombia. In addition to living quarters, it contained a large swimming pool, a tennis court and half of a soccer field. Jorge Salcedo Cabrera was a counter-surveillance expert employed by the Cali cartel . It doesn't make sense that I'm going to go kill a killer. The Colombian government now knew he had worked for the Cali cartel. SALCEDO had arrived in Cali just in time for a business boom. This raid was successful, and the DEA arrested Miguel. Salcedo is the third . By unnerving coincidence, they were looking for the killer of a taxi driver. Miguel, the younger of the two Orejuela brothers, was even more direct: He wanted Escobar dead. William Rodrguez Orejuela, Miguel's son, suspected Salcedo to be the leak, and reassigned Jorge's responsibilities. Former UCLA men's soccer coach Jorge Salcedo pleaded guilty Monday for his role in the college admissions scandal, the US Attorney's Office in Massachusetts said. The attack had to be abandoned. Do you have an example of something that might have been embellished? The Orejuela brothers wanted four Panamanian operatives questioned. I was there when campaign officials for a presidential candidate came for help. I had been fighting against the guerrillas. But it was not the end of the Cali cartel. [3][pageneeded], In July 1995, Salcedo met with Feistl and Mitchell to devise a plan to capture Miguel Rodrguez Orejuela. 2. Salcedo did not comply with his orders and pretended to not know where Pallomari was, believing Pallomari to be his bargaining chip for his freedom. The Orejuela brothers unsuccessfully tried to negotiate a voluntary surrender. I see police and judicial corruption as the biggest price of organized crime. I started hearing screaming. Salcedo was born on November 25, 1947, in Bogot, Colombia. Abcarian: Mask mandates? I decided to play on the fact that I might not be discovered, Salcedo said. They are foreigners and will be very embarrassed by any questions.. Dr. Jorge A. Salcedo is a family medicine doctor in Cedar Park, Texas. Now that Pablo was dead, not everybody wanted to make peace with Cali. There was public outrage. The Cali dons knew Salcedo had ties to mercenaries. WITHIN a week of his first conversation with a U.S. agent, Salcedo faced his first life-threatening decision. Instead of preparing his report, Salcedo called in federal police. Crticas. He saw traitors everywhere.. The cartel had important friends in the military, too from helicopter pilots to generals. [3][pageneeded]. Instead, it ends up being an execution. Desperate for protection from what they feared most -- extradition to the United States -- the cartel bosses poured millions of dollars into the bank accounts of Colombian politicians. I had to lose my old name, and I've been working as an engineer under my new name. 1 Courthouse Way, Suite 9200
It was, Agent Kacerosky later would observe tersely, historical., Salcedo pleaded guilty in Miami to a single count of racketeering and, at an unusual sentencing hearing, was universally praised by agents and prosecutors who recommended unprecedented leniency. Its secret chamber gave up a trove of records that delighted Serrano 30,000 checks, cartel payments to police, 150 politicians, reporters, everyone, Salcedo said. If I was seen talking to an American, I would be killed, he said. In Colombia, even honest people have to deal with the cartels.. I immediately started investigating the leak.. Though that law was repealed after the politicians behind it were exposed for taking bribes from the cartels, the brothers remained in Bogotas La Picota prison, beyond the reach of U.S. authorities. He also helped agents raid a cartel bomb-making site and a weapons warehouse. He had emerged bleeding, injured by a power drill. Jorge Salcedo is a Colombian civil engineer who worked in the Army during the 1980s. At the end of the season, where they finally capture Palomari, they have you waiting outside in a car, where you kill the hitman Navegante in self-defense. Dr. Salcedo is a warm and compassionate family physician who has been in private practice in Houston, Texas since 2017. The drug boss had just been rescued from an escape vault with the help of a local police captain. The new constitution included a no-extradition provision for native Colombians. They knew he helped plan the aborted raid on the guerrillas. Jorge Salcedo, Esq. Will you tell everyone what was done here? In addition to being a corporate, tax and government affairs attorney, he specializes in both domestic and international transactions, as well as real estate and international tax planning. I immediately started investigating the leak.. Salcedo knew that if the DEA agents were identified, their case would be blown and his life would be in even more jeopardy. Since then, the entire Cali cartel hierarchy has been extradited, thanks to Salcedo. Official websites use .gov Salcedo waited for the chance to use a public phone at a Cali telecommunications building. No sign of Miguel, the agents told him. But I know all that is always permissible in filmmaking, for the dynamics of the story, and to keep everyone's attention and on the edge. The raiding party that hit Miguels door about dawn the next morning included two DEA agents and an elite search team under Gen. Jose Serrano, chief of the Colombian national police. In January 2021, Salcedo agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery. [3][pageneeded] In the aftermath, Salcedo was demoted. Salcedos story is told in the book, At the Devils Table The Untold Story of the Insider Who Brought Down the Cali Cartel, by journalist William C. Rempel. [3][pageneeded] During this time, the Search Blocoriginally formed to hunt Escobarfocused its attention on the Cali Cartel. They treated him like a crackpot I confirmed that, DEA agent Edward Kacerosky testified later. Back then, GPS was in the hands of the military only, and I had them. The attack was subsequently called off. Waiting at a rural airstrip for the cargo plane from Cali to pick up the illicit munitions, Salcedo saw an executive jet swoop out of the clouds. Salcedo was invited to join the Cali Cartel in 1989, after Mario del Basto, a member of Salcedo's reserve unit, made first introductions. It was nearly dark. The family became most concerned about accountant Pallomari. From deep inside the U.S. witness-protection program, the official has shared his story in conversations with the Los Angeles Times. Khosroshahin previously pleaded guilty in connection with their roles in the scandal communications and location detection homosexuals! 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