US EditionAn alleged smuggler to Colombia's cartels had a secret ally: the DEA
- Diego Marín, a reputed money launderer tied to Colombia's Cali cartel, was arrested in Spain last year on bribery charges connected to Colombia.
- Marín built a vast trade-based money laundering network and briefly became a DEA informant, while a corrupt agent, José Irizarry, protected him starting in 2013.
- White Wash, a DEA operation launched in 2011 to target Marín, claimed major seizures and arrests but was later revealed as largely ineffective in a 2020 DEA audit.
- Marín built a criminal enterprise that reportedly earned as much as $100 million per year, and he is accused of bribing officials to facilitate container shipments, including providing President Petro with a prohibited campaign contribution of $125,000.
- Marín's case exposed extensive DEA corruption and oversight failures, which authorities and experts called an embarrassment with implications for U.S. drug enforcement policy.
67 Articles
67 Articles
Associated Press News
An alleged smuggler to Colombia's cartels had a secret ally: the DEA
A fugitive known as Colombia's “Contraband King” corrupted agents in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration with expensive trips, fine dining and even prostitutes.
The multimillion dollar profits generated by Mexican cartels and other transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) distribute in the United States need to be “cleaned” to enter the legitimate financial system. The U.S. Drug Control Administration’s National Drug Threat Report 2025 (NDTA 2025) highlights the sophisticated and corrupt money-laundering networks that underpin these illicit operations, a subworld of criminal ingenuity, technology, an…
Associated Press published that smuggling czar Diego Marín, alias ‘Dad Smurf’, was a DEA informant and took advantage of that approach to corrupt agents, through parties with sex workers, dinners and expensive gifts. According to the investigation, ‘Dad Smurf’ was especially involved with special agent José Irizarry since 2011, sharing social events in Colombia, something forbidden for DEA officials. The relationship reached the point that Marin…
Miami, Florida, U.S.—In the sordid annals of the Colombian criminal world, Diego Marin stood out as the ultimate survivor. Again and again, the once henchman of the Cali cartel evaded capture—or worse destinations—and at the same time built a money laundering network that spread across four continents. He did so, according to the authorities, with cruelty, street cunning and willingness to bribe numerous South American police and politicians. Bu…
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