Francisco Hélmer Herrera Buitrago also known as "Pacho" and "H7", (born on August 24, 1951 in Palmira, Valle del Cauca

Valle del Cauca Department

Valle del Cauca is a department of Colombia. It is in the western side of the country, facing the Pacific Ocean, and it is considered one of the most important departments in the Republic of Colombia. Its capital is Santiago de Cali...

 - Died on November 4, 1998 in Palmira, Valle del Cauca) was a Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

n drug trafficker, fourth in command in the Cali Cartel

Cali Cartel

The Cali Cartel was a drug cartel based in southern Colombia, around the city of Cali and the Valle del Cauca Department. The Cali Cartel was founded by the Rodríguez Orejuela brothers, Gilberto and Miguel, as well as associate José Santacruz Londoño...

. Believed to be the son of Benjamin Herrera Zuleta.

Early years

Herrera grew up in the Colombian town of Palmira in the Valle del Cauca Department. While in high school, Herrera studied technical maintenance, experience that got him a job later in the United States. While living in the United States he also became a jeweler and precious metals broker until he began selling cocaine in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. In 1975 and later in 1978 Herrera was arrested on distribution charges in New York City for selling cocaine.

Cali Cartel

It is believed in 1983 Herrera went to Cali

Calì

Calì, also written in English as Cali, is an Italian surname, widespread mainly in the Ionian side of Sicily.For the surname Calì is assumed the origin of the Greek word kalos , or from its Sanskrit root kali, "time."The surname refers to:...

, Colombia to negotiate supply and distribution rights with the Cali Cartel for New York City. He would later open up trafficking routes for the Cali Cartel through Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 with connection he had previously established. In conjunction with new trafficking routes, Herrera also ran one of the "... most sophisticated and profitable money laundering

Money laundering

Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...

 operations" according to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration

Drug Enforcement Administration

The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...

. Herrera was soon promoted to Cali cartel kingpin and given control over the southern Cali

Santiago de Cali

Santiago de Cali , simply referred to as Cali, is a city in western Colombia and the capital of the Valle del Cauca Department. With a population of 2.5 million, Cali is the third largest city in the country. It has one of the fastest growing economies and infrastructure in the country because...

 city of Jamundí

Jamundí

Jamundí is a town and municipality located in the Department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia.Jamundí is located 23 km south of Cali, the capital of the Department, Valle del Cauca. The average Temperature is 23 grades Celsius.Foundation...

 and northern Cali cities Palmira and Yumbo

Yumbo

Yumbo is a small, industrial city and municipality located in western Colombia. It is located in the Valle del Cauca department, just north of Cali...

.

The Herrera operation according to the DEA involved importing cocaine base from Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

 and Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

, which would be trafficked via his own transportation to conversion laboratories in Colombia. It is believed Herrera hired guerrilla forces such as Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) (FARC) and then guerrilla group 19th of April Movement

19th of April Movement

The 19th of April Movement or M-19, was a Colombian guerrilla movement. After its demobilization it became a political party, the M-19 Democratic Alliance , or AD/M-19.The M-19 traced its origins to the allegedly fraudulent presidential elections of 19 April 1970...

 , to guard remote lab sites.

During the narco-terror war waged by Pablo Escobar

Pablo Escobar

Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was a Colombian drug lord. He was an elusive cocaine trafficker and rich and successful criminal. He owned numerous luxury residences, automobiles, and even airplanes...

 on the Colombian Government, it is believed a hired assassin

Assassination

To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...

 attempted to kill Herrera while he was attending a sports event. The gunman opened fire with a machine gun on the crowd where Herrera was sitting, killing 19, however not hitting Herrera. In response to the attempted assassination, the Cali cartel responded by kidnapping and killing Gustavo Gaviria, cousin to Pablo Escobar.

Law enforcement actions

In November 1991, the DEA launched Operation Kingpin, of which two of Herreras' distribution cells in New York City were targeted. Through a large scale wiretap effort, the DEA utilized over 100 simultaneous, court-authorized wiretaps on cellular phones. At the close of Operation Kingpin close to 100 traffickers were arrested, more than $20 million in cash and assets were seized, and over 2.5 tons of cocaine seized. In addition records of transactions and personnel were seized from computers, that information later provided a greater look into the Cali Cartel cell structure.

On September 1, 1996, Herrera turned himself in at the Colombian National Police

Colombian National Police

The National Police of Colombia is the national police force of Colombia. Although the National Police is not part of the Military of Colombia , it constitutes along with them the "Public Force" and is also controlled by the Ministry of Defense. They are the largest police force in Colombia...

 unit, the Search Bloc

Search Bloc

The Search Bloc was a Special Operations unit of the National Police of Colombia .-History:...

, . Herrera was the last of the seven leaders of the Cali Cartel to be captured.