NCJ Number
128938
Journal
Journal Volume: 76 Dated: (December 1990) Pages: 54-66,68
Date Published
1990
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Jose Rafael Abello Silva, a 35-year-old Colombian, was arrested in Bogota in October 1989 on a 1987 drug conspiracy indictment from the Northern District of Oklahoma.
Abstract
In April-May 1990, he was tried and convicted by a Federal district court jury in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on two counts of conspiracy to bring drugs into the United States and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Abello Silva is the only Colombian to be tried in this country since President Bush and President Barco of Colombia declared war on drug traffickers in August 1989. Following his extradition, Abello Silva was described by the U.S. Justice Department as the number four man in the Medellin cartel. By the time he came to trial, the prosecution charged that Abello Silva had undergone plastic surgery to alter his appearance, had arranged several killings in Colombia, and had tried to bribe the Colombian police who arrested him. According to the Federal Government, Abello Silva is guilty as charged and probably guilty of many other crimes. Abello Silva, however, claims he is innocent, that he is a wealthy cattle rancher, automobile importer, and part-time bullfighter. He also claims he is the victim of the complementary interests of a jailed Colombian intent on escaping punishment and a Federal prosecutor intent on showing progress in the U.S. fight against drug dealers. Details of the Abello Silva trial including prosecution witnesses, the defense case, and closing arguments are provided.