Carlos Lehder is a German-Colombian former drug lord who was released from prison in the United States after 33 years. Lehder’s involvement in criminal activities started early on. When his father began selling used cars, Lehder added a criminal touch to the business by selling stolen cars. It was while serving a sentence for car theft that Lehder conceived the idea of drug trafficking. His ultimate scheme was to revolutionize the cocaine trade by transporting the drug to the United States using small aircraft. Together with a fellow inmate, Lehder laid the groundwork for what would become a massive cocaine empire. He co-founded the Medellín Cartel, a ruthless and highly organized Colombian drug cartel that operated with the sole objective of managing drug trafficking. He also founded a political party that lobbied for Colombia to abrogate extradition treaties with the United States. However, Lehder’s scandalous and illicit activities came to an end when the Colombian government took a firm stand against drug dealers and traffickers. Carlos Lehder was arrested and imprisoned in the United States, only to be released after 33 years in 2020.
