DEA informant charged in alleged scheme to extort high-level cocaine traffickers

MIAMI -- A cause informant who helped the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration physique immoderate of its biggest cases has been arrested and charged with scheming to extort large cocaine traffickers facing extradition from Colombia and the Dominican Republic.

Jorge Hernández, 57, was charged successful a transgression ailment unsealed Wednesday with 1 number of conspiring to perpetrate ligament fraud. He remains successful custody aft being arrested and making his archetypal tribunal quality Wednesday successful national tribunal successful Fort Lauderdale.

Court papers allege that Hernández operated a strategy starting successful 2020 successful which helium pretended to beryllium a paralegal who, for the close price, could get lighter sentences for cause kingpins, according to 17-page FBI affidavit.

The FBI alleged that Hernández demanded payments of $1 cardinal from six suspected cause traffickers who ended up surrendering oregon being extradited to the U.S.

In speech for the payments — which came successful the signifier of cash, jewelry, properties and vehicles successful Colombia — Hernández guaranteed abbreviated situation sentences that would beryllium served “in an flat akin to being connected location arrest,” the tribunal papers said.

But Hernández ne'er delivered connected his promises, nor did helium person authorization to connection specified leniency. As the traffickers who thought they were buying power grew upset, helium would contradict work and displacement blasted to the traffickers’ attorneys, the FBI said.

Nestor Menendez, an lawyer who represented Hernández astatine his archetypal appearance, declined to comment.

In 2 decades arsenic a confidential informant, Hernández had been 1 of national instrumentality enforcement's astir prolific case-makers, providing the types of tips and accusation that led to prosecutions of high seas cause smugglers, a erstwhile University of Miami wealth laundering expert and a close state of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Better known successful instrumentality enforcement circles by his Spanish nickname Boliche — bowling shot — the beefy, bald-headed Colombian was besides the prima witnesser successful the 2023 bribery proceedings of 2 erstwhile DEA supervisors convicted for leaking information connected ongoing cause investigations.

He got his commencement arsenic an informant successful 2000 soon aft helium was arrested successful Venezuela, wherever helium had fled to flight cause dealers seeking to termination him, according to a 2023 probe by The Associated Press.

After bribing officials to unafraid his release, helium approached the DEA, admitting to sidesplitting 3 radical during his days arsenic a cause runner adjacent his location on Colombia's Caribbean coast. He past began helping the DEA physique immoderate of its biggest cases.

Agents grew truthful reliant connected Hernández’s web of transgression associates crossed the Western hemisphere that they acceptable him up with a telephone and table astatine a national anti-narcotics task force, the AP found.

The DEA terminated his practice statement successful 2008, tribunal records show, aft authorities discovered helium had threatened to exposure informants arsenic snitches unless they paid him to support quiet.

But helium kept adjacent to immoderate of his erstwhile DEA handlers and yet returned to Miami. In 2016, helium met DEA cause John Costanzo, who was supervising agents investigating Colombian businessman Alex Saab, a suspected container antheral for Venezuela’s Maduro. In 2023, Hernández testified against Costanzo and different erstwhile DEA cause convicted of taking bribes from narco defence attorneys.

Hernández turned the tables connected the DEA astir the aforesaid clip helium was charged alongside University of Miami prof Bruce Bagley for helping determination $3 cardinal connected behalf of Saab, who prosecutors said was secretly negotiating a woody to betray Maduro.

Those charges stay nether seal. In the ailment unsealed Wednesday, the FBI that Hernández is serving a word of probation connected a national condemnation for conspiracy to perpetrate wealth laundering that is acceptable to extremity successful May 2027.

—

Mustian reported from New York.