| Fabio Ochoa Vásquez | |
| Nationality: | Colombian |
| Birth Date: | 2 May 1957 |
| Birth Place: | Medellin, Colombia |
| Charge: | Drug trafficking |
| Conviction Penalty: | 30 years in prison |
| Conviction Status: | In prison in the United States |
Fabio Ochoa Vásquez (born May 2, 1957) is a former leading member of the Medellín cocaine trafficking cartel, along with his older brothers Juan David and Jorge Luis. His role briefly made him a billionaire. After serving a brief prison term in Colombia, he was arrested and extradited to the US in 1999 and is serving a 30-year term in US federal prison.
The youngest of the three Ochoa brothers, Ochoa Vásquez lived in Miami, Florida during the 1970s and early 1980s, and was alleged to have handled thousands of pounds of cocaine. He was indicted by the US government for the first time in 1984, and was allegedly involved in the February 19, 1986 murder of Barry Seal, an informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. In 1987, he and his brothers were included in the Forbes Magazine list of global billionaires, and remained on the list until 1992.[1] The New York Times reported that during this period he was considered the "chief executive" of the family business.[2]
In 1991, Ochoa Vásquez and his brothers turned themselves in to Colombian authorities, hoping to avoid "open war" with the government through a plea deal. They served short terms together in Colombia, and were released by 1996. At the time, Colombia and the US did not have an extradition treaty,[3] and the brothers secured a promise that they would not be extradited in the future as part of the plea deal.[4]
After release, he was arrested again in 1999, and accused of contributing knowledge and receiving payments for cocaine shipments. Despite a lobbying and press campaign, he was extradited to the United States in September 2001, and convicted in 2003 of trafficking, conspiracy and distribution of cocaine in the U.S. He was sentenced to 30 years in a U.S. federal prison.[5] He is now in federal prison in Jesup, GA.
After his imprisonment, the Colombian government seized properties worth several million US dollars from him, including several farms and businesses.[6] On May 1, 2020, U.S. federal prosecutors objected to a bid for Ochoa Vásquez to be released five years before the completion of his 30 year prison sentence.[7]
Ochoa Vásquez has been represented in four television series.