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Rodriguez, who has an interest in Cali's powerful America soccer team, is an avid fan of other sports as well, including baseball. He dislikes American football, he said, "because it is too violent for my tastes." His other passion, he said, is poetry, quoting from memory the Colombian Rafael Maya, " 'No one will know the secret of this soft sadness/ As sad as the valley that turns even sadder at dark/ Like the twilight of a tardy season.' "
Well after nightfall, Rodriguez escorted us to the gate and waved goodbye. The same driver returned us to our hotel, talking this time with cheerful animation about his boss: "Gilberto's really a good guy, not a nut case like Escobar. And he treats the people who work for him fairly. He's interested in our welfare. There's only one thing he won't tolerate in his organization."
"What's that?" I asked, already sensing the answer.
"Drugs," said the driver, and bade us good night. &
Q. Tell us about your cocaine empire.
A. Mr. Moody, given the kind of question you're asking, I gather you have this image of Gilberto Rodriguez, chief of a drug cartel. You'll be disappointed. I am not a narco trafficker, let alone the chief of a drug cartel. Neither am I a megalomaniac. Therefore I am not pleased when people try to portray me as an evil, intelligent, powerful man who has an unlimited fortune.
Q. You're saying you are not and have never been involved in trafficking narcotics.
A. That is exactly what I'm saying. The idea that I am a narco trafficker stemmed from DEA reports from the time I was a partner and president of the board of directors of a Panamanian bank ((First Interamericas Bank)). In 1984 the U.S. requested my extradition from Spain. Instead I was extradited to Colombia, where I was tried on the basis of a file submitted by the American government, with evidence it presented, and with witnesses brought from the U.S. to testify against me. I was acquitted first by a judge and then by the superior court of Cali.
Q. How did you manage to get yourself extradited from Spain to Colombia instead of to the U.S.?
A. I'll be honest about this. It might be true that the connections I had then with people from the political and economic sectors were useful. But I think what was most helpful was the excessive pressure the U.S. exerted on the Spanish government. Spanish judges are very respectable people who cannot be easily manipulated, let alone forced to do something.
Q. So what is the Cali cartel?
A. The Cali cartel is a poor invention of General Jaime Ruiz Barrera, or as he was called affectionately, Gato ("the Cat") Ruiz. He was commander of the Fourth Brigade from 1986 to 1988, if I'm not wrong. He chased Mr. Escobar and his partners persistently and yet failed in all his attempts. He didn't succeed in gaining immortality with the Medellin cartel. Thus the Cali cartel was invented, and with it the war over the New York market. Of course this tale about the Cali cartel has been helped along by my differences with Mr. Escobar.
Q. Are you saying you are innocent of everything of which you are accused?
A. Exactly. I think the DEA will never forgive me for the fact that so much money was laundered legally through the First Interamericas Bank of Panama in accordance with Panamanian law.