Miguel Ángel Mejía Múnera
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| Miguel Ángel Mejía Múnera | |
|---|---|
| July 11, 1959 | |
 |
|
| Nickname | "El Mellizo" "Pablo Mejía" |
| Place of birth | Cali, Valle del Cauca Colombia |
| Allegiance | United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) Paramilitarism Narcotrafficking |
| Rank | Paramilitary unit commander and narcotics entrepreneur |
| Unit | Bloque Vencedores de Arauca "Los Nevados" drug gang |
Miguel Ángel Mejía Múnera aka "El Mellizo" or "Pablo Mejía" (born July 11, 1959) is a presumed Colombian drug lord and former paramilitary leader. Along with brother Víctor Manuel he created a drug cartel called "Los Nevados" out of a former paramilitary which they bought for US$ million dollars. The cartel buys illegal drugs from Daniel Barrera Barrera another druglord working along with both the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) as well as paramilitaries. .[1]
According to the US Department of State the "Mellizos" have managed multi-ton cocaine transportation routes from the Caribbean Region of Colombia to the United States and Europe since the late 1990s. Their transportation and money laundering organization was conservatively estimated to have transported approximately 68 tons of cocaine over a two-year time period. In 2003 their organization was dismantled during a U.S. multi-jurisdictional effort called Operation Journey. That operation resulted in the seizure of 25 tons of cocaine and the arrest of 43 individuals, however, the Mejía-Múnera brothers escaped.[2]
Mejía-Múnera was also involved in the Paramilitary Peace Process until he failed to turn himself in to the Government of Colombia in August 2006. In 2003, Miguel and brother Victor Mejía-Múnera were indicted in the Southern District of Florida for conspiracy to import cocaine. The US Department of State is offering a reward of up to US$5 million dollars for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Mejia-Munera.[2]
Colombian minister of Defense Juan Manuel Santos informed that Mejia-Munera had five arrest warrants and one extradition petition by the United States. Colombian authorities also related the Cocaleros protest of the weeks before his death in the municipality of Tarazá to Mejía-Múnera as a strategy to distract authorities and escape.
[edit] Arrest
On May 2, 2008, Múnera was captured by Colombian police in Honda, Tolima, just days after his twin brother Víctor Manuel was killed. He was captured at a police roadblock, hiding in a small compartment behind the driver's seat of a Kenworth cargo truck that authorities had been tracking.[3] The Colombian government announced that Mejía will be extradited to the United States. The five million reward that was on his head will be delivered to the person that gave the information that led to his arrest, said Bogotá. [4]
[edit] References
- ^ (Spanish) El Tiempo: 'Los Nevados', el nuevo cartel de 'Los Mellizos' Mejía Múnera que declaró guerra al Estado
- ^ a b Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Narcotics Rewards Program (December 15, 2007). Miguel Angel Mejía-Múnera. US Department of State. Retrieved on 2007-12-15.
- ^ Bloomberg.com: Latin America
- ^ "Miguel Ángel Mejía Múnera captured", Colombia Reports, May 2, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-01.
[edit] External links
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