NCJ Number
152436
Date Published
1994
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This report describes the involvement of the Colombian Cali Cartel in cocaine trafficking; its operations in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States; and drug law enforcement operations against the Cali Cartel.
Abstract
Cocaine remains readily available throughout the United States at relatively low prices and high purity. It is the predominate illegal drug used in virtually all major U.S. cities. The Cali Cartel supplies most of this cocaine. Multinational counterdrug efforts crippled the Medellin Cartel, which dominated the international cocaine trade in the 1980's and into the early 1990's. The Cali Cartel, a loose association of five independent trafficking organizations, took advantage of the Colombian Government's focus on the Medellin Cartel by consolidating its control of the international cocaine trade. Each year, the Cali Cartel smuggles hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States and Europe and launders billions of dollars in drug proceeds. The Cali Cartel kingpins manage criminal enterprises that employ thousands throughout Latin America, Europe, and the United States. These employees include investors, bankers, lawyers, logistics experts, exporters, importers, chemists, wholesalers, and retailers. Drug law enforcement efforts have targeted drug production, drug transportation, communications, wholesale drug distribution, and drug money laundering. This report also briefly profiles the eight Cali Cartel kingpins.