Drug Trafficker Describes Operation

By CASSANDRA BURRELL Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) A U.S. branch of the Medellin drug cartel worried about
police less than rivals eager to steal ``merchandise'' being smuggled into
this country, an imprisoned cocaine trafficker told Congress Thursday.

Furnishing a rare glimpse of the inner workings of a Colombian drug
organization, the man once a deputy to the cartel's New York City leader
said the branch was bringing in 50 kilos to 100 kilos of cocaine a month.

One kilo, or 2.2 pounds, of Colombian cocaine sells for $10,500 to $36,000
in the United States, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. At
the top end of the estimates, 100 kilos currently would be worth $3.6 million.

The New York City branch operated in a businesslike way, without the use of
weapons, said the witness, identified only as ``Mr. Rodriguez.''

Wearing a black hood to conceal his identity, the witness said the cartel's
drugsmuggling competitors ``were the ones who really constituted a risk.''

``The greatest concern in the city were the robbers,'' he told the House
Judiciary Committee, through an interpreter.

The man's eyeopening testimony, though, was about the operation of the New
York branch three years ago. He had joined the New York organization in
1994. He was arrested two years later and is serving time in a federal prison.

At the time of his arrest, Rodriguez was being groomed to take over as
chief of the New York City branch, said Rep. Bill McCollum, RFla., the
subcommittee's chairman.

His panel brought the witness in for questioning as part of its continuing
effort to learn more about drug trafficking its players and operations
and the scope of cocaine importation.

Rodriguez acknowledged that he knew little about operations today, but did
describe the Medellin cartel at the time as a loose confederation of some
20 wellorganized groups rather than a single organization.

When he was the deputy to ``Carlos,'' the group's New York City leader, the
cartel's organization remained in a constant state of change as members
sought to stay a step ahead of authorities in Colombia and the United
States, he said.

The witness also said that organization figures paid off police and other
local authorities in Colombia to get the drugs out of the country.

Shipping drugs directly from Colombia to the United States was considered
too risky, he said, so the cocaine was shipped by boat through the
Caribbean or by plane or boat through Mexico or its territorial waters.

Rodriguez said the group's drugs ended up in the hands of streetlevel
dealers, primarily people from the Dominican Republic, who sold it in New
York City or shipped it to other cities.

He said he did not think anyone in his group had bribed New York Cityarea
law enforcement officers to secure their help, but maintained that
corruption was common in Colombia and other countries.

``I don't believe they are engaging in that type of corruption in the
United States,'' he said.

Rodriguez said one of the United States' most effective weapons in the war
against drugs is the power of extradition. Colombian traffickers fear the
much stricter U.S. law, he testified.

Copyright 1997 Associated Press. All rights reserved.