Former drug cartel member now in witness protection explains how his cartel worked

**Jenna** · 01-21-12, 05:11 PM

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. On one occasion, we knew that Miguel had time for lunch and a shower before the raiding party was scheduled to arrive. Both the sergeant and the captain were among hundreds of police and military officers fired for corruption.
Besides law enforcement, the cartel bought a piece of Colombia's justice system with payoffs to prosecutors who lost evidence, misplaced paperwork, blocked search warrants or released prisoners before they could be questioned. Some judges became overnight millionaires. I see police and judicial corruption as the biggest price of organized crime.
Politicians were considered a long-term investment. It seemed sometimes that they all had their hands out. The bosses handed out $20,000 checks like hospitality gifts. I was there when campaign officials for a presidential candidate came for help. Eventually, a total of $6 million in secret donations made Ernesto Samper our president. After top campaign aides acknowledged receiving cartel funds, Samper insisted that if such contributions were made, it was without his knowledge.
And I was there when Cali cartel lawyers were allowed to rewrite our national constitution to outlaw extraditions of Colombian traffickers to the United States. You may be skeptical when I tell you, but no true Colombian could have watched that spectacle of democracy for sale without suffering some heartache.
When I agreed to assist U.S. drug enforcement agents 16 years ago, the Cali cartel was making $7 billion a year. Cartel documents turned over to Colombian authorities exposed a vast network of corruption. There was public outrage. Widespread arrests and firings followed, and the grip of corruption was broken.

More here: What I saw inside the Cali drug cartel - CNN.com