by Austin Galt
One of our similarities was that we both had fathers who ran our home city’s football team. In my case, my father served as chairman of the Australian Rules football club, the Sydney Swans. As for Pedro, his father was part of the group of directors that ran the famous América de Cali football club under the leadership of Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela.
Football is the passion of many Colombians and it was perhaps the childhood fantasy of one of the future leaders of the Cali Cartel to own the team he grew up supporting. Beginning in the 1970s, football teams from all over Colombia, which were already struggling financially, became a beacon for traffickers who used them to launder their drug profits. Gilberto tried to take over the city’s other team, Deportivo Cali, but was rejected due to majority stakes being prohibited. Owning a football team also brought with it a high social status otherwise unavailable for the traffickers.
Miguel bought the América de Cali club in 1979 and poured large amounts of money into it, buying up the best players from the continent. He even offered a teenage Maradona $3 million for a six-month contract but was turned down. Money was also used for paying off referees to fix games. The team won their first championship later that year and stayed at the top of the ladder for the next couple of decades.
América de Cali reached their peak in 1986, winning their fifth consecutive national title. This beat the previous record of four consecutive titles which was held by Bogotá’s Millionarios, then owned by Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha, one of the leaders of the Medellín Cartel. Pablo Escobar’s plaything was Atlético Nacional based in Medellín in which he invested substantial amounts, although he confessed to being a follower of the city’s other team, Deportivo Independiente Medellín (DIM). All three narco chiefs took immense pride in their football teams.
During the late 1980s, several football players and officials received death threats with some of those threats being carried out. It all came to a head in 1989 at a match played in Medellín between América de Cali and DIM. It was an important game and DIM was expected to win but was held to a goalless draw. Escobar, who had been watching the game from the stands, was furious alleging the referee Álvaro Ortega had favoured América de Cali. Escobar immediately ordered his death and just before midnight a hitman opened fire on Ortega with a submachine gun. Colombian football had plumbed its lowest depths and the rest of the 1989 season was cancelled.
América de Cali was the best represented team on Colombia’s 1994 World Cup squad with six players making the trip to the United States. Colombia was heading into the tournament as favourites having recently beaten Argentina 5–0 in their home city of Buenos Aires, making the feat all the more remarkable.
A week before leaving, the Colombian team were training on América de Cali’s practice grounds in preparation for an exhibition match the following day. They had been invited to dinner that evening at a ‘very special’ place but were given no further details. As they gathered in the lobby of the Hotel Torre de Cali, where they were staying, they were told by team officials to head down to the basement where several vehicles were waiting along with private security guards on motorbikes. Everything was kept hushed so as to not alert the police who were in charge of the team’s official security.
The players were ushered into the vehicles and instructed to put on a hood which each had been given. With their faces covered, the convoy of vehicles left the hotel and made its way at high speed to the wealthy Cuidad Jardin neighbourhood in the south of the city. A short time later they arrived at a luxurious house and, after taking off their hoods, they were greeted by the four leaders of the Cali Cartel – Gilberto and Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela, Chepe Santacruz and Pacho Herrera. Also greeting them were the América de Cali cheerleaders. The house was owned by Juan José Bellini who was the president of the Colombian Football Federation. It was an open secret that he had close links to the drug bosses and he was jailed the following year for illicit enrichment.
At the dinner, Miguel announced there would be great cash rewards should they reach the finals, while winning the tournament would see each player rewarded beyond their wildest dreams. In the meantime, each player at the dinner received an envelope containing up to $25,000. Gilberto then told the group of players to support Ernesto Samper in the upcoming presidential elections and to talk him up whenever they were interviewed by the national press. Indeed, some players did just that, while Ernesto Samper attended their practice match the following day and wished them well for the World Cup.
Unfortunately for them, Colombia commenced the tournament with a shock 3–1 loss against Romania and things only got worse from there. On the morning of their next match with the United States, the players received death threats against both themselves and their families back in Colombia. The players knew how serious these threats could be and went into the match scared, with their minds elsewhere.
The infamous own goal by Andrés Escobar helped the United States beat Colombia 2–1. The team finished things up with a 2–0 consolation win over Switzerland after which they were unceremoniously bundled out of the competition. Less than a week after returning to Colombia, Andrés Escobar, known as ‘El Caballero de las Canchas’ or ‘The Gentleman of the Fields’, was murdered in his home city of Medellín. It was another appalling moment in Colombia’s very chequered history.
While out with friends in the nightlife zone Parque Lleras, the lanky footballer got into an argument with a couple of the city’s powerful drug traffickers, the Gallón Henao brothers – Juan Santiago and Pedro – who also owned several gambling businesses in Medellín. They had been provoking Andrés who didn’t take it lying down. The brothers didn’t like being spoken back to and shortly after the brothers’ driver and bodyguard, Humberto Castro Muñoz, shot Andrés six times. Humberto would receive a prison sentence of 42 years before it was reduced. With good behaviour, he was given early release in 2005 having spent just 11 years behind bars.
The Gallón Henao brothers were never implicated by their driver and it is thought Humberto took the fall for them after being paid off. Restaurant workers who witnessed the murder were warned not to talk with police and were intimidated by sicarios on motorbikes who constantly rode past the restaurant in the days that followed. It is also believed the brothers paid off the prosecutor to focus their investigations on the driver and leave them out of it, despite the fact it would be unlikely for a bodyguard to kill someone without following orders. The brothers were given a sentence of 15 months home detention for initially covering up the crime. They would go on to become even bigger drug lords, being linked to Colombia’s right-wing paramilitaries as well as Mexico’s top drug baron, Joaquín Guzmán known as ‘El Chapo’ or ‘The Shorty’.
The year 1995 was the beginning of the end for América de Cali. US President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 12978 which was aimed at countering ‘an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States’. It was specifically aimed at the Cali Cartel.
A blacklist was created of all companies and individuals who had ties to the drug business. It became known as the Clinton List. All those on the list had their assets frozen and could not do business in the United States or with US companies. Obviously, that included the América de Cali football club. It took a while for the club to fall but eventually it did, racking up millions of dollars in debts as no one would sponsor them. With no money to retain their top players they fell down the ladder and were eventually relegated to the second-tier league. It would not be until the year 2013 that they would be taken off the Clinton List.
The Rodríguez Orejuela brothers became social lepers. They were essentially alone in jail with no friends on the outside. Pedro’s father had business interests in the United States and he certainly couldn’t afford to be associated with them now either. Pedro had told me it was his father, a legitimate businessman, who was responsible for extricating him from the cartel before it all came crashing down. The narco life often leads to an
early death or at least spending a large portion of your life behind bars. His father didn’t want that for his son.
Looking back, my experience of meeting Pedro reminds me of the fictional delicatessen, Satriale’s, from the American mobster television series The Sopranos. Just as Tony Soprano and his crew used to relax with a coffee there, Pedro and his crew would relax with a beer at the tienda. And I just happened to walk in one day.
4
PATRÓN
While he had lived large during his cartel days, Pedro’s life was now a bit quieter, although the good times were still rolling as we kicked back at the tienda. Colombia was playing their next Copa América match and the store had a television showing the game live.
Pedro pulled out a bag of cocaine and offered it to me. Colombia receives its fair share of drug tourists who come to sample the cheap and high quality drugs on offer. I was certainly not in Colombia for that reason but neither was I going to turn down the opportunity to try the country’s most well-known product.
I would describe myself as a libertarian at heart. If someone wants to put dangerous substances in their body then, as long as they are not physically harming anybody else, they should be free to do so. I was also against the so-called War on Drugs which I viewed as a complete farce; it had not only failed to dent drug consumption, but had criminalised so many young people.
There is an expression in Colombia which goes ‘Who controls the coca, wins the war’. If the government truly wants to control something, it needs to be legalised and taxed with minimum age restrictions enforced. The government should not expect to win the war on drugs as long as it doesn’t control the market.
Drugs have also financed terrorist operations around the world and there is no better evidence of that than in Colombia, with the FARC the prime example. However, there is hope for the future. In 2012, the Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos introduced decriminalisation as part of the Ley de Seguridad Ciudadana or Citizen Security Law put in place the previous year. This means anyone caught with marijuana or cocaine for personal use only would not be prosecuted or detained.
Interestingly, at the exact time I was kicking back in Cali, Portugal decriminalised all drugs for personal use. It was July 2001 when they implemented their new drug policy whereby small amounts of possessed drugs were not to be considered a criminal offense. Portugal’s policy has had positive effects: drug use has declined along with drug-related deaths and diseases.
And let’s not forget corruption. Illegal drugs have helped to corrupt public service at all levels, whether it be police, military, customs or politics. Their influence extends from low-level officers right up to the highest echelons of power.
In the 1994 presidential election, Ernesto Samper won by a very tight margin against Andrés Pastrana. Shortly thereafter, it was revealed that the Samper campaign had received $6 million in cash donations from the Cali Cartel, although it was later thought the actual amount was closer to $10 million. Samper denied everything until damaging tape recordings, known as the ‘narco-cassettes’, were leaked to the media. He then maintained he had no idea about the donations. An investigation was launched, known as Proceso 8000 or Case 8000, which revealed connections between the Cali Cartel and well-known members of Cali society. I have no doubt that Pedro’s family appeared on that list.
With Samper now president, he could only be judged by the Colombian Congress which was now in the hands of his party members and allies, many of whom were alleged to have had dealings with the Cali Cartel. Unsurprisingly, the case against Samper went nowhere. However, the scandal essentially forced his hand in cracking down on the drug traffickers.
Decriminalisation is the first step towards legalisation and while it will likely take many years to accomplish, at least the process has begun.
Pedro passed me the bag of cocaine and a key and directed me to go to the back of the store. The old man who owned the store didn’t bat an eyelid. He certainly knew what was going on but he kept his head down and minded his own business. I doubt he would have been so accommodating if Pedro weren’t there and he always referred to him with the respectful title of Don – Don Pedro. When Pedro would ask for another round of beers, the store owner would reply, ‘Con mucho gusto, Don Pedro’. With much pleasure, Don Pedro.
I dipped the key into the bag to scoop up some product before quickly sniffing it. Hell yeah! The rush was immediate. This was grade A, pure Colombian cocaine. I returned to the table, grabbed my beer and leant back into my chair. It doesn’t get much better than this. Here I was, on the other side of the planet, in a foreign land known for its darker forces, mixing it up with my new friend who was from that same dangerous and mysterious world I had only read about and seen on television. Hell yeah!
Sofia soon arrived and joined us for a beer. She wouldn’t indulge in anything illicit. She didn’t mind if I did, though. Many Colombians don’t like to take cocaine or even the idea of it as they have seen the damage it has done to their society. Also, unlike Western nations where it is viewed as a high-class drug, in Colombia it is often viewed as low class.
It was an enjoyable evening. Colombia once again won their football match and joyful fans paraded throughout the city.
*
I had been in Cali for nearly two months by now. I had expected to stay only a few days. Perhaps I was having too much fun. Sofia certainly played a role in the delay. However, she needed to go to Bogotá the coming weekend for work-related reasons. After completing a law degree at university, she had worked at a law office for the past couple of years. I always noticed Pedro was a bit wary around her. That was understandable given their diametrically opposed backgrounds.
Sofia flew to Bogotá on a Friday and wasn’t due to return until Sunday afternoon. Pedro picked me up after she departed and we went out to grab some lunch. He drove a nice sedan but nothing too flashy that would draw attention. As we made our way around parts of the city he would occasionally stop when he saw someone he knew. They would approach the car to say hello and I always noticed they addressed him as patrón.
Patrón is often used by the mafia for boss. It is a mark of respect. Pablo Escobar was known as ‘El Patrón de los Patrones’ or ‘The Boss of Bosses’.
‘Hola patrón’. Hi boss, some would say.
While others offered, ‘Cómo estás, patrón?’ How are you, boss?
It was clear that Pedro had garnered a lot of respect in the city. He told me he always treated everyone equally, regardless of their position in life. It didn’t matter if it was a wealthy local or poor man operating a food cart by the side of the road. Pedro treated them all with equal respect and so, too, did they in return. He didn’t like beggars, though, as he said they weren’t even making an effort to work.
The following evening Pedro came down to the tienda for a few beers and he looked concerned. We sat down and he began to tell me what was on his mind.
‘Who is Sofia?’ he asked.
‘What do you mean?’ I replied. He already knew her so I wasn’t sure what angle he was coming from with the question.
He proceeded to tell me that he had had someone follow her on her trip to Bogotá and she had been seen entering a government building. I could see the paranoia building within him.
I didn’t know what to say. I was speechless. Not to mention stunned with the revelation that he had actually had someone follow my girlfriend while she travelled interstate. I told him that I had no idea where she was going while in Bogotá and I couldn’t explain why she would be going into a government building. It was totally understandable, though, given she was a lawyer.
He seemed content with my answer, at least to my face. However he still wasn’t sure about Sofia and warned, ‘Be careful with her’.
That night I began to wonder about the whole situation. It felt surreal. Was Sofia playing me in order to get to Pedro? No, that couldn’t be as I had met Sofia before meeting Pedro. Was I being followed too? My mind was spinning. Pedro’s paranoia was ru
bbing off on me!
There is an expression in poker that goes, ‘Look around the poker table; if you can’t see the sucker, you’re it’. I felt like I was in a movie and I was the sucker. I felt vulnerable.
I couldn’t call Sofia and ask about her movements as that would have been too obvious. I would have also come across as a psychopathic, possessive boyfriend. No, I just had to relax and wait for her to return to Cali.
I was eager to get to the bottom of whatever was going on, if indeed there was anything at all. I asked to meet with her not long after she returned to Cali. This is where I had to tread carefully. I needed her to tell me exactly where she had been and what she was doing there and, when questioning her, I needed to be careful not to reveal what I already knew.
I began the conversation asking if it was a good trip and where had she been. She would tell me one thing and I would prod her in the direction I wanted the conversation to go. Yes, she had been to a government building and she explained what she was doing there. She was going for job interviews. I was relieved. She didn’t hide anything from me. She had been exactly where Pedro had told me she had been. Everything seemed in order. I reported the good news back to Pedro who took my word for it, although I don’t know if he was ever really satisfied.
Pedro never mentioned it again but, nevertheless, things seemed to be getting a little hairy. So, with that, I thought it was a fitting time to move on and see more of the country. A couple of days later, I took a bus bound for the big smoke.
5
