Police relocated him in 1993, but he was killed as he tried to flee from authorities. Pablo Escobar surrendered to the Colombian police in 1991, but escaped during a prison transfer a year later. Jung’s life story was portrayed in the 2001 movie Blow. He was released from prison in 2014 but was arrested again in 2016 for violating parole. George Jung served nearly 20 years for drug-smuggling. He was eventually convicted and sentenced to 40 years in prison on eight counts of drug trafficking, money laundering and racketeering.ħ Groundbreaking Inventions by Latino Innovators General Noriega surrendered to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 1989 when the United States invaded Panama. In 1987, the Colombian National Police captured Carlos Lehder and extradited him to the United States, where he was sentenced to life in prison without parole plus 135 years. officials found out that the Medellin cartel had a hit list that included American embassy members, their families, journalists and businessmen.

Bush created the South Florida Drug Task Force to combat cocaine trade through Miami, where violence involving traffickers was steadily increasing.Īfter learning of the Medellin cartel’s undertakings in Panama, a Miami federal grand jury indicted the group’s top leaders in 1984. In 1982, Panamanian General Manuel Noriega allowed Medellin drug lord Pablo Escobar to ship cocaine through Panama.Īround this time, Vice President George H.W. Manuel Noriega and the Panamanian Drug Trade This treaty became a significant concern for Columbian traffickers. and Colombian governments ratified a bilateral extradition treaty in 1981. Drug traffickers retaliated by killing 40 people during one weekend in what became known as the “Medellin Massacre.” The event triggered years of violence that led to assassinations, kidnappings and raids.ĭuring the peak of its reign, the Medellin cartel brought in up to $60 million a day in drug profits. In 1975, Colombian police seized 600 kilos of cocaine from a plane. The Medellin Cartel, an organized group of drug suppliers and smugglers based in the city of Medellin, Colombia, began operating during this time.

In the late 1970s, the illegal cocaine trade became a major moneymaking opportunity throughout the world. The number of people dependent on heroin in the United States soared to 750,000 during these years.

In 1971, reports showed 15 percent of active soldiers were heroin addicts, and many more smoked marijuana or used other drugs. involvement in the Vietnam War led to a boost in heroin being smuggled into the United States between the years 1965-1970.ĭrug use among Vietnam soldiers was widespread. The Mafia’s participation in drug trade was sometimes known as the “French Connection” because smugglers in New York City would seize shipments of Turkish opium that arrived from Paris and Marseilles, France.

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