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A Quiet Sentence

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 17, 2009

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.

Ivan Gonzalez-Bejarano committed an enormous crime, organizing and supervising the smuggling of more than $500 million worth of cocaine into the country. 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.

The man with a managerial flair was well-liked by those who worked with and for him, even though they didn't know his real name. Low-key and secretive, he got caught only after agents working for Operation Panama Express, a multiyear investigation targeting Colombian maritime smuggling organizations, realized they weren't looking for several people - "Flaco," Omar," "Marino," "Don Ruben" or "El Vicino."

Just one man.

And the agents got lucky. Through computer records they got a name, but it didn't pop up in any data base. Then, on a whim, they ran the name through driver's license records and got a photograph. After recovering an address in his Immigration and Naturalization Service file, an FBI agent watched a Miami post office for weeks before Gonzalez finally showed up.

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. Valencia got 40 years instead of life because the judge was limited by an extradition treaty with Colombia.

So two of the top players from the Cali Cartel are off the streets. Kudos is owed Operation Panama Express - a continually successful effort the government can be justifiably proud of.

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