So there's one very tense scene in the show where you're taken to a farmhouse for what you thought would be a meeting. The MCUs tiniest heroes are kicking off its biggest phase yet, setting up the next several years of storytelling. Not much has been said about what sort of person was I. It was a bonus for the captains help getting the boss away from a police raid. Within days, Salcedo and Kacerosky were on the phone and Kacerosky landed one of the most remarkable confidential informants in international crime. At the same time, rival cocaine cartels were warring with one another, killing scores of police, judges, politicians and innocent bystanders. When I agreed to assist U.S. drug enforcement agents 16 years ago, the Cali cartel was making $7 billion a year. Because Pablo Escobar at that time had already made an attempt to kill Miguel Rodriguez with a bomb explosion maybe less than a half-mile from where he lived. This account is based on those interviews, corroborated by court records, sworn testimony and additional interviews with federal agents involved in the case. It was one of those things, I think the DEA guys did that. In 1995, some hits were Salcedos responsibility, including cartel chief accountant Guillermo Pallomari, a Chilean. The next morning, he caught the first Avianca flight to Cali. He said, "Well, I know someone who's good. They saw the broken desk and holes in the walls and found the search team lacked a proper warrant. The youngest boss, Pacho Herrera, sometimes liked to use local police as sentries at his home. Only three fit, stacked in the passenger cabin. Still no sign of Miguel, the agents told him. After the failed raid Salcedo continued monitoring the communications of national police and rival cartel. But the six assassins ended up dead. I came here to protect you and your family, but I left my business behind, so I'm done." Desperate for protection from what they feared most -- extradition to the United States -- the cartel bosses poured millions of dollars into the bank accounts of Colombian politicians. Salcedo entered the Colombian army in 1982. UPDATE, March 23, 6:12 a.m.: Former UCLA soccer coach Jorge Salcedo said he couldn't afford the $1.9 million Century City home he bought for his family in 2016. Make a telehealth appointment online with Dr. Jorge Salcedo, MD, a family physician in Cedar Park, TX. Miguel, the younger of the two Orejuela brothers, was more direct: He wanted Escobar, the most powerful criminal in the world, dead. But descending through a cloud bank, one of the choppers hit a mountaintop. 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. There was public outrage. The entire cartel brain trust would go to jail in exchange for a limited five-year sentence to be served at a prison built, or substantially remodeled, at cartel expense. Toggle navigation . At a sentencing hearing, he was praised by agents and prosecutors who recommended leniency. Another attempt with a massive car bomb succeeded only in injuring one of Escobars. Oh yes, that was a very tense moment. One day in the summer of 1994, Salcedo was dispatched along with the cartels chief enforcer to a farmhouse outside Cali. He was portrayed in the series by Matias Varela (above). However, this defiant personality was sheltering a man capable of seeing things from another perspective. It seemed sometimes that they all had their hands out. The family became most concerned about accountant Pallomari. He can also be found . One of the few who consistently knew where to find them was Salcedo. Sec Familia explica. The police demanded identity papers and prepared to search their cars. YA ESTAMOS EN INCUMPLIMIENTO. Whereas his previous role involved avoiding detection from Escobar's network, Salcedo now assisted Cali's men with avoiding detection by the National Police of Colombia. It was very risky, but I was trapped in a nightmare, in a totally corrupt environment. Where were you? The former Jorge Salcedo remains in hiding -- his location unknown even to his lawyer -- somewhere in the United States. Just hide, have many places, change routes and change communications, and create a kind of a wrong idea of where you are. If I was seen talking to an American, I would be killed, he said. He became proficient in electronic surveillance, which drew him into counterterrorism assignments. And I witnessed many, many millions more. Miguel heard them too late. My primary job in the Cali cartel was security for one of four godfathers, Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela, the daily operations boss. 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. They noted the physical damage -- broken desk and holes in the walls -- and found that the search team lacked a proper warrant. [3][pageneeded] In the aftermath, Salcedo was demoted. But suddenly police surrounded them. Inside the apartment they found no one. I did not feel I was a criminal, Salcedo recalled. In January Salcedo agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery for his role in the admissions scandal. Besides law enforcement, the cartel bought a piece of Colombias justice system with payoffs to prosecutors who lost evidence, misplaced paperwork, blocked search warrants or released prisoners before they could be questioned. I had to go. They have 32 years of experience. 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. After Jorge determined Miguel's location, the DEA agents planned a raid of the apartment complex. In the whole truth, I'm not proud of what I did in general, but I'm proud of what I did in capturing Miguel and bringing down the cartel. Accompanied by two U.S. agents, the 15-man team of Colombian national police poured silently into the building. Former UCLA All-American Jorge Salcedo is in his 15th season as head coach for the Bruins, making him the second-longest tenured men's soccer head coach in UCLA history. But cartel-friendly police arrived. Pam Grier reflects on her most iconic roles, from. [1] His father was a member of the Colombian military. Federal drug agents would have to prove that the cartel leaders continued to operate their smuggling empire from prison, after the extradition ban was lifted. [3][pageneeded], Mario del Basto's arrest in 1995 promoted Salcedo to the cartel's chief of security. The former Jorge Salcedo remains in hiding his location unknown even to his lawyer in the United States. The soft-spoken family man once known as Jorge Salcedo was an unlikely drug-gang recruit. 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. On a cartel radiophone he overheard a call between Miguel and his son, William. He had emerged bleeding, injured by a power drill. A former University of Southern California, Los Angeles men's soccer coach was sentenced to eight months behind bars Friday for pocketing $200,000 in bribes to help applicants get into the school . I dont know where to direct your call, the voice in Langley responded, according to Salcedo. I told myself I was not one of them.. Im calling from Cali, Colombia, and I have important information on how to locate the heads of the cartel.. The ploy deflected suspicion. Pacho Herrera Goes To War Against Pablo Escobar. contact us email us 512-782-8010 I had been fighting against the guerrillas. Mason Park Medical Clinic. He told Pallomari he was about to be arrested and would die in jail. We had about 150 persons dedicated to caring for the safety of these people, Salcedo recalled. I love spending time with Katherine and my two boys, Christian and Ryan. Four drug traffickers and members of the now-defunct Cali Cartel cover faces on January 15, 2009, in Bogota. For his service, the relocated Colombian received rewards of about $1.7 million. He saw traitors everywhere.. About that time, however, cartel-friendly police arrived at the search site. All Rights Reserved. WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Jorge Salcedo told the judge that he joined in the college admissions bribery scheme because he was desperate for . For years he had protected the bosses, their wives and children. The U.S. DEA agents insisted on taking him into protective custody immediately. Corruption is the oxygen that keeps organized crime alive. The Colombian government now knew he had worked for the Cali cartel. Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. 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. In Colombia, even honest people have to deal with the cartels.. 9.2 miles away from Jorge Salcedo, MD. Thus was Salcedo drafted into the Cali cartel. Salcedo met Carlo Cordova while serving in the Colombian Army and was recruited into Cordova's security firm, which provided security to the Cali cartel. From somewhere deep inside the federal witness protection program that harbors him and his family, he has shared pieces of his story in sporadic telephone conversations with a reporter. Jorge married first name Salcedo (born Padilla). They did just that. We had about 150 persons dedicated to caring for the safety of these people, Salcedo recalled. They knew he helped plan the aborted raid on the guerrillas. The pilot was killed. And what do you think? There were suspicions of a leak, Salcedo said. U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler agreed, noting Salcedos service rendered to this country and actions that saved the lives of a number of people.. They said, "We need somebody like you to protect us." He and his bodyguard were gunned down as they tried to flee across the rooftops. First, some background: I used to be Jorge Salcedo. In telephone interviews ranging from a few minutes to more than an hour, he shared details of his role in the cartel and occasional frustrations with life in U.S. exile. They just changed my functions. Did those dangers include the North Valley cartel depicted in Season 3? But in Cali, Salcedo found personal safety as he settled in to managing security for the Orejuela family. They could do this to anybody. They had one child. The policemen took the 500 pesos and drove off. Dr. Jorge Salcedo, is a specialist in family medicine who treats patients in El Paso, TX. Jorge Salcedo is a member of famous Actor list. Find the obituary of Jorge Salcedo (1960 - 2020) from Winter Garden, FL. I had nothing to do with drugs. This eventually begins to crack their relationship, till Jorge agreed to be an informant for the DEA.With Jorge's help, the DEA and the Search Bloc succeeded in bringing . Listening in on the phone conversation, Salcedos only thought: What a nightmare. Well, it's been a very different life from what people usually do at this time [in their life]. 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. A gun battle erupted, leaving several people dead. He was relocated to the U.S. along with his wife and children in 1995 and taken into the federal witness protection program. So I got into the meeting, and I was able to tell him what was happening [with the police], so I was able to earn his trust. My role kept changing. Salcedo in his silver Mazda sedan was joined on an isolated dirt road by two U.S. agents crammed into a small, rented car. He attended the University of Los Andes, from which he earned a degree in industrial economics. Instead, it ends up being an execution. He held university degrees in mechanical engineering and industrial economics. As lo exige el Gobierno Federal. Its secret chamber gave up a trove of records that delighted Serrano 30,000 checks, cartel payments to police, 150 politicians, reporters, everyone, Salcedo said. But Salcedo refused, knowing more time was needed to evacuate his family from Colombia. In the wrong hands, his records of bribes and business dealings posed a greater threat to cartel operations than confinement in a Colombian jail. Military leaders grew restless because of the security failings of an impotent and corrupt government and tried to fill the vacuum, sometimes taking military actions without approval from officials in Bogota, the capital. It doesn't make sense that I'm going to go kill a killer. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Salcedo was escorted to a wing of the residence that contained Miguels offices -- with marble floors, wood paneling, leather furniture, fine porcelain and four cartel dons who were waiting to see him. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. The shooter ran to Pacho Herrera for protection. I said, Guillermo, Ive been taking care of you a lot. . So they needed to capture all the politicians onto their side. The son was an officer in the army reserves, but he regarded himself more as an engineer than a soldier. Salcedo, 47, pleaded guilty . They never got into their brains that the best thing they should have done is to give up and say "Hey, Pablo is gone, we're done." Pallomari did not trust the cartels chief of security, but he went to another hideout. Many safe houses conceal vaults in the walls for escapes. 1 review of Jorge Salcedo, MD "I live out of state and my daughter( F/17)lives and goes to school out here. [5], Before being extradited by the DEA, Salcedo argued that Guillermo Pallomari must be extracted. The enforcer insisted that Salcedo accompany him. Searchers dismantled the desk. They had already developed another enemy, the Norte Valley. Rosenthal's arrest led to Salcedo being introduced to Chris Feistl and David Mitchell, two Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents operating in Cali. So even though I am an engineer and I have a degree and all that, it was in my namemy old name. Salcedo did say, however, that one of the main reasons why he helped the DEA take down the Cali Cartel was to protect his family. All I did that night was go to my most secure location to secure my most beloved possession on earth, which is my family. The cartel had important friends in the military, too from helicopter pilots to generals. But they have some information that somebody killed him, I don't know how. He's played by Matias Varela, a. [2] Salcedo lived in Kansas for two years while his father attended the United States Army Command and General Staff College, after which the family moved back to Colombia. Enter Salcedo. So I thought, why don't I use my knowledge for more. But the first five years, I was dedicated to helping my family, to help them accommodate to the lifestyle of the United States. All six of them. Key operatives were arrested and had to be bribed, or killed, to keep silent. For Jorge Salcedo, who made vengeful enemies of the most notorious crime bosses in the drug world, hiding has been a way of life for nearly two decades. Some targeted rich drug lords. A police raid was scheduled one night to arrest Pallomari at a hiding place. The cash was disguised as a birthday present, about the size of a large shoebox, wrapped in red paper with gold trim. (Getty, Realtor.com) Former UCLA soccer coach Jorge Salcedo said he couldn't afford the $1.9 million Century City home he bought for his family in 2016.. But whatever it was, I got the picture. [3][pageneeded] At this initial meeting, the Cali godfathers asked Jorge to coordinate an attack on Pablo Escobar, a rival drug cartel leader. Four weeks after the failed raid that left Miguel wounded, another police team arrived outside an apartment building in Cali. The thick top concealed a secret compartment. The new constitution included a no-extradition provision for native Colombians. [3][pageneeded] He entered the Federal Witness Protection Program, where he remains to this day. My strategy was to avoid confrontation. Salcedo said he responded: When they pressed for information, Salcedo told them: We are homosexuals. In Miami, DEA agents targeted the Cali cartels distribution organizations. It was an absurd idea. I wanted to go to someone, but I didnt even know on what door to knock, he said. This time, it follows the richest cartel in history, the Cali Cartel, which rose to high echelons in the drug trafficking ring thanks to the vacuum left by Pablo . Under threat of arrest, the U.S. agents and Serranos team abandoned their search for Miguel Orejuela. If that call didn't happen, I most likely wouldn't be alive. Narcos recap: You Will Cry Tears of Blood. I wanted to be questioned. In Bogota, the Clinton administration pressed Colombian political leaders to arrest major traffickers. Then, he crossed them. Id never seen so much money. Then there were the two checks signed by Miguel worth about $50,000. Jorge Salcedo Cabrera was a counter-surveillance expert employed by the Cali cartel . Jorge Salcedo is a primary care provider established in Cypress, Texas and his medical specialization is Family Medicine with a focus in adult medicine with more than 30 years of experience. THE wonkish, soft-spoken family man was an unlikely drug gang recruit. [3][pageneeded] On August6, Salcedo and the DEA collaborated on another assault on Miguel, this time on the Hacienda Buenos Aires. But a few months after then, everything was falling. I did not feel I was a criminal, Salcedo recalled. And my wife, in my country she was a lawyer, but she lost all her credentials as such. My role was to be on the outside, make sure the road was clear. Financed by Medellin cartel bosses, he was to organize a paramilitary operation for an assault on a guerrilla mountain fortress called Casa Verde. He also helped agents raid a cartel bomb-making site and a weapons storage warehouse with hundreds of machine guns. All rights reserved. 03 Mar 2023 15:33:39 He became a new king, and my position was: He's the worst enemy I have. I didn't have to be there. I left my name in Colombia when I entered the U.S. witness protection program 16 years ago. I have been in witness protection for 22 years. But people should know what I know now. I got to know I was excluded when I got a call saying I had to get there. At the end of the season, where they finally capture Palomari, they have you waiting outside in a car, where you kill the hitman Navegante in self-defense. Narcos season 3 premiered on Netflix on September 1, much to the joy of fans. However, word of Salcedos role reached Cali, 185 miles southwest of Bogota. Salcedo arrived in Cali in time for a business boom. And I did engineering studies, and I was doing very specialized services for oil refineries and things like that. I was hiding in my apartment with my family, protected like a bunker, loaded with guns and grenades to be able to reject any surprise taking of the apartment. Salcedo later came to work in the field of security. But behind the fall of the ruthless Orejuela brothers and collapse of their $7 billion-a-year empire lies a story of daring and betrayal. That scene where they have me and Miguel locked in a room [where Miguel asks Jorge to stay on as security head] is identical. Well, kind of, Video shows Memphis jailers beating Black inmate before his death. Salcedo was born on November 25, 1947, in Bogot, Colombia. No one took up Salcedos offer of assistance. Salcedo was ordered to arrange an aerial bomb attack on the prison. But the British mercenaries, waiting months for orders to attack, got bored and rowdy. 2005 - 2023 WebMD LLC. The drug boss had just been rescued from an escape vault with the help of a local police captain. Former UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo, 47, broke probation by entering Mexico without permission and without a passport last week He is due to plead guilty on Wednesday to a racketeering charge in US. For his service, the relocated Colombian received rewards of about $1.7 million. Federal prosecutor Edward Ryan called the defection a very personal betrayal to the Cali bosses, leaving the man marked for death. While the scheme was initially designed to be a surprise, bureaucracy led to a prolonged siege of the apartment which ended without an arrest. The pilot was killed. 1 killed when business jet encounters severe turbulence, E-bikes are an environmental dream except out in nature, Sports on TV & radio: Local listings for Seattle games and events, Trump fatigue seeps into right-wing forum that fed MAGA fervor, Doctor: Lesion removed from Biden's chest was cancerous. "I used to be Jorge Salcedo. I will say, though it's horrendous, it's not far from the [actual] happenings. The mostly British mercenaries were in hotels for nearly two months awaiting orders to attack. . By age 15, I was an active volunteer for the Red Cross. Operatives were arrested. [3][pageneeded] He joined the Army Reserve division in Cali. A second assault was planned from Panama. He was removed from his post in the reserve. 2. Calling on a secure phone line from an undisclosed location, Salcedo, now in his late 60s, spoke at length about his time with the cartel, his life since then in the federal witness protection program, and all the things the show gets rightincluding some of the most harrowing scenes. Universidad Nacional Autonoma De Honduras Facultad De Ciencias Medicas. "I have this Forrest Gump-ian way of touching something and it becomes a hit!" He had been summoned to the hide-out to give an impatient Miguel a detailed report. At its peak, the family ran what one U.S. Justice Department official told Congress was the most prolific and successful criminal enterprise in history.. Murdoch has survived scandal after scandal. Former UCLA men's soccer coach Jorge Salcedo pleaded guilty Monday for his role in the college admissions scandal, the US Attorney's Office in Massachusetts said. The dons said Salcedos skills were required to end Escobars reign of terror and protect them and their families. He is still No. Call us today to schedule an appointment. The Colombian drug lords Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela, 63, and Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, 67, entered guilty pleas and were ushered off to federal prison for the next 30 years -- no Miami Vice-like dramatics, no bodies riddled with gunfire in the manner of Medellin rival Pablo Escobar. The practitioner's primary taxonomy code is 207QA0505X with license number M2786 (TX). Jorge Salcedos contacts with The Times began with a handshake in Miami during a brief court appearance in October 1998. Escobar was the most powerful criminal in the world. THE compound of Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela filled a city block. This time he contacted a Miami lawyer he trusted who could make the connections. On August26, 1995, after six-and-a-half years with the cartel, he was extradited to the United States. Colombians susceptible to extradition. Discovery Company. Not with Harleys, they used two Land Cruisers. How did you get involved with this project? [5], Salcedo was portrayed by Matias Varela in the third season of the Netflix-produced television series Narcos. Jorge married Maria SALCEDO (born PHILLIPS RINCON). It bought time. Local authorities closed in. The billionaire fugitives continued to manage the syndicate while moving from one safe house to another. So the family said, "No, no, no, you stay here.". La @CamaraConPR arrastra los pies con la aprobacin de Ley FAMILY FIRST. 1 Former UCLA head men's soccer coach Jorge Salcedo was sentenced to eight months in prison after profiting off a $200,000 bribery scheme that helped student applicants be admitted into the. It should have been the perfect lonely place, Salcedo said. He started his career designing forklifts and other machinery. Finally, Escobar was sent to prison. We Are Accepting New Patients! He became proficient in electronic surveillance, which increasingly drew him into counter-terrorism assignments. I see police and judicial corruption as the biggest price of organized crime. I had no option. Two armed helicopters flew a team of Salcedos mercenaries to a mountain staging area. They treated him like a crackpot -- I confirmed that, drug enforcement agent Edward J. Kacerosky testified years later. That day I didn't do that. In the show, they also depict you as someone who had a plan to leave the cartel to start your own security firm. I spent more than six years in the biggest, richest syndicate in the history of crime the Cali cartel. Years later, he was a consultant for "Narcos" and worked closely with the showrunner Eric Newman. How Marvel went big with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Later he ran an oil recovery business. Its limited cargo space wasnt designed for bombs. Salcedo said he takes. Ryan, the federal prosecutor, in a recent interview called Salcedo one of the countrys least-known heroes, one of the people most responsible for bringing down the most powerful criminals in the world., Ryan still marvels at Salcedos contribution, saying he and federal agents thought at the time that the effort had no more than a 1% chance to succeed., He recalled: You cant imagine just how alone this guy was -- talking on phones that he knew were bugged knowing so well how easily he could be compromised. How has your life under witness protection been? Maria was born in Bucaramanga, Santander del Sur, Colombie. Only three fit, stacked in the passenger cabin. The son was an officer in the army reserves, but he regarded himself more an engineer than a soldier. After top campaign aides acknowledged receiving cartel funds, Samper insisted that if such contributions were made, it was without his knowledge. Dr. Jorge Salcedo, MD is a Family Medicine Specialist in Cedar Park, TX. Jorge Salcedo, 1928 - 2015 Jorge Salcedo was born in 1928, at birth place.