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Part 4: Carlos Lehder on Smuggling $300M of Cocaine a Year with Boston George Before Break Up
Part 1: Medellin Cartel Co-Founder Carlos Lehder on Meeting Boston George in Prison
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Carlos Lehder sits down with Vlad to recount a pivotal 1981 encounter with Colombia’s M-19 guerrilla movement, describing how he escaped a kidnapping attempt after waking inside his own Jeep with his driver tied up. The former Medellín trafficking figure also addresses the abduction of Martha Nieves Ochoa and the violent response that followed, including the rise of MAS — “Death to Kidnappers.” Lehder disputes claims that he helped create the group, saying Pablo Escobar and Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha, “El Mexicano,” organized it, while he focused on personal security.
The conversation expands into the history behind the so-called Medellín Cartel, U.S. law enforcement labels, DEA attention, and how cocaine routes moved through Mexico, the Bahamas, Florida, and the United States. Lehder also discusses his Bahamas operations, alleged political protection, General Manuel Noriega’s role as mediator, and why he wrote his book to challenge long-running media narratives.
