Norte Del Valle Cartel
Norte Del Valle Cartel
Norte Del Valle Cartel
HISTORY
It is alleged that the Norte del Valle cartel was formed after an event where
the brothers Miguel Rodrguez Orejuela and Gilberto Rodrguez Orejuela, leaders of
the Cali Cartel, came to an agreement with the Colombian government that if they
surrendered themselves and their organization to the Colombian justice system
they would be given perks, such as imprisonment in Colombian prisons for not more
than five years and the promise of no expropriation of their substantial assets. It is
stated that they organized a meeting with their lieutenants, main subordinates, and
junior partners in the business, to inform them that the decision had already been
taken to stop all the illicit business immediately. Those members who refused this
sudden dissolution, including Carlos Alberto Rentera Mantilla, Juan Carlos Ortiz
Escobar, Juan Carlos Ramrez Abada, Diego Len Montoya Snchez, and Orlando
Henao Montoya, formed the North Valley cartel.
KNOWN MEMBERS
Its members were Orlando Henao Montoya alias El Hombre Overol (The
Overall Man), Colonel Danilo Gonzalez, Ivan Urdinola Grajales Alias El Enano (The
Dwarf) Efrain Hernandez Ramirez Don Efra (Mr. Efra), Andres Lopez Lopez Florecita
(Floweret); Arcangel de Jesus Henao Montoya El Mocho (The Pegleg) middle brother
of Orlando Henao, Lorena Henao Montoya La Viuda De La Mafia (The Mafia Widow)
sister of Orlando Henao, Wilber Alirio Varela Fajardo, Jabn (Soap), Diego Len
Montoya Sanchez Don Diego (Mr. Diego), Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia Chupeta
(Lollipop), Luis Hernando Gomez Bustamante Rasguo (Scratch), Victor Patio
Fomeque El Quimico (The Chemist) or La Fiera (The Beast). Ex member of Cali
Cartel, Luis Alfonso Ocampo Fomeque Tocayo (Namesake) half brother of Victor
Patio, Carlos Alberto Renteria Mantilla Beto Renteria, Ramon Alberto Quintero
Sanclemente RQ, Miguel Fernando Solano Don Miguelito (Mr. Miguelito) Juan Carlos
Ortiz Escobar Cuchilla (Blade) and Jorge Eliecer Asprilla El Negro Asprilla.
CHANGES IN LEADERSHIP
The chiefs of the Norte del Valle cartel at one time included Orlando Henao
a.k.a. "el hombre del overol" ("The overall man"), Montguz Franco a.k.a. "Monty",
Diego Len Montoya Snchez, a.k.a. "Don Diego", Wilber Varela, a.k.a. "Jabn"
("Soap"), and Juan Carlos Ramrez Abada, a.k.a. "Chupeta" ("Lollipop").[citation
needed] Until his capture in late 2007 Diego Montoya was part of the list containing
the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.
Fierce rivalries that divided the cartel into warring factions erupted in 2003
when Hernando Gmez, Wilber Varela and their inner circle, prompted by a rising
number of extradition of cartel members to the United States, apparently attempted
to negotiate a possible surrender deal with the Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA), in a move which was strongly rejected by Diego Montoya and several of the
other cartel drug lords. After a failed hit on Varela left him in the hospital with
multiple gunshots, Varela declared war on Diego Montoya who he held responsible
for the attack.
This situation led to brutal gang warfare, which left a deathtoll of more than
1,000 people between 2003 and 2004 throughout different northern locations of the
Valle del Cauca department.
The consequences of such an internal vendetta led Colombian authorities to
intervene in order to increase law enforcement efforts against the cartel, which
resulted in the 2004 arrest of some 100 assassins in the employ of both rival
factions, and in the 2005 capture of Varela's close associate Julio Csar Lpez (alias
"Ojitos", or "Small Eyes"), and Montoya's chief hatchetman, Carlos Jos Robayo
Escobar (alias "Guacamayo", or "Macaw"), among others. On June 4, 2008 Julio
Csar Lpez was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison by a federal court in New
York. More than $100 million worth in properties and luxury assets was also seized,
along with an almost complete fiberglass narco submarine that would have been
built by the cartel in order to smuggle drugs into the United States and other foreign
countries.
All of these events may have influenced several members of the Norte del
Valle cartel to seek a deal with Colombian and U.S. drug enforcement authorities
during late 2004 and early 2005, whether through direct negotiation proposals or
employing the possible protection that they may gain through the infiltration of the
AUC's then ongoing peace negotiations with the Colombian government.
Diego Montoya was captured in Colombia on September 10, 2007. Wilber
Varela was killed in the Venezuelan city of Mrida.