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News
Release
EXTRADITION OF MAJOR COLOMBIAN TRAFFICKER FABIO OCHOA On September 7, 2001 the Governent of Colombia extradited Fabio-Ochoa Vasquez to the United States to stand trial on charges emanating from Operation Millenium, a 1999 case which targeted the Bernal Madrigal (aka Juvenal) cocaine trafficking organization. This group was responsible for shipping 20 to 30 metric tons of cocaine per month through Mexico into the United States. Fabio Ochoa was arrested in Colombia on October 13, 1999 along with other Operation Millenium defendants. As a member of the infamous Ochoa family, principal leaders in the Medellin Cartel, Fabio Ochoa was extradited to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after the Government of Colombia agreed to turn him over to the Drug Enforcement Administration to face cocaine distribution and money laundering charges. Ochoa is also wanted on charges stemming from his involvement in the murder of informant Barry Seal in Louisiana in 1986.
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DEA
Administrator Asa Hutchison said “To say the DEA is excited about
the prospect that Fabio Ochoa will be extradited to the United States
to stand trial for his drug offenses would be an understatement of great
proportions. Fabio Ochoa, the former right hand man of drug kingpin Pablo
Escobar, is responsible for the destruction of countless lives. His greed
and ruthless behavior are unsurpassed, even among the most notorious traffickers
of the ‘cartel’ era. I am pleased with the decision of the Colombian
Supreme Court, and applaud the efforts of the brave men and women of the
Colombian Government, the Colombian National Police, the DEA and a host
of other dedicated workers who have assisted in the investigative and
extradition process.” 
