Colombian drug lord Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela and arch-enemy Pablo Escobar die in US prison | US News

A former leader of Colombia’s once powerful Cali drug cartel has died in prison in the US, his family said.

Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, 83, died on Tuesday while serving a 30-year sentence for drug trafficking.

Rodriguez, who is sometimes known by the alias The Chess Player, led the gang that once controlled 80% of the global cocaine market, according to a contemporary report from the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

He was extradited to the United States in 2004 and is serving his sentence at a federal prison in Butner, North Carolina.

In a statement shared by daughter Alexandra, Rodriguez’s family said he died of lymphoma.

Rodriguez’s brother Miguel was arrested two months later in 1995 and is also serving a sentence in the US.

The brothers deployed bombs and remained vigilant against their drug-trafficking nemesis Pablo Escobar, who was killed during a police operation in 1993.

They also confessed to funding political campaigns, including that of Liberal Party president Ernesto Samper in 1994, who denied knowing any donations at the time.

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The 1995 arrest of the drug lord by Colombian authorities marked the beginning of the disintegration of the Cali cartel.

Rodriguez’s family said they are starting the process of bringing his remains back to Colombia.