30 Facts About Carlos Lehder

Carlos Enrique Lehder Rivas was born on 7 September 1949 and is a German-Colombian former drug lord who was co-founder of the Medellin Cartel.

Carlos Lehder was released from prison in the United States after 33 years in 2020.

Carlos Lehder was one of the founding members of Muerte a Secuestradores, a paramilitary group whose focus was to retaliate against the kidnappings of cartel members and their families by the guerrillas.

Carlos Lehder was one of the most important MAS and Medellin Cartel operators, and is considered to be one of the most important Colombian drug kingpins to have been successfully prosecuted in the United States.

Carlos Lehder's father, Klaus Wilhelm Lehder, was an engineer who emigrated from Germany to Armenia, Colombia in 1928, where he participated in the construction of several buildings which had elevators, a rather modern and unusual characteristic at that place and time.

Guillermo and Helena had four sons, with Carlos Lehder Enrique, born on 7 September 1949, being the third.

Carlos Lehder grew up in Armenia, Colombia until his parents divorced when he was 15, after which he emigrated with his mother to New York in the United States.

Carlos Lehder started out selling stolen cars and marijuana, as well as smuggling stolen cars between the US and Canada.

Jung allegedly said that Carlos Lehder kept countless files and constantly took notes.

In 1978, Carlos Lehder began buying up property and harassing and threatening the island's residents; at one point, a yacht was found drifting off the coast with the corpse of one of its owners aboard.

Carlos Lehder is estimated to have spent $4.5 million on the island in total.

Carlos Lehder was believed to have kept one kilo out of every four that was transported through Norman's Cay.

Carlos Lehder expanded a runway to 3,300-foot, protected by radar, bodyguards, and Doberman attack dogs for the fleet of aircraft under his command.

At the height of his operation, 300 kilograms of cocaine would arrive on the island daily, and Carlos Lehder's wealth mounted into the billions.

Carlos Lehder accumulated such staggering wealth that on two occasions he offered to pay the Colombian external debt.

In 1982, through Pablo Escobar, who was a Colombian Congressman at the time, Carlos Lehder did so again, this time in an attempt to prevent his extradition.

Carlos Lehder founded the National Latino Movement, which managed three congressional seats, and popularized itself by making speeches against extradition.

Carlos Lehder's downfall was assisted by his blatant bribing of Bahamian officials, and the attention the activities on Norman's Cay were attracting.

Escobar sent a helicopter for Carlos Lehder and brought him back to Medellin, where he received medical attention to save his life.

In 1987, Carlos Lehder was extradited to the United States to stand trial for cocaine trafficking, he was convicted and sentenced to life without parole, plus an additional 135 years.

Three years after that, Carlos Lehder wrote a letter to a federal district judge, complaining that the government had reneged on a deal to transfer him to a German prison.

Inscoe-Johnson argued that Carlos Lehder had not been released, despite Internet rumors to the contrary.

Carlos Lehder appeared pro se, arguing that the United States failed to carry out its obligations under a cooperation agreement he had entered into with the United States Attorney's Office, after he held up his end of the deal.

In May 2007, Carlos Lehder requested the Supreme Court of Colombia and the Colombian government to intervene in order to comply with the extradition agreement established between Colombia and the US, which stated that a maximum sentence of 30 years would be applied to any extradited Colombian citizen.

Carlos Lehder argued that, having already served 20 years in prison, which corresponded to two-thirds of the 30-year maximum time stated in the treaty, he had completed his legal sentence and should therefore be released.

In May 2008, Carlos Lehder's lawyer declared to El Tiempo that a habeas corpus petition had been filed, alleging that Carlos Lehder's cooperation agreement had been violated and that "a court in Washington" had less than 30 days to respond to the notice.

Carlos Lehder was visited regularly by family members and had access to TV and a computer with only email access.

An article published by Cronica Del Quindio in January 2015 reported that Carlos Lehder could be released and extradited to Germany at any time.

On June 24,2015, Carlos Lehder wrote a letter to then-President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos, in which he requested mediation with the United States to be allowed to return to Colombia.

Carlos Lehder was released from prison on June 15,2020, and escorted to Germany by two US officials on a regular passenger flight from New York to Frankfurt and handed over to German authorities.