What’s New
Fabio Ochoa, one of Colombia’s legendary drug lords and a former Medellín Cartel leader, will return to his home country on Monday aboard a deportation flight from the United States after serving 25 years in prison for drug trafficking.
The Colombian government confirmed that Ochoa arrived in Bogotá at 3 p.m. local time.
Newsweek contacted Migración Colombia, the Colombian agency responsible for managing and regulating immigration and emigration, for comment.
Why It Matters
Ochoa and his older brothers were key members of Pablo Escobar’s organization, amassing vast fortunes when cocaine began flooding the U.S. in the late 1970s and early 1980s, according to U.S. authorities. But they faded somewhat from public memory as the drug trade shifted from Colombia to Mexico.
In 1987, the Ochoa brothers were featured on Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires, with their combined net worth estimated at $6 billion—equivalent to approximately $17.9 billion today.
Fabio Ochoa is escorted by Colombian migration officials upon his arrival on an extradition flight from the U.S. to Colombia on December 23, 2024.
Migracion Colombia
Ochoa’s name resurfaced several years after his 1999 conviction, thanks to the hit Netflix series Narcos, which portrayed him as the youngest son of an elite Medellín family involved in ranching and horse breeding.
What to Know
Ochoa, whose full name is Fabio Ochoa Vásquez, is the youngest child of businessman and Paso Fino horse breeder Fabio Ochoa Restrepo. He entered the drug trade when he was 24 years old. Along with his brothers Jorge and Juan David, he became a key figure in the infamous Medellín Cartel.
While living in Miami, Ochoa operated a distribution center for the cocaine empire led by Pablo Escobar.
Ochoa was first indicted in 1986 in connection to the killing of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) informant Barry Seal.
He was initially arrested in Colombia in 1990 under a government program that promised drug kingpins they would not be extradited to the United States. At the time, he was listed among the U.S. government’s “Dozen Most Wanted” Colombian drug lords.
This file photo taken in November 1999 shows drug trafficker Fabio Ochoa in Bogota, Colombia. The Colombian government confirmed that Ochoa will arrive in Bogotá and is expected to land at 3 p.m. local time.
JAVIER CASELLA/AFP via Getty Images
In 2001, Ochoa was arrested again and extradited to the United States after he and 40 others were indicted in Miami in a drug smuggling conspiracy.
Ochoa was tried and convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Although he was a notorious drug trafficker, Ochoa ultimately served time for one of his lesser crimes: attending a meeting with a figure known as “Juvenal,” where the two discussed drug trafficking conspiracies.
In his final years in prison, Ochoa was held at Jesup Prison in Georgia, where he reportedly worked on renewable energy projects, according to sources close to the former drug lord.
Records from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons show that Ochoa was released on December 3.
What People Are Saying
Richard Gregorie, a retired assistant U.S. attorney who helped prosecute Ochoa, told the Associated Press: “He won’t be retiring a poor man, that’s for sure.”
Migración Colombia told Newsweek in a statement: “Once the immigration control process is completed and it is verified that the individual has no judicial records, he is expected to enter the country without issue.”
What Happens Next
The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed Ochoa has no pending judicial requirements beyond asset forfeiture proceedings. He can now return to Colombia and be released, since he served time in both the U.S. and Colombia.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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