- Hélmer Herrera
Francisco Hélmer Herrera Buitrago also known as "Pacho" and "H7", (born on
August 24 ,1951 in Palmira, Valle del Cauca - Died onNovember 4 ,1998 in Palmira, Valle del Cauca) was aColombia n drug trafficker, fourth in command in theCali Cartel . Believed to be the son of Benjamin Herrera Zuleta, an Afro-Colombian smuggler known as the "Black Pope."cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,157350,00.html |publisher=Time Magazine |date=June 24, 2001 |title=Cover Stories: New Kings of Coke |author=Elaine Shannon Washington]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 . In 1975 and later in 1978 Herrera was arrested on distribution charges in New York City for selling cocaine.cite news|url=http://www.terra.com.co/actualidad/nacional/22-12-2003/nota127807.html |title=Los bienes de 'Pacho' Herrera |date=December 22, 2003 |publisher=El Tiempo es icon] cite book|title=Transnational Criminal Organizations, Cybercrime, and Money Laundering: A Handbook for Law Enforcement Officers, Auditors, and Financial Investigators |author=James R. Richards |pages=21, 20 |publisher=CRC Press |year=1998] cite news|title=Surrender of Last Cali Mafia Leader |publisher=United States Drug Enforcement Administration |date=September 4, 1996 |url=http://www.dea.gov/pubs/pressrel/pr960904.htm]Cali Cartel
It is believed in 1983 Herrera went to
Cali , 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 throughMexico with connection he had previously established. In conjunction with new trafficking routes, Herrera also ran one of the "... most sophisticated and profitablemoney laundering operations" according to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. Herrera was soon promoted to Cali cartel kingpin and given control over the southern Cali city ofJamundí and northern Cali cities Palmira andYumbo .cite book|title=The Bullet Or the Bribe: Taking Down Colombia's Cali Drug Cartel |author=Ron Chepesiuk |pages=238, 25, 67 |publisher=Praeger Publishers |year=2003]The Herrera operation according to the DEA involved importing cocaine base from
Peru andBolivia , which would be trafficked via his own transportation to conversion laboratories in Colombia. It is believed Herrera hired guerrilla forces such asFuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia ( _en. Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) (FARC) and then guerrilla group19th of April Movement ( _es. Movimiento 19 de Abril, M-19), to guard remote lab sites.During the narco-terror war waged by
Pablo Escobar on the Colombian Government, it is believed a hiredassassin 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 bykidnap ping and killing Gustavo Gaviria, cousin to Pablo Escobar.cite book|title=Cocaine: An Unauthorized Biography |author=Dominic Streatfeild |pages=360 |year=2002 |publisher=Thomas Dunne Books]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 oncellular phone s. 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.cite book|title=DEA History: Part 2 |publisher=United States Drug Enforcement Administration |url=http://www.usdoj.gov/dea//pubs/history/history_part2.pdf |year=2003|format=PDF]On September 1, 1996, Herrera turned himself in at the
Colombian National Police unit, theSearch Bloc , ( _es. Bloque de Busqueda). Herrera was the last of the seven leaders of the Cali Cartel to be captured.References
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