Politicians were considered a long-term investment. Jorge was born on February 6, 1915 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.. Jorge is one of the famous and trending celeb who is popular for being a Actor. The Colombian television series En la boca del lobo focuses on the years Salcedo worked for the Cali Cartel. Cartel bosses launched an internal bloodbath targeting other extraditables. 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. Call us today to schedule an appointment. Yes, well, William Rodriguez was his oldest son and his successor. With two U.S. agents, the team of Colombian national police poured silently into the building. Between sources like the army sergeant, the police captain and others, my bosses and I were kept informed about dates, times and places for raids and such things as which cartel cars were being followed and what phone numbers were being tapped. The drug bosses there, engaged in a feud with drug lord Pablo Escobar and the Medellin cartel, summoned the 41-year-old engineer in 1989. Both the sergeant and the captain were among hundreds of police and military officers fired for corruption. Jorge Salcedos contacts with The Times began with a handshake in Miami during a brief court appearance in October 1998. 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. Now that your story is so central to a very popular TV show internationally, do you worry that it might revive interest in you? Accompanied by two U.S. agents, the 15-man team of Colombian national police poured silently into the building. But more than a decade after betraying his bosses, Salcedos life remains in jeopardy. And what do you think? Salcedo pleaded guilty in Miami to a single count of racketeering. . He had emerged bleeding, injured by a power drill. But behind the bloodless fall of the ruthless Orejuela brothers and collapse of their $7-billion-a-year empire lies a little-known story of daring and betrayal. Jorge Salcedo told the judge that he joined in the college admissions bribery scheme because he was desperate for cash after buying a house his family couldn't afford. Now I was against Pablo Escobar., ALMOST immediately, Salcedo helped devise an assault on. That day I didn't do that. He held degrees in mechanical engineering and industrial economics. The family became most concerned about accountant Pallomari. The cartel had important friends in the military, too from helicopter pilots to generals. So even though I am an engineer and I have a degree and all that, it was in my namemy old name. He stayed close to Miguel and his family, at every opportunity sharing car rides and meeting with them alone to let his vulnerability erode suspicions. I left my name in Colombia when I entered the U.S. witness protection program 16 years ago. The mostly British mercenaries were in hotels for nearly two months awaiting orders to attack. The Cali brothers earlier had dispatched an unsuccessful hit squad to Medellin, 155 miles northwest of the capital. The bosses handed out $20,000 checks like hospitality gifts. But descending through clouds, one chopper hit a mountaintop. Join CNN Opinion on Facebook and follow updates on Twitter, The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jorge Salcedo. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. It was very risky, but I was trapped in a nightmare, in a totally corrupt environment. I started using very high-level equipment for communications and location detection. SEARCH . They got right to the point. The two factions agreed, and Jorge worked with the commandos to develop a plan of attack. One night, a police raid was scheduled to arrest Pallomari at a hiding place. Salcedo was a prime suspect, one of only five to 10 people who knew where Miguel was hiding. And what stories did you tell Eric? Detailed profile of Jorge Salcedo, a Family Practice specialist in Cypress TX, providing phone numbers, practice locations, specialties and more. It was not an invitation I could refuse, he said. But descending through a cloud bank, one of the choppers hit a mountaintop. Searchers dismantled the desk. Salcedo used it to help steer accountant Pallomari toward the DEA. Salcedos story is told in the book, At the Devils Table The Untold Story of the Insider Who Brought Down the Cali Cartel, by journalist William C. Rempel. Entertainment Weekly tracked down the real-life Jorge Salcedo - the security head of the Cali Cartel who was central in bringing down the empire and now lives under witness protection in the US. Id never seen so much money. He has done an inestimable service to the U.S. and Colombia, said his lawyer, Robert F. Dunlap of Miami. Luckily for us, the good people at Netflix were able to connect us to Salcedo for an exclusive interview. I had nothing to do with drugs. [3][pageneeded], In 1995, Gilberto Rodrguez Orejuela was captured by a joint task-force in Cali. But it was the would-be assassins who ended up dead. It was arranged he would die in custody. The new constitution included a no-extradition provision for native Colombians. AFP/Getty Images Editor's Note: Jorge Salcedo is a former member of the Cali drug cartel, and his work with authorities helped destroy the organization. I did not feel I was a criminal, Salcedo recalled. How did you get involved with this project? The man has lost much of what he once took for granted: his home, his country, his name, even his past. No, no. 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. In Bogota, the Clinton administration pressed Colombian political leaders to arrest major traffickers. Inside the apartment they found no one. Lauren Isackson was listed as a. 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.. Federal prosecutor Edward Ryan called the defection a very personal betrayal to the Cali bosses, leaving the man marked for death. How did you get involved in the first place? So, how much is Jorge Salcedo worth at the age of 73 years old? The families were huge. Local police helped. All I did that night was go to my most secure location to secure my most beloved possession on earth, which is my family. I was born in Puerto Rico, and raised in Nicaragua, Central America. No. There was public outrage. The attack had to be abandoned. Salcedo insisted the drug lord was there. Since then, the entire Cali cartel hierarchy has been extradited, thanks to Salcedo. It was a very bad idea, but they sent me anyway. His father is a retired general of the Colombia national army called Jorge Salcedo Victoria. He is a new king who has to prove to his dad and everybody else that he's capable. All rights reserved. He started his career designing forklifts and other machinery. You can reach Jorge Alexis Salcedo via email. Jorge Salcedo Cabrera (born November 25, 1947) is a Colombian civil engineer, countersurveillance specialist, and former head of security for Miguel Rodrguez Orejuela and the Cali Cartel who turned confidential informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration. Under threat of arrest, the U.S. agents and Serranos team abandoned their search for Miguel Orejuela. But the six assassins ended up dead. He told Pallomari he was about to be arrested and would die in jail. I said, Guillermo, Ive been taking care of you a lot. . Thanks to Salcedo, the entire Cali cartel hierarchy was extradited. Instead, it ends up being an execution. But it was not the end of the Cali cartel. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. Dr. Jorge Salcedo is a health care provider primarily located in El Paso, TX. But people should know what I know now. I had nothing to do with drugs, he said. The thick top concealed a secret compartment. After Jorge determined Miguel's location, the DEA agents planned a raid of the apartment complex. In the summer of 1995, some of those hits were Salcedos responsibility to carry out -- including cartel chief accountant Guillermo Pallomari, a Chilean. Salcedo Family Care 715 Discovery Blvd Ste 111, Cedar Park, TX, 78613 (512) 782-8010 OVERVIEW Dr. Salcedo graduated from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma De Honduras Facultad De Ciencias. There was no turning back for Salcedo. Was that true to life? 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. Miguel, the younger of the two Orejuela brothers, was even more direct: He wanted Escobar dead. So all of a sudden the scene became violent. The drug boss had just been rescued from an escape vault with the help of a local police captain. Leave your condolences to the family on this memorial page or send flowers to show you care. These guys are too bad. Today I am in the late 60s. So your first assignment was to nail Pablo Escobar? So I established connections with very high-level companies in Great Britain. And William would be there, and he was given jobs too. In turn, identifying opportunities that were missed by everyone else. Salcedo was born on November 25, 1947, in Bogot, Colombia. After leaving. As U.S. prosecutor Ryan later would note, then the bodies began to show up., THE far-flung cartel was directed by Cali-based Colombians, but its operatives included many non-. Salcedo knew that if the DEA agents were identified, their case would be blown and his life would be in even more jeopardy. Another attempt with a car bomb succeeded only in injuring one of Escobars children. He took the police aside and pulled out 500 pesos. In addition to living quarters, it contained a large swimming pool, a tennis court and half of a soccer field. They wanted to take care of all the politics and people around, because there was now a change in the importance of the Rodiguez brothers [now that Escobar had been eliminated]. One of the few who consistently knew where to find them was Salcedo. 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.. In Miami, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents targeted the Cali cartels distribution organizations. I had to go. From deep inside the U.S. witness-protection program, the official has shared his story in conversations with the Los Angeles Times. appreciated.