Bogota - Authorities in the Colombian city of Cali increased security measures Wednesday, ahead of a possible war for control of the drug trade in the wake of the arrest of boss Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia in Brazil. Cali police commander General Jesus Gomez told Colombian radio that two lieutenants of Ramirez Abadia could be fighting for the arrested leader's spot within the ranks of the North of the Valley Cartel. The cartel leader known by the alias "Chupeta" was arrested on Tuesday in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo.
General Gomez said that in January police confiscated from Ramirez Abadia some 89 million dollars in cash and 350 gold bars, found in various houses in Cali, in south-western Colombia.
A Colombian police commission is set to travel to Brazil in order to interrogate Ramirez Abadia and exchange information with Brazilian authorities.
Preliminary investigations indicate that he had lived in Brazil for about three years and had several real estate assets in that country, including a beach house in Jurere, in the south-eastern state of Santa Catarina, which he was planning to sell for about 1.5 million dollars.
According to Brazilian authorities, "Chupeta" is wanted as a suspect for "hundreds of murders in Colombia and the United States, including those of police officers and informants."
He is also wanted for money laundering and other crimes. The US government estimated his wealth to be at least 1.8 billion dollars and had offered 5 million dollars for information leading to his capture.
According to US authorities, Ramirez Abadia has been active in the drug trade since 1986. In the 1990s his organization allegedly managed to smuggle tons of cocaine into the United States through its border with Mexico.
"Chupeta" turned himself in to Colombian authorities in 1996 and was in jail until 2002, but he remained in the drug trade after his release.
US State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters Tuesday in Washington that US officials will consults with Brazilian authorities about a possible extradition request.
"We want to see that anyone who is involved in drug smuggling or drug trafficking faces penalties for that, and has to face the court, whether that's in Brazil or the United States or elsewhere," Casey said.
