Luis Hernando Gomez
Encyclopedia
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 for the Norte del Valle Cartel
Norte del Valle Cartel
The Norte del Valle Cartel, or North Valley Cartel, is a drug cartel that operates principally in the north of the Valle del Cauca department of Colombia...
, who was arrested in 2004 and, on July 19, 2007 transported for extradition
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on charges of 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...
and drug smuggling. Gomez, also known as "Rasguño" (Scratch) is reported to have received his nickname after being grazed in the cheek by a bullet, he dismissed the wound as "just a scratch."
Position and indictments
According to prosecutors, Gomez went from pumping gas in 1991 to declaring property worth more than half a million dollars a year later. According to U.S. federal prosecutorsUnited States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
Gomez co-managed the Norte del Valle empire from 1990 to 2004. Between 1997 and 2004 he would be indicted in the United States three times in three different states.The first indictment issued in January 1997 in the Southern District of Virginia is on charges of Continuing Criminal Enterprise, conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
, firearms, and 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...
. On October 10, 2002, an indictment was issued in Eastern District of New York on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering. In March 2004, Washington D.C. indicted Gomez on drug trafficking and RICO charges
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...
. on March 11, 2004, Colombian police conducted raids against Gomez, stripping him of 68 farms, 24 offices and 17 parking lots as well as other items and properties, a total worth listed at over 100 million.
Gomez has since admitted to managing the payroll and operations of 800 of the cartels 6,000 workers, including several members of the Colombian Congress and also eight town mayors. His accumulated wealth at the time of extradition included such luxuries as a Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
and two paintings claimed to be originals of Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
master Peter Paul Rubens.
Capture and extradition
On July 2, 2004, Gomez was captured as he stepped off a plane in at the José Martí International AirportJosé Martí International Airport
José Martí International Airport , sometimes known by its former name Rancho-Boyeros Airport, is located southwest of Havana, Cuba, and is a hub for Cubana de Aviación, Aerogaviota and Aero Caribbean, and former Latin American hub for Aeroflot Soviet Airlines...
in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
on immigration charges, Gomez was attempting to enter Cuba with a falsified passport. It is believed Gomez was fleeing the 5 million dollar reward for his capture placed by the US State Department, and possible extradition to the US if captured. Due to relations between Cuba and the United States, Colombia was forced to act as an intermediary to secure the deportation and extradition to the United States. On July 9, 2007, Gomez was extradited from Cuba to Colombia.
Shortly before Gomez was extradited he stated, in an interview for RCN TV
RCN TV
RCN Televisión , is a Colombian private television network. It started as a production company in 1967...
, that he had shipped as much as 11 tons of cocaine in one night to the United States, the cocaine belonging to former United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia was created as an umbrella organization of regional far-right...
para-military leader Salvatore Mancuso
Salvatore Mancuso
Salvatore Mancuso Gómez, also known as "el Mono Mancuso","Santander Lozada" or "Triple Cero", among other names is a Colombian paramilitary leader, once second in command of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia paramilitary group...
. He further stated the Cuban government attempted to have him implicated Colombian President, Álvaro Uribe
Álvaro Uribe
Alvaro Uribe Vélez was the 58th President of Colombia, from 2002 to 2010. In August 2010 he was appointed Vice-chairman of the UN panel investigating the Gaza flotilla raid....
, offering at one point to release him if he did.
On July 19, 2007 the extradition procedure began with Colombian police transporting Gomez from the Cómbita
Cómbita
Cómbita is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Central Boyacá Province.-External links:...
maximum security prison
Supermax
Supermax is the name used to describe "control-unit" prisons, or units within prisons, which represent the most secure levels of custody in the prison systems of certain countries...
to be handed over to United States Drug Enforcement Agency
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...
(DEA) agents. Gomez was outfitted with a bulletproof vest
Bulletproof vest
A ballistic vest, bulletproof vest or bullet-resistant vest is an item of personal armor that helps absorb the impact from firearm-fired projectiles and shrapnel from explosions, and is worn on the torso...
as he was transported to the airport for extradition. The cited fear was an attempt on his life by other drug traffickers or corrupt politicians fearing what testimony
Testimony
In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. All testimonies should be well thought out and truthful. It was the custom in Ancient Rome for the men to place their right hand on a Bible when taking an oath...
he may give. It is believed his testimony and personal computer will show links to political officials and police as well as expose the Colombian cocaine trade and the Norte del Valle Cartel.
Gomez was believed to be happy for his extradition to the U.S. citing death threats from rival cartels since arriving in the Colombian prison system. The head of Colombia's judicial police, Col. Cesar Pinzon, who has called Gomez the "capo of capos
Capo di tutti capi
Capo di tutti capi or capo dei capi is Italian for "boss of all bosses" or "boss of bosses". It is a phrase used mainly by the media, public and the law enforcement community to indicate a supremely powerful crime boss in the Sicilian or American Mafia who holds great influence over the whole...
", has verified the prison authorities had received intelligence regarding assassination
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...
attempts and moved prisoners to prevent them from occurring.
Trial
On October 18, 2008, Gomez pled guilty to racketeering charges in a Washington court. He also admitted sending over 500,000 kilograms of cocaine to America through MexicoMexico
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...
between 1990 and 2004 as well as conspiracy to make and distribute more than 10,000 kilograms of cocaine destined for the US. Due to an extradition agreement between the United States and Colombia Gomez cannot receive a life sentence, so prosecutors are instead looking for a multi-year prison sentence.
Norte del Valle Cartel
The Norte del Valle Cartel is believed to have shipped 500 tons of cocaine since 1999 in relation to the 600 tons per year estimated to ship from all of Colombia, an estimated value of over 10 billion. Gomez and the cartel have paid right-wing paramilitary militias to protect smuggling routes. The cartel is believed to be the last in Colombia that managed the complete process from the cultivation of the cocaCoca
Coca, Erythroxylum coca, is a plant in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. The plant plays a significant role in many traditional Andean cultures...
to the production of cocaine and distribution. It is believed the cartel employs the use of aircraft, go-fast boat
Go-fast boat
A go-fast boat, or cigarette boat, is a small, fast boat designed with a long narrow platform and a planing hull to enable it to reach high speeds....
s, and maritime cargo vessels
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
to transport cocaine around the world. The cartel owns cocaine HCl conversion laboratories in the 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...
region of Colombia, and also has cocaine distribution cells in the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
/ New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
area.
See also
- Cali CartelCali CartelThe 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...
- CocaineCocaineCocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
- Cuba-United States relationsCuba-United States relationsCuba and the United States of America have had an interest in one another since well before either of their independence movements. Plans for purchase of Cuba from the Spanish Empire were put forward at various times by United States...
- Narcotrafficking in Colombia
- Norte del Valle CartelNorte del Valle CartelThe Norte del Valle Cartel, or North Valley Cartel, is a drug cartel that operates principally in the north of the Valle del Cauca department of Colombia...
- Medellín CartelMedellín CartelThe Medellín Cartel was an organized network of "drug suppliers and smugglers" originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia. The drug cartel operated in Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Central America, the United States, as well as Canada and Europe throughout the 1970s and 1980s. It was founded and...