BOGOTÁ, Colombia: One of Colombia’s legendary drug lords and a key operator of the Medellin cartel has been deported back to the South American country, after serving 25 years of a 30-year prison sentence in the United States.
Fabio Ochoa arrived in Bogota’s El Dorado airport on a deportation flight on Monday, wearing a grey sweatshirt and carrying his personal belongings in a plastic bag.
After stepping out of the plane, the former cartel boss was met by immigration officials in bullet proof vests. There were no police on site to detain him — an indication he may not have any pending cases in Colombian courts.
In a brief statement, Colombia’s national immigration agency said Ochoa should be able to enter Colombia “without any problems,” once he is cleared by immigration officers who will check for any outstanding cases against the former drug trafficker.
Ochoa, 67, and his older brothers amassed a fortune when cocaine started flooding the US in the late 1970s and early 1980s, according to US authorities, to the point that in 1987 they were included in the Forbes Magazine’s list of billionaires.
Living in Miami, Ochoa ran a distribution center for the cocaine cartel once headed by Pablo Escobar. Escobar died in a shootout with authorities in Medellin in 1993.
Ochoa was first indicted in the US for his alleged role in the 1986 killing of Barry Seal, an American pilot who flew cocaine flights for the Medellin cartel, but became an informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Along with his two older brothers, Juan David and Jorge Luis, Ochoa turned himself in to Colombian authorities in the early 1990s under a deal in which they avoided being extradited to the US
The three brothers were released from prison in 1996, but Ochoa was arrested again three years later for drug trafficking and was extradited to the US in 2001 in response to an indictment in Miami naming him and more than 40 people as part of a drug smuggling conspiracy.
He was the only suspect in that group who opted to go to trial, resulting in his conviction and a 30-year sentence. The other defendants got much lighter prison terms because most of them cooperated with the government.
Ochoa’s name has faded from popular memory as Mexican drug traffickers take center stage in the global drug trade.
But the former member of the Medellin cartel was recently depicted in the Netflix series Griselda, where he first fights the plucky businesswoman Griselda Blanco for control of Miami’s cocaine market, and then makes an alliance with the drug trafficker, played by Sofia Vergara.
Ochoa is also depicted in the Netflix series Narcos, as the youngest son of an elite Medellin family that is into ranching and horse breeding and cuts a sharp contrast with Escobar, who came from more humble roots.
Richard Gregorie, a retired assistant US attorney who was on the prosecution team that convicted Ochoa, said authorities were never able to seize all of the Ochoa family’s illicit drug proceeds and he expects that the former mafia boss will have a welcome return home.
“He won’t be retiring a poor man, that’s for sure,” Gregorie told The Associated Press earlier this month.
Legendary drug lord Fabio Ochoa is deported to Colombia after spending two decades in US prisons
https://arab.news/r5kas
Legendary drug lord Fabio Ochoa is deported to Colombia after spending two decades in US prisons
- Ochoa’s name has faded from popular memory as Mexican drug traffickers take center stage in the global drug trade
India’s Parliament approves bill to open civil nuclear power sector to private firms
- The government termed it a major policy shift to speed up clean energy expansion
- The move carries global significance as India seeks to position itself as a major player in the next wave of nuclear energy
NEW DELHI: India’s Parliament approved new legislation Thursday that enables opening the tightly controlled civil nuclear power sector to private companies.
The government termed it a major policy shift to speed up clean energy expansion while the opposition political parties argued that it dilutes safety and liability safeguards.
The lower house of parliament passed the legislation Wednesday and the upper house on Thursday. It now needs the assent from the Indian president, which is a formality, to come into force.
The move carries global significance as India seeks to position itself as a major player in the next wave of nuclear energy, including with small modular reactors at a time many nations are reassessing nuclear power to meet climate targets and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
Supporters argue the legislation marks a decisive break from decades of state dominance in nuclear energy while critics say it opens the door to risks, mainly health hazards, that could have long term consequences.
“It marks a momentous milestone for India and signals capable private sector players that the country is open for business in the nuclear energy space,” said Karthik Ganesan, director of strategic partnerships at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, a think tank.
Junior Minister Jitendra Singh, who oversees the department of atomic energy, told lawmakers that the bill — which has been dubbed Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India — seeks to modernize India’s nuclear framework in line with technological, economic and energy realities. It also retains and strengthens core safety, security and regulatory safeguards.
“India’s role in geopolitics is increasing. And if we have to be a global player effectively, we have to live up to global benchmarks, follow global parameters and adopt global strategies,” Singh said in the lower house, adding that the legislation was necessary to address the country’s growing energy needs.
India wants more nuclear power and has pledged over $2 billion in recent months toward research and allied activities. Nuclear power is a way to make electricity that doesn’t emit planet-warming gases, although it does create radioactive waste.
India is one of the world’s biggest emitters of planet-heating gases and over 75 percent of its power is still generated by burning fossil fuels, mostly coal. India wants to install 100 gigawatts of nuclear power by 2047 — enough to power nearly 60 million Indian homes a year.
Energy experts say that for the world to move away from carbon-polluting fuels like coal, oil and gas, sources like nuclear that don’t rely on the sun and the wind — which aren’t always available — are needed. But some are skeptical about India’s ambitions as the country’s nuclear sector is still very small, and negative public perceptions about the industry remain.
Opposition parties flagged concerns related to several provisions of the bill and urged the government to refer it to a parliamentary panel for examination. The government didn’t adhere to the request.
“The bill doesn’t have sufficient safeguards when it comes to mitigating the bad health of those impacted by living in areas closer to nuclear plants,” Ashok Mittal, a lawmaker from the opposition Aam Admi Party, told The Associated Press.
G. Sundarrajan, an anti-nuclear energy activist, called the bill a “disastrous law,” saying it takes away essential safeguards that are needed to make sure companies invest in safety and reduce the chances of a major disaster that can impact millions from occurring.
“It also provides little recourse for any Indian citizen to claim damages from nuclear companies even if they are affected by radiation leaks or suffer from any other health impact as a result of a nuclear plant in their region,” he said.
