FBIS3-11634
"drlat057_o_94008"
FBIS-LAT-94-057
Document Type:Daily Report
24 Mar 1994
Colombia
Valle Cartel `Key Man' Surrenders to Authorities
PA2303194894 Santa Fe de Bogota Inravision Television Cadena
1 in Spanish 1730 GMT 24 Mar 94
PA2303194894
Santa Fe de Bogota Inravision Television Cadena
1
Language: Spanish
Article Type:BFN
[From the "National" newscast]
[Text] [Anchorwoman Yolanda Ruiz] Another key man in the
cartel of northern Valle del Cauca has just surrendered. He is
Joyner Ospina Montoya, charged with drug trafficking and money
laundering. In the negotiations prior to his surrender, his
lawyers reportedly reached an agreement on a sentence that could
mean he would only serve two years in jail. The "National"
newscast was the only medium to witness the surrender.
[Reporter Sandra Vergara] Joyner Ospina Montoya appeared
before the Regional Office of the Prosecutor General in Cali at
1030 this morning. Ospina, his wife, and Cesar Guzman, his
lawyer, rode in these vehicles from the Plaza de Toros
neighborhood, south of Cali, to the Regional Office of the
Prosecutor General.
[Begin Guzman recording] This voluntary act is a show of
confidence and faith in Colombian justice and the policy of
surrendering. It is a sign of efficient cooperation with
justice.
[Unidentified reporter] Why did he surrender? To what crimes
will he confess?
[Guzman] Mr. Ospina today will confess to violating Law 30,
the crime of drug trafficking, and money laundering. He will
not confess to any other crime. [end recording]
[Vergara] These crimes could land him in jail for 30 years,
but thanks to the benefits offered by the law, his sentence
would be reduced to four years, not counting study and work
while in prison, which would cut his sentence another two years.
As the "National" newscast learned, he will disclose the names
of other members of the organization and reveal the routes used
for drug trafficking and money laundering. Joyner Ospina
Montoya will be interrogated in a few hours, and later he will
be taken to Palmira Prison. He will be held in the same wing
where drug trafficker Julio Fabio Urdinola is jailed.
[Ruiz] According to the authorities, Joyner Ospina Montoya
was also the man in charge of transporting the organization's
drugs. Let us see who he is.
[Vergara] Joyner Ospina Montoya, 28 years old, married, and
father of two children was born in Dovia north of Valle. He is
another member of the northern drug-trafficking ring once headed
by Juan Urdinola Grajales. He got involved in drug trafficking
in 1988 in the United States. In 1990 he came to Colombia and
became the right-hand man of Julio Fabio Urdinola, another
member of this organization who surrendered to justice 15 days
ago.
Ospina Montoya was in charge of shipping and distributing
cocaine to the United States. He was also in charge of
laundering money from the United States to Colombia. To date,
we have no information of any legal process Colombian justice
may have against him. We have learned, however, that he is
facing charges for drug trafficking in U.S. courts. U.S.
authorities tapped the telephones Ospina Montoya used to make
all his contacts. In addition, informers confirmed his
participation in drug trafficking and money laundering.