One of Colombia’s most notorious drug lords, Fabio Ochoa, has been released from prison in Florida, United States. Ochoa, a key figure in Pablo Escobar’s infamous Medellin cartel, is expected to be deported back to Colombia soon.
Ochoa, 67, was released on Tuesday, December 3, 2024 after completing 25 years of his 30-year prison sentence. Ochoa and his older brother made a significant fortune by trafficking cocaine when the trade was at its height in the late 1970s to early 1980s.
According to US law enforcement, Ochoa was so rich that he was included in the 1987 edition of Forbes magazine’s billionaires list. While living in Miami, he ran a distribution center for the Medellin cartel.
Fabio Ochoa: youngest son of an elite Medellin family
Unlike many of his counterparts in drug trafficking, Ochoa was from an elite Medellin family known for ranching and horse breeding. He was the youngest son in the family.
Despite his privileged upbringing, Ochoa went on to enter Colombia’s violent drug underworld. By the late 1980s, he had been indicted in the US due to his alleged role in the 1986 murder of Barry Seal, a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) informant.
Seal was later portrayed by Tom Cruise in the 2017 movie, American Made.
El peligroso narcotraficante Fabio Ochoa Vasquez, pariente de @AlvaroUribeVel , queda en libertad, luego de purgar condena en los Estados Unidos pic.twitter.com/uV4ja82icf
— Bandalos (@BandalosSC) December 5, 2024
Ochoa’s first arrest, however, was not on US soil. In 1990, he was arrested in Colombia via a program being pushed by the Colombian government that promised drug lords would not be extradited to the US if captured. At the time of his arrest, Ochoa was included in the US government’s list of “Dozen Most Wanted” Colombian drug lords.
Ochoa was extradited to the US in 2001
Despite Ochoa’s earlier brushes with the law, it was not until 2001 that he was finally extradited to the US. Along with 40 other individuals, he was identified by Miami authorities as part of a drug smuggling conspiracy.
Ochoa was the only one who chose to go to trial, which resulted in a 30-year sentence in prison. Most of the other individuals involved in the conspiracy got lighter sentences because they cooperated with the US government.
In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Richard Gregorie, a retired assistant US attorney who prosecuted and convicted Ochoa, said that US authorities were never able to seize the Ochoa family’s assets and drug profits. He also said that he expects Ochoa, who is notorious in Colombia, will have a welcome return home.
At the height of his power, it is estimated that Ochoa’s fortune was worth an estimated US$6 billion. It is unknown what happened to some of the assets that Ochoa had amassed, but there has been growing speculation that his fortune had been hidden away or transferred to some of his former associates. Either way, Gregorie does not expect Ochoa to have a “poor man’s retirement.”
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