Drug Mafia

If you thought that the combined pressures of a terror hunt with Al Qaeda, diplomatic ring dance with the United Nations, controversial, $100b war in Iraq, arms race with China, sparking conflict with North Korea, flagging public opinion and a devastated economy were not enough to keep President Bush tossing and turning at night, one of his last burden was: helping Columbia fight in its civil war.

Columbian President Alvaro Uribe pledged his country’s support for the war in Iraq. He painted an articulate portrait of his country’s enduring struggles with drug lords, urging the U.S. to devote support to his cause.

President Uribe did not need to fight a war. He needed U.S. to stop a war. It is a war they have fought since 1968 with no success; a war that has placed billions of dollars into the hands of mobsters and terrorists. It is a war that has led to the wreckage and trauma of much of Central America costing U.S. 19 billion dollars a year and sending illegal aliens flooding over U.S. borders. It is called Drug War.

The United States had difficulties in handling the unchecked flow of aliens swarming her borders. These aliens are often poor and illiterate with large families to care for. This makes them a burden on social services and law enforcement. They take jobs that would otherwise go to legal natives and are willing to work for pitiful pay.

They sometimes carry diseases with them. With the Immigration and Naturalization Service bought off by powerful interests ( according to Michelle Malkin’s book, “Invasion” ) and falling apart at the seams, the money needed to round up millions of illegal aliens is beyond comprehension and sanity. It would also violate the human rights of the migrants.

U.S. close their eyes as a drug mafia rose up south of their borders. They shrugged their proud American shoulders as illegal drug profits flowed into the coffers of monstrosities such as the Cali cartel, Hizbollah, the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

The drug trade eventually became a formidable political force in Central America. It has undermined democracy, recruited children into private militias, disrupted normal life with their incessant turf wars and killed, kidnapped and made refugees of people who tried to stop it. Neck deep in overpopulation and poverty, the people were rendered helpless.

The illegal drug trade has retarded the development of third world countries, turning them into playgrounds for a criminal elite. Legalizing drugs will bring down this criminal elite by allowing everyone to grow and sell drugs, not just the few who can get around the laws. It will let stability reign for a change south of the border, curbing an immigration crisis that is threatening to swallow U.S. whole.

ARREST OF CALI MAFIA LEADER JOSE SANTACRUZ-LONDONO

The Colombian Government had arrested Jose Santacruz-Londono, one of the leaders of the Cali mafia. The arrest of Santacruz-Londono in Bogota, Columbia is another crippling blow to the Cali mafia. Coupled with the arrest last year of Gilberto Rodriguez-Orejuela, this action by the Columbian National Police demonstrates that the Cali mafia is not invincible. Santacruz-Londono has long been a vicious player in the international cocaine trade.

Constantine said that he hoped “the Columbian Government would keep up the momentum” and continue their efforts against the Cali mafia.”The Columbian National Police has done an outstanding job to date and general Serrano is to be commended for his leadership and dedication.”

Santacruz-Londono’s cocaine distribution and money laundering operation centers around the New York metropolitan area. In 1992, the DEA seized two cocaine conversion laboratories in Brooklyn, New York, that were directly linked to Santacruz-Londono. He is considered one of the most violent members of the Cali mafia and is an expert manager of worldwide cocaine distribution, as well as production and money laundering.The Cali mafia is responsible for 80 percent of the world’s cocaine supply and has an estimated annual income of $7 billion ( 8 times larger than the DEA budget ). Financial records indicate Santacruz-Londono’s net worth at several billion dollars.

Records indicate two known arrests for Santacruz-Londono. The first occurred in 1976 when he travelled from New York to Costa Rica on a U.S. passport. The second took place in 1977 when he was arrested in Queens, New York by the New York City Police on weapons charges. He served no jail time. Santacruz-Londono has been a DEA fugitive since April 1980 and has been indicted four times in the United States, most recently in the Cali lawyer case ( Operation Cornerstone ) in Miami. Constantine said that he hoped that “the Columbian Government would keep up the momentum” and continue their efforts against the Cali mafia.

Santacruz-Londono the number three leader of the Cali drug mafia, was taken into custody on July 4th by Columbian National Police at 8:00 pm while he dined at the Carbon de Polo Restaurant in Bogota, Columbia.Santacruz-Londono is one of the premier drug traffickers in the world, who has been involved in large-scale cocaine trafficking since 1970. The Santacruz organization operates in the United States primarily in New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Las Vegas and Chicago. DEA investigations also have tied Santacruz-Londono to drug money laundering operations in various cities in Europe and the Americas.

In addition to drug trafficking, Santacruz is wanted for the 1989 assassination of former Antioquia ( Columbia )Governor Antonio Roldan Betancur and is linked to the 1992 murder of journalist Manuel de Dios Unanue in New york.

Constantine said: ”In its war against the Cali drug mafia, the Columbian Government is to be commended for this arrest and for the recent arrest of Gilberto Rodriguez-Orejuela. However, major mafia leaders like Santacruz-Londono and Rodriguez-Orojuela must be prosecuted and punished to the extent commensurate with their nefarious criminal activities and cannot be permitted to manage their operations from prison.”