So the family said, "No, no, no, you stay here.". So I had sympathy [for the Cali Cartel's goals] at that time. Salcedo said they got bored and rowdy. It was very risky, but I was trapped in a nightmare, in a totally corrupt environment. In May1989, the attack was set to occur, but heavy cloud cover resulted in a helicopter crash, with most of the commandos failing to make it to Escobar's hideout, Hacienda Npoles. Lleg un acuerdo con la DEA para proteger. Salcedo was paid a bribe of $100,000 for his actions. So I realized I couldn't use any of those to get a job with any experience that I could showin order to eliminate all sources of being found. My role kept changing. As Colombian citizens, the Orejuela brothers could not be extradited to the United States. Salcedos military service in the late 1980s coincided with one of Colombias bloodiest periods. They said, "We need somebody like you to protect us." And I did engineering studies, and I was doing very specialized services for oil refineries and things like that. The Bogot team listened, tapped on cement walls and floors, then pulled out power drills and bored into suspicious areas. Furthermore, the American drug agents were armed, a violation of Colombian law. 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. Politicians were considered a long-term investment. Jorge Salcedo, former UCLA men's soccer coach, departs federal court in Boston in March 2019. Waiting at a rural airstrip for the dawn arrival of a cargo plane from Cali to retrieve the illicit munitions, Salcedo was distressed to see an executive jet swoop out of the clouds. His only possible escape was to bargain with the DEA and betray his cartel bosses. Business improved even more after December 1993, when Escobar died in a blaze of gunfire. 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. In Colombia, even honest people have to deal with the cartels.. Meanwhile, he beefed up security for the Orejuela brothers and their families. From deep inside the U.S. witness-protection program, the official has shared his story in conversations with the Los Angeles Times. Salcedo barely escaped El Salvador and arrest before the botched pickup was exposed. Case information, including the status of each defendant, charging documents and plea agreements are available here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/investigations-college-admissions-and-t. Military leaders grew restless with the impotent and corrupt government and tried to fill the vacuum, taking military actions without approval from Bogot. After going into hiding, Salcedo focused his efforts on monitoring his electronic communication network, extracting intelligence on both national police and the Medelln Cartel. He knew where Miguel would be in the morning. Jorge Salcedo has big brass balls. Some targeted the rich drug lords. At the same time, rival cocaine cartels were warring, killing police, judges, politicians and bystanders. They have not yet been sentenced. And there was nothing I could do. In 1989, he was summoned by the Carli cartel to a meeting. AT dawn on a Sunday in August, four weeks after the failed raid that left Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela wounded, another police strike team arrived outside an apartment building in Cali. Salcedo was invited to join the Cali Cartel in 1989, after Mario del Basto, a member of Salcedo's reserve unit, made first introductions. Abcarian: Mask mandates? He had been summoned to the hide-out to give an impatient Miguel a detailed report. The new constitution included a no-extradition provision for native Colombians. Many safe houses conceal vaults in the walls for escapes. Dr. Saucedo attended the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico where he received his medical doctorate followed by training in . This time it was near a sugar cane plantation.. Some regularly shared information with Salcedo. The pilot was killed. And at that point, he gave me the chance to speak to him, and I said, "William, the advice I can give you is: Don't inherit that throne. Matias Varela. I had to advise him to be [more] careful.. Salcedo immediately helped devise an assault on Escobars Medellin compound. So I had to start scanning every possibility that might have led to the Rodriguez brothers being taken down and prevent that. So my role became other than just Pablo and became to focus on intelligence. And, then, Mexican leaders need to sweep out officials at all levels who have sold their souls to organized crime. Jorge Salcedo, 47, of Los Angeles, Calif., entered a guilty plea as to one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering. 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. He used to be Jorge Salcedo. As instructed, I took those to a bank near the Cali airport and deposited one into the account of a sister and the other to the mother of a captain in the Colombian anti-narcotics task force. Both the sergeant and the captain were among hundreds of police and military officers fired for corruption. He became proficient in electronic surveillance, which increasingly drew him into counter-terrorism assignments. Jorge Salcedos contacts with The Times began with a handshake in Miami during a brief court appearance in October 1998. 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. I was buying four U.S.-made bombs 500-pounders that the bosses wanted to drop on Pablo Escobar. No. It doesn't matter if you're a wife or anyone. But more than a decade after betraying his bosses, Salcedos life remains in jeopardy. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . The sensational evidence was rushed back to Bogota. He was secretly dispatched to Europe by military leaders to assemble a team of mercenaries. Widespread arrests and firings followed, and the grip of corruption was broken. The Colombian television series En la boca del lobo focuses on the years Salcedo worked for the Cali Cartel. And I went there just to resolve questions. In Cali, Salcedo found personal safety managing security for the Orejuela family. And this man is a businessman, and he's got night vision, heat detectors, and GPS." One of the few who knew where to find them was Salcedo. He must have brass balls this big.. As Colombian citizens, the Orejuela brothers could not be extradited to the United States. This time he contacted a Miami lawyer he trusted who could make the connections. He had put a bomb in the building that destroyed the equivalent of the FBI in Colombia. One of the few who consistently knew where to find them was Salcedo. A former UCLA mens soccer coach was sentenced to eight months behind bars for his role in the sweeping college admissions bribery scheme that brought down dozens of school officials and well-heeled parents. As the head of security for the Cali Cartel and an eventual informant whose work nearly singlehandedly brought down the whole cartel, Salcedo (played by Matias Varela) and his story are central to the show. Another attempt with a car bomb succeeded only in injuring one of Escobars children. They could do it to me. Shipments of drugs and money were lost. I am a different man than I was two years ago, and I will never make decisions like this again, Salcedo said during a hearing held via videoconference. I saw one episode, the first or something, where they pull apart one bad guy with two motorcycles. His information on the cartelOperation Cornerstoneled to its eventual disbandment, as a result of which Salcedo and his family have entered the United States Federal Witness Protection Program. He found the four held in different rooms of the house, each bound and tied to a chair -- three men and a woman. The Orejuela brothers wanted four Panamanian operatives questioned. How has your life under witness protection been? Jorge Salcedo ( Buenos Aires, Argentina; 6 de febrero de 1915 - Idem; 12 de abril de 1988) fue un primer actor de radio, cine, fotonovelas y televisin argentino ndice 1 Actividades artsticas 2 Filmografa 3 Televisin 4 Fotonovelas 5 Referencias 6 Enlaces externos Actividades artsticas [ editar] On a cartel radiophone, Salcedo overheard a call between Miguel and his son, William. Mr. One day, I came first, and he came second. Salcedo arrived ahead of the police. He held university degrees in mechanical engineering and industrial economics. Later he ran an oil recovery business. I have been in witness protection for 22 years. Did you encounter any technical issues? In an unusual move largely financed by Medellin cartel bosses, he was to organize an off-the-books, paramilitary operation -- an armed assault on a guerrilla mountain fortress called Casa Verde. Thanks for contacting us. That was attempt number one [to arrest Miguel]. Some targeted rich drug lords. Something very close happened to that. He also knew who was marked for assassination. He told Pallomari he was about to be arrested and would die in jail. "Hoy estoy en los 60. In the wrong hands, his extensive records of bribes and business dealings posed a greater threat to operations than the inconvenience of the brothers spending a few years of lavish confinement in a Colombian jail. Anti-government guerrilla groups unleashed waves of kidnappings that terrorized the nation. Fortunately, I had the means to start a company. It had a thick top, he said, that concealed a secret compartment. But descending through a cloud bank, one of the choppers hit a mountaintop. There are one or two incidents that I may have known about or was around when it happened, but it wasn't always me who was executing all those things. The cartel had important friends in the military, too from helicopter pilots to generals. I immediately started investigating the leak.. But maybe my experience will help show the importance of fighting corruption as a way to fight the cartels. No Career Information Occupation Sicario Affiliation Cali cartel Medelln cartel (spy) Years active 1980s-1995 Appearances First Explosivos (Narcos) They fought, they drank, they wanted women every day -- they were like mad dogs.. Meanwhile, U.S. pressure on the Bogot government was forcing Colombian authorities to crack down on the violent cartels. FROM mid-July into August 1995, Salcedo continued to play a dual role -- the man in charge of security for Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela, and his secret betrayer. Not with Harleys, they used two Land Cruisers. Former UCLA men's soccer coach Jorge Salcedo has agreed to plead guilty to accepting $200,000 in bribes in the massive "Varsity Blues" college admissions scandal and is expected to be sentenced to . I had nothing to do with drugs. Financed by Medellin cartel bosses, he was to organize a paramilitary operation for an assault on a guerrilla mountain fortress called Casa Verde. So they told [my friend] Mario, "We need you." I did not feel I was a criminal, Salcedo recalled. Lauren Isackson was listed as a midfielder on the teams roster for the 2017 season but had zero soccer experienceand never set foot on the field during a game, prosecutors said. Actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, and her husband, designer Mossimo Giannulli, are among those jailed in the scandal. The two factions agreed, and Jorge worked with the commandos to develop a plan of attack. However, word of Salcedos role reached Cali, 185 miles southwest of Bogota. With two U.S. agents, the team of Colombian national police poured silently into the building. Miguel and Gilberto were able to corrupt anyone, he said. Finally, Escobar went to prison, where he continued to run his cartel and menace rivals from his cell. Jorge Salcedo had a stable career before he started working with the Cali Cartel. I know something about corruption and organized crime. They said, "No way, you have to stay." 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. The new constitution included a no-extradition provision for native Colombians. He dialed the CIA in Virginia. says the actress. 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. After Jorge determined Miguel's location, the DEA agents planned a raid of the apartment complex. The show presents a very tense relationship between you and Miguel's son, David. Though wary of cartel and Colombian government wiretaps, Kacerosky landed one of the most remarkable confidential informants in all of international crime. According to the terms of the plea agreement, the government will recommend a sentence at the low . Within a week, Salcedo faced his first life-threatening decision. He received his medical degree from Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Honduras and has been in practice for more than 20. For his service, the relocated Colombian received rewards of about $1.7 million. Miguel was getting paranoid, Salcedo said. The enforcer insisted Salcedo stay. SALCEDO had arrived in Cali just in time for a business boom. 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. Aiding the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) unexpectedly and at great risk was a senior Cali cartel official, the head of security for the cocaine syndicate. Salcedo, 48, pleaded guilty in July to one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering. I had to go. There were suspicions of a leak, Salcedo said. The Orejuela brothers unsuccessfully tried to negotiate a voluntary surrender. Everyone was going to jail and Miguel said the best thing was to put William in charge of everything. Shipments of dope and money were lost. I always got to appointments first, to check the security around and make sure there wasn't an ambush or anything. They did that the same. The Orejuela brothers wanted four Panamanian operatives questioned. Local police helped. The dons said Salcedos skills were required to end Escobars reign of terror and protect them and their families. 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. In 2020, he reprised the role in the second season of Narcos: Mexico . It doesn't make sense that I'm going to go kill a killer. In addition to living quarters, it contained a large swimming pool, a tennis court and half of a soccer field. Jose Santacruz Londono got right to the point. The extraditables came to be seen as security risks. Meanwhile, Salcedo beefed up security for the Orejuela brothers and their extended families -- a mother, four sisters, in-laws, wives and children. On August12, the DEA successfully collected Pallomari and his family. His father was a retired Colombian army general and respected diplomatic figure. He held university degrees in mechanical engineering and industrial economics. It was a mess. On Thursday, he told a judge that he joined the admissions scheme, which was orchestrated by William "Rick". He had emerged bleeding, an angry, wounded bear, apparently injured by one of the power drills. One night, a police raid was scheduled to arrest Pallomari at a hiding place. The raid operated off of documents seized from an inspection of an office owned and operated by Guillermo Pallomari, the cartel's chief accountant. [Escobar] was bad, killing soldiers and civilians. I had been fighting against the guerrillas. He told Pallomari he would be arrested and die in jail. Thanks to Salcedo, the entire Cali cartel hierarchy was extradited. Jorge Salcedo Cabrera was a counter-surveillance expert employed by the Cali cartel . Another attempt with a massive car bomb succeeded only in injuring one of Escobars. 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. Get to know Family Physician Dr. Jorge A. Salcedo, who serves patients in Houston and Round Rock, Texas. But Miguel said, Do your job, Salcedo recalled. Others were more directly involved in routine bribery, but I still managed to deliver nearly a million dollars in payoffs. That was the other thing. I wanted to go to someone, but I didnt even know on what door to knock, he said. Jorge Salcedo fue la pieza clave para detener a todos los lderes del cartel de Cali, entre ellos los hermanos Rodrguez Orejuela, que siguen en prisin. Pero la DEA cumpli su palabra. THE official end of the notorious Cali cocaine cartel came late last year here with little more commotion than the rap of a judges gavel. After top campaign aides acknowledged receiving cartel funds, Samper insisted that if such contributions were made, it was without his knowledge. Got 11 minutes? Did those dangers include the North Valley cartel depicted in Season 3? I see police and judicial corruption as the biggest price of organized crime. He is still No. Colombian drug lords Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela, 63, and Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, 67, entered guilty pleas and were ushered to federal prison for the next 30 years. Jorge Salcedo, the former UCLA men's soccer coach charged in the college admissions scandal, accused the school of using athlete admissions "as a vehicle to raise funds" in a motion filed by his. And what do you think? Well, it's been a very different life from what people usually do at this time [in their life]. El hijo de Miguel Rodrguez Orejuela lo buscaba desesperado para matarlo. I had no option of saying no. Still, Salcedo used great care -- calling from a public phone and leaving only a vague message offering to be helpful.. Still no sign of Miguel, the agents told him. Salcedo waited for the chance to use a public phone at a Cali telecommunications building. Or was it a test, to see how brave you are or how you're going to deal with this? They are foreigners and will be very embarrassed by any questions.. This account is based on those interviews, corroborated by court records, sworn testimony and additional interviews with federal agents involved in the case. The story in general remains the same [as the truth]. The drug bosses there, engaged in a feud with drug lord Pablo Escobar and the Medellin cartel, summoned the 41-year-old engineer in 1989. He infiltrated the Medellin Cartel in order turn Jose Rodriguez Gacha over to the DEA, and he would take part in the war with Medellin from 1992 to 1993. Many safe houses were known to conceal vaults built into the walls for magician-like escapes. U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts, Jorge Salcedo admitted to receiving $200,000 in bribes to facilitate the admission of two students to the University of California at Los Angeles, Former UCLA Soccer Coach Sentenced in College Admissions Case, https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/investigations-college-admissions-and-t, Oxford Man Pleads Guilty to Theft of Government Funds and Misuse of a Social Security Number, Worcester Postal Supervisor Sentenced for Mail Theft, Florida Man Sentenced for Making Threatening Communications, Former UCLA Soccer Coach Sentenced In College Admissions Case. The soft-spoken family man once known as Jorge Salcedo was an unlikely drug-gang recruit. Of about $ 1.7 million jailed in the walls for magician-like escapes,... Crack down on the Bogot government was forcing Colombian authorities to crack down on the Bogot government was Colombian... You and Miguel 's location, the American drug agents were armed, a tennis court and half a... 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