Category Archives: Colombia

The Cali Cartel: Lessons in Crime and Civic Pride

Posted on April 16, 2012 by William C. Rempel

  The new generation of Colombian drug thugs seems to have abandoned a commitment to civic responsibility pioneered by their forefathers in crime – the Cali cartel. Recent news accounts reveal that Cali today is the most violent city in … Continue reading →

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Dire Results of a Drug War Victory

Posted on February 29, 2012 by William C. Rempel

  In the U.S. drug war, even successes can have dangerous down sides. My commentary today in the Los Angeles Times describes one of those successes: the 1989 seizure of more than 21 tons of cocaine in a Southern California … Continue reading →

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Drug Corruption: Jorge’s Rare Inside View

Posted on January 18, 2012 by William C. Rempel

  More from recent CNN.com opinion pieces… By Jorge Salcedo, “the insider who brought down the Cali cartel” Drug cartels cannot function without massive assistance from compromised officials at all levels. Corruption is the oxygen that keeps organized crime alive. … Continue reading →

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Extradition: A Colombian Lesson for Mexico?

Posted on January 18, 2012 by William C. Rempel

  From my recent CNN.com opinion piece… Gruesome accounts of violence in Mexico have obscured one notable bright spot in Latin America’s struggle with powerful drug gangs. In Colombia, once home to the world’s biggest cocaine cartels, new crime organizations … Continue reading →

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Crime Pays…in Tourism for Vegas, Medellin

Posted on January 9, 2012 by William C. Rempel

  (Updated: February 11, 2012) Colombian drug lords and American mobsters are about to have something more in common than lives of crime – their very own tourist attractions. Next week, Las Vegas is scheduled to open a $42-million Mob … Continue reading →

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A Mexican Crime Lord’s Christmas Nightmare

Posted on December 26, 2011 by William C. Rempel

  Mexican authorities have landed a potential prize in their campaign against organized crime, capturing a security chief for the richest and most powerful drug cartel in the country. Felipe Cabrera, alias “The Engineer,” is a key insider described as … Continue reading →

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Noriega: Lived by Bribe; Burned by Bribe

Posted on November 24, 2011 by William C. Rempel

  UPDATED: December 11, 2011 @ 8:44 p.m. Former Panama dictator Manuel Noriega is home tonight after nearly 22 years in U.S. and French custody. But his view hasn’t changed much. Immediately upon landing in Panama City he was whisked … Continue reading →

Posted in Cali cartel, Colombia, Corruption, Drug War, Extradition, Latin America, Mexico, Noriega, Panama | Leave a comment

Crime Bosses of Cali Cartel: Big, Bad and Obscure

Posted on October 30, 2011 by William C. Rempel

  Killing Pablo Escobar in 1993 ended the Medellin drug gang’s reign of crime  and terror, but it did not cure Colombia’s reputation as a haven for narco-traffickers. Pablo’s successors, the new “kings of cocaine,” were also Colombians – the … Continue reading →

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Pablo Escobar: Poet-thug of Colombia?

Posted on October 23, 2011 by William C. Rempel

  Long after his death in 1993, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar remains a subject of public fascination and a bizarre sort of hero-worship. Mark Bowden’s best-selling book, “Killing Pablo,” is still popular around the world more than 10 years … Continue reading →

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Gov. Rick Perry: Drugs, Thugs and…U.S. Troops?

Posted on October 6, 2011 by William C. Rempel

  Texas Governor Rick Perry on the campaign trail for the Republican presidential nomination wants U.S. troops to support Mexico’s war on drugs…because, he says, it worked so well in Colombia. It did? That should surprise Colombia – and the … Continue reading →

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