Colombian drug lord who changed his face testifies against ‘El Chapo’
- In 20-year career, witness smuggled 400,000kg of drugs, ordered 150 killings and became a billionaire, until his arrest in Brazil in 2007
A former Colombian drug lord known for an extreme plastic-surgery makeover meant to hide his identity testified Thursday at a US trial about his lucrative drug-trafficking alliance with notorious Mexican counterpart Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
Asked about his distorted facial features, Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia explained that he had at least three surgeries that altered “my jawbone, my cheekbones, my eyes, my mouth, my ears, my nose”.
Ramirez Abadia told the jury he bribed authorities in Colombia to destroy any criminal records naming him to better stay ahead of the law while he was overseeing the Norte del Valle cartel.
In a 20-year career, the witness estimated, he smuggled 400,000kg, ordered 150 killings and amassed a fortune so large he forfeited US$1 billion after his arrest in Brazil in 2007.
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Ramirez Abadia was extradited to the US, where he pleaded guilty to murder and drug charges and agreed to become a government witness in major narcotics prosecutions like Guzman’s. He was the third former drug dealer to testify at the trial in federal court in Brooklyn, where Guzman has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and other charges.