A QUIET SENTENCE

Almost two years after the massive publicity surrounding the 40-year
sentence of Cali Cartel leader Joaquin Mario Valencia-Trujillo for
smuggling tons of cocaine into the United States, one of his longtime
lieutenants was quietly sent away for life on Monday. He earned the
sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday In some ways,
Gonzalez is a tragic story: a smart, impressive man who could have been
successful at almost anything instead turns to crime, altering who knows
how many lives in the process.

Interestingly, Gonzalez became an American citizen even as he led the drug
trafficking ring, and that's why his sentence is even longer than that of
his former boss.