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on the border line between the US and Mexico
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Friday, December 14, 2018

El Chapo Trial: "He is a really good businessman" cooperative witness says of Chapo

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat-Mica and Chivis' trial Coverage


Jorge Cifuentes, a cooperative witness in the trial of El Chapo, testified that in 2007, Chapo  met with executives of Pemex to request that oil tankers be use to facilitate cocaine from  Ecuador.

He further explained that Vicente Zambada the son of El Mayo Zambada, leader of  the Sinaloa Cartel,  was the contact  with Pemex and that the meetings took place at the end of 2007 in the highlands near Culiacán.

The plan, Cifuentes said, was for the company's ships to go to Ecuador to collect oil and cocaine and take it to the Lázaro Cárdenas port in the Mexican Pacific.

Without specifying why, he said the plan was not carried out, the witness said.   Cifuentes only appointed one Pemex official present at the meetings: Alfonso Acosta.

The Colombian also explained that Chapo gave him money generated by the sale of drugs in the United States.

With the money, a Colombian named Gilberto García, aka "El Político", bought cocaine in the Colombia, in  an area controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

The drug then was transported to Ecuador by the Colombian Army in military trucks to warehouses in Quito and Guayaquil.

Subsequently, the cocaine was transported to Mexico in shark boats, and  bribes paid to members of the Ecuadorian Navy to inform the cartel  the location of the US Navy in the area.

Arrested in Venezuela in 2012, Cifuentes was extradited to the United States in December 2013, when he pleaded guilty to crimes off  drug trafficking and money laundering.

Chapo the Negotiator

Today the jury was able to hear a recording of Chapo in negotiation.  A telephone recording was heard between Chapo  a member of the Colombian FARC guerrilla, who wanted to buy cocaine.

"Let him look at the merchandise first and then I’ll pay him for  the two tons", says Chapo, making it clear he wants someone from  Sinaloa Cartel to try the cocaine before making the payment.

The recording of the conversation that occurred in May 2010 was explained by former Colombian drug trafficker  Cifuentes.

Cifuentes explained that Chapo had not been satisfied with the quality of the cocaine purchased a couple of years earlier from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and wanted to make sure this time it was quality before paying.

During the conversation, Guzmán proposes to pay the guerrillas two tons of cocaine with cash.

Cifuentes said that a captain named Telmo Castro charged $ 600,000 for carrying out those transports.

The guy who couldn't  be murdered  [Mica]

Jorge confessed to a bizarre botched murder plot he was involved in when he was in prison at age 18.
It revolved around a cyanide-laced arepa.

Jorge volunteered to kill a fellow inmate the Colombian cartels wanted dead. Given an a gun, blade, grenade and some cyanide, allowing him to choose of which weapon he wanted to use.

"I choose the simplest one" (poison).

The day comes, as the prison cooks were warming up breakfast  The man on the grill stepped away and he saw the opportunity. He sprinkled the cyanide one of the arepas [ground maize dough, a staple eaten daily in Colombia and Venezuela] just before his victim took it.

The guy ended up taking two and only ate the one without the cyanide.

Attempt two he chose the grenade.  One night, he threw the grenade in his victim's cell.

However, the prison had cement-framed beds. The grenade rolled under the bed and the guy survived receiving only a little shrapnel in his leg.

Jorge grew up in a family of criminals. Phone calls introduced in court today of Jorge discussing the travails of his drug-dealing life with his mom.

In one, he complained to mom about how the Ecuadorian authorities seized 8 tons of his and Chapo's coke in 2009. "It was a total loss," his mom said, commiserating with him.

Recorded Calls

Jurors at the Chapo trial heard a secretly recorded phone call of the kingpin today, and it was pretty damning stuff.

On the call Chapo can be heard cutting a 6-ton coke deal w/a member of the FARC Colombian guerrillas.

He wants to pay cash for 2 tons  and  take 4 on credit.

You can hear Chapo haggling over price and demanding that a "technician" inspect the coke before he sends an advance of $50,000.

The FARC guy agrees to move the coke from the Colombian border to Guayaquil, Ecuador for $100 a kilo.

It's not yet clear who taped the call or how.

Jorge called the engineer (Christian from Columbia) "an irresponsible person." He testified that forgetting to renew the software license meant "the system is down now, so none of us can have secure communication anywhere."

Another taped phone call where Chapo complained to his nephew Tomás about the encrypted network not working.

He was trying to get Jorge's brother Alex to fix the problem. Jorge said in the system each cartel member had their own personal extension number.

Jorge had agreed to put up some of his properties as collateral for 4 tons worth, Chapo would pay cash for the rest.

The taped call showed how Chapo would negotiate. The FARC leader agreed to let him pay cash for just 2 tons of cocaine. Originally, it was supposed to be 2.5 tons.

Jorge says of Chapo, "He's a really good businessman,"

Chapo told the FARC leader that he was partners with "the guy from the M," an apparent reference to Mayo.

Chapo also offered to send his nephew as a guarantee of payment. He was using his relative as human collateral.

The deal with Dolly and her mysterious release
Dolly right and daughter Ana Maria
Another colorful character in the Cifuentes clan is sister Dolly.  The “money” and "asset shrouding" person.

Dolly Cifuentes  was the mistress of former President Alvaro Uribe’s brother, which has raised questions about the extent of the ties between the two families.  Jaime Alberto Uribe Vélez, the younger brother of the former president of Colombia,  with whom she had two children, a girl in 1980 named Ana María Uribe Cifuentes and a boy who was born in 1990 and was called Daniel Alberto.

In August of 2011 Dolly Cifuentes, was detained by the Colombian National Police in one of the most luxurious areas near Bogota, for a request for extradition that existed by the United States.

A month later her daughter Ana María Uribe Cifuentes was captured, both under the charges of drug trafficking and money laundering and the request for extradition. In June 2012, 116 properties belonging Chapo associates were seized, including those belonging to the Cifuentes family.

In total, 31 companies, 71 buildings and 14 vehicles that appeared in the name of Dolly Cifuentes were confiscated. On August 7, Dolly de Jesús Cifuentes Villa was extradited to the United States, where she faced two criminal proceedings, one in Florida and the other in New York. Among them were those of the Cifuentes family. [read indictment below]

Dolly entered a very secretive plea deal that remains sealed.  Her surprising release occurred in 2015, she presumably returned to Colombia.

Milton’s brother Hildebrando, and Dolly Cifuentes’ daughter Ana Maria (Alvaro Uribe’s niece) were  named by the US Treasury Department as involved in the Cifuentes Villa drug trafficking operation. Many other members of the family have either been arrested or killed.

Cross examination by Lichtman

Lichtman "You've been committing crimes since you were a child, isn't that right sir?"

Jorge "Si señor."

Lichtman "And you've been lying since you were a child?"

Jorge "Si señor."
Judge Cogan judge has limited the scope of cross-examination of Jorge

Jorge acknowledged bribing the Ecuadorian army and  navy, a Mexican prosecutor and Colombian tax officials.

His older brother, Pacho (who worked as a pilot for Pablo Escobar), routinely bribed Colombian police and military officers, he said.

Before Chapo attorney  Lichtman asked about the bribes, prosecutors objected.

After a sidebar, no officers were named (Jorge had already admitted that generals and colonels in the Colombian military took "boxes of cash.")

Jorge acknowledged his deception started as far back as teenage years when he lied about his age on his first driver's license.

He had a portfolio of fake ID's, including the one he used when he was once stopped in Paris on his way to Montreal to consummate a 15-ton hashish deal.

Typical family he insists yet the murder of his nephew was ordered

Jorge said he grew up with "typical family problems." Just the usual. "Gossip there, gossip here," he said.

Then Lichtman noted that Jorge's brother ordered the murder of his nephew for trying to kidnap their mother. ---"Typical family problems," Lichtman said sarcastically.

Jorge suggested that they had "conflicts like any other family."

Litchman ; "Like the time your brother, Alex, ordered the murder of your nephew, Jaime?"

Jorge admitted it was because Jaime had once ordered the kidnapping of his own grandmother.

Jorge was very good during cross-examination. He anticipated the traps that Lichtman was attempting to set with his line of questioning. He was  patient and funny. Asked whether he ever used "straw purchasers" to buy properties, he raised his hand and smirked as he said, "Guilty."

Recorded calls below:

The only reason prosecutors were able to obtain the call between Chapo and the FARC was due to problems with their encrypted network.   Jorge's engineer forgot to renew the license for their security software. 

To read transcript use this hyper link

Dolly request 2 level reduction of sentence this is letter from government supporting that reduction 




Indictment for Dolly and Jorge

52 comments:

  1. I will get the transcript of the call up later today

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    1. Good trial coverage mica & chivis
      you people at BBeat volunteer & coverage is the best
      BBeat is great always

      Jimmy Crickets

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    2. thank you! I needed that....

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    3. i concur and BB has spoiled us. we just expect the best coverage now! God Bless chivis

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  2. Outstanding work/coverage chivis. You deserve some sort of prize/recognition.

    El pirruris

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    Replies
    1. A gold plated 45 would be nice.

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  3. Damn, took two and ate the clean one, then the bed saved him from the grenade. I couldn't stop laughing when I was reading that paragraph. LMFAO

    Does "Chapo" on the phone sound like the Chapo on Kate & Sean's video? I've never been interested enough to watch it. Lmao BTW, can that video be used against him? & can he defend himself by saying that he was lying? Estoy bien perdida cuando se trata de leyes. Echenme la mano

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    1. I’m not sure, why don’t you take 5 minutes and YouTube it.

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    2. Listening back and forth between the video and audio it doesn’t sound “exactly” alike but I do perceive a similarity in the accent. I guess voices can change overtime who knows, we will see what the experts say. It definitely sounds a lot more different than the 1990s video he was in 🤔🤫🤷🏻‍♂️

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    3. Read the transcript while listening or you won't know who is talking. Chapo comes off as the boss trying to buy drugs from idiots with his idiot nephew. At the end, nobody know exactly what is being bought, when they are buying, when is it being expected, 4 properties and I need 50K now. It is funny that this how 6 tons is sold.

      A little info on the phones. They where using something like a cisco VOIP system with a 3rd party encryption software. This allows multiple sites in different geo locations to all be on a system and just dial their extension.

      Mica

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    4. Did you sound the same as you did in the 90s?

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    5. Nope I don't sound the same because I was a kid then and an adult now.

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    6. It doesn’t sound “exactly” like him? Compared to what? If it wasn’t him, the defense would have challenged it. I listen to Howard Stern religiously. When Sirius play a show from 10 years ago, it doesn’t sound like the same Howard today.

      In the upcoming weeks, the other recordings will be released and published, again the defense will challenge this if they have a case. Audio professionals have examined this 100 different ways and if they had a doubt, it would not be allowed and challenged.

      Mica

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    7. I posted the transcript see this post
      http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2018/12/el-chapo-trial-transcript-of-recorded.html#comment-form

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    8. @Mica I was saying compared to the video where his face is shown. 🥶 👍🏻 Accent sounded “reduced” to me on audio.

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    9. @Chivis 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🌟

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    10. maybe I'm off here but I can't believe that this call from the 90's...even if the technology was available at that time, I doubt Chao was familiar enough to be asking about the internet light being lit... i do believe it's him on the call but not sure about when the call took place.

      attn: FrankTheTank

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  4. More outstanding evidence being presented, the more years to be given. Chapo will be spending Christmas in New York.

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  5. They sound like morrons.

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    Replies
    1. Let's see you coordinate an international multimillion deal with someone you've never met before all while using third parties.

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  6. Thank you so much! You can't make this stuff up!

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    1. @Steve,
      You of all people would know. It’s like a movie script and they added in some comic relief.

      Mica

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  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  8. "Ke la mire primero el techniqo guey ke no comprendes inutil" is what The Chapo really said.

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    1. @2:45

      Lmao. No kidding, that nephew of his sounds confused and dumb 😂

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  9. Damn that’s some good recording, that’s a clean phone call.

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    Replies
    1. Foreal! Sounds more clean than my phone LOL

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  10. Awesome call .. property used as collateral and the nephew as well lol

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  11. That's definately El Chapo... and his business skills are on point too.. El Senor

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  12. So I'm guessing he paid for the remaining 4. And if so was everything hunky dory with his nephew?

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    Replies
    1. Of course he did chapo knows how to work

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  13. Man its actually pretty fascinating how the speak about tons of cocaine like it was auto parts or something .Their way of communicating s what got them .Im sure there are many other ways of making deals, one shouldn't be the head of the cartel talking on the phone. Its def him cause he sounds exactly like the video w Sean Penn . I have a bunch of cousins and friends who talk like that even if they are talking about getting stuff from Wal-Mart to make tacos hahaha...

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  14. El chapo is done. Period. He will never escape the American's. The warden of ADX even told chapo "good luck digging through my mountain".

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    Replies
    1. I guess now hell live up to his nickname. El señor de la montaña.

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  15. Haha freaking idiots I k ow so.e guys on the street that have better code talk than this lmao

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  16. There is so much dirt its beautiful...How much money is enough?

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  17. Why no mention how the prosecutors don’t want them to talk about fast and furious
    When Obama armed the cartels even more heavily

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  18. There is no proof of any narcotics or money being talked about. Mr litchman is the best in defending these cases. Hes destroying all the informants testimony. All these informants are serving or facing life terms. No credibility!

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    Replies
    1. Yeah I'm sure they have evidence of chapo importing corn or tomatoes dumbass.

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  19. Excellent!!! Outstanding job chivis!!!

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  20. Chapo already knows he’s done . At this point he just wants to get his story out the right way. He wanted every witness to tell it exactly like it is. His fate is already in place.. people all ready set to keep it going. This is coming from a USA reader who enjoys reading your stories. Yee!!

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  21. There are so many of us that want to be Monday morning quarterbacks . Acting like we would say better, done better, been better. But we have to never forget that these are REAL criminals dealing with other REAL criminals .You have to think that in the legal world companies have to try and follow certain guidelines ( ALOT OF TIMES THEY DONT ). But that in the drug business these guys follow rules that are supposedly there, but NOT really. There is some code of honor. But at the same time is not REALLY there . In the end most of us like to play devil's advocate . But who knows how we would really do or how we would really act under those circumstances . In the end, most of us would do what's in our best interest.
    Until you know what it feels to be there in that world, and live that lifestyle. We can't ever truly judge. Because we would probably do a lot of the same things these people do . Power at that level is a very hard thing to grasp or comprehend. We can only imagine .

    RUBIO

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  22. Astronomical figures for a six ton load. Even on the streets of LA this 1 load could generate over 100 million dollars easily through the hands of the CDS. You take into account total overhead cost including bribes at about 60% and CDS can still take home between 40 to 60 millions. The scary thing is that the farther you move from the border the higher the profit margin. And to think this is just 1 load of hundreds maybe thousands that CDS has coordinated throughout South and Central America.

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  23. Chivis, what would it take to be able to upvote/downvote comments on main board?? Been a follower since the beginning and we love you!

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    Replies
    1. I am ambivalent about it, but i don't think Buggs wants it. Seems like a social pressure occurs with those sorts of thing. Lets throw it out there and see what others think

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    2. I vote no on that crap if you’re taking a poll

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    3. Too many cds but kissers that there’s no point for this.

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