Roberto Suárez Goméz

Roberto Suárez Goméz
Born 8 January 1932
Trinidad, Beni, Bolivia
Died 20 July 2000 (aged 68)
Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Nationality Bolivian
Other names King of Cocaine
El Padrino Boliviano (The Bolivian Godfather)
El Robin Hood del Beni (The Robin Hood of Beni)
Don Roberto
Religion Roman Catholicism
Criminal penalty 15 years imprisonment
Spouse(s) Ayda Levy
Children Roberto Suárez
Gary Suárez Levy
Heidy Suárez Levy
Harold Suárez Levy
Parent(s) Nicomedes Suarez and Blanca Gomez Roca
Conviction(s) Drug trafficking and smuggling

Roberto Suárez Goméz (January 8, 1932 – July 20, 2000), sometimes spelled Roberto Suárez Gómez, also known as the "King of Cocaine", was a Bolivian drug trafficker who played a major role in the expansion of cocaine trafficking in Bolivia. At his prime, Suárez made $400 million annually, was one of the major suppliers of the Medellin Cartel, the leader of the largest Bolivian drug empire and considered to be the biggest cocaine producer in the world.[1][2][3]

Biography

Early life

Suárez was born on January 8, 1932 to a wealthy cattle-ranching family in the tropical Beni Department of Bolivia.[4] His parents were Nicomedes "Cattle King" Suarez and Blanca Gomez Roca. Suárez was the descendent of the Suárez brothers "rubber barons", who had been responsible for the extermination of the Caripuña people on the Madeira River in Bolivia.[5]

Criminal career

In the 1970s, Suárez first entered into the cocaine trade to conducting business with the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and after that he started to recruit Bolivian coca producers into his company "La Corporación" (the Corporation).[6][7] Suárez had a fleet of aircraft, primarily the Cessna 206 and the Douglas DC-3, which flew cocaine shipments from the Bolivian Amazon to Colombia,[8] selling the cocaine at $9,000 per kilogram.[9]

Suárez's wife Ayda Levy recounted in detail that Fidel Castro and Raul Castro contacted Suárez and Escobar in January 1983 and invited them to Cuba.[10] Upon visiting the island nation, Castro had planned to use drugs as a weapon against "Yankee imperialism". Fidel and Raul charged millions of dollars per day in exchange for giving coverage to cocaine trafficking and the use of airports for refueling airplanes.

Suárez financed the military coup that installed a dictatorship in 1980, in which Luis García Meza would be President and Suárez's cousin Luis Arce Gómez was Minister of the Interior, and so he received political protection for his enterprise.[11] Arce Gómez ordered the killings of many Bolivians, including union leaders and intellectuals such as Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz. According to some sources, the CIA knew about the coup in advance (Straitfeild). During the 1980s, Suárez' relationship with Escobar slowly deteriorated due to Escobar's violence.[12]

In a letter to Ronald Reagan in 1983, Suárez offered to pay Bolivia's foreign debt of more than $3 billion if he and his son got amnesty.[7][13]

Suárez was also under protection of the DEA through most of the eighties until his activities were too notorious. In 1988, Suárez was arrested and sentenced to 15 years in the San Pedro prison for drug crimes, but only served 7 years and was released in 1996 due to accounts of good behavior and declining health, having suffered two heart attacks in prison.[14] His cousin and successor, Jorge Roca Suarez, was also serving a 30-year sentence in the United States for drug trafficking.[15] During his time in prison, Suárez was said to have shown regret for his crimes and preferred to be photographed next to images of Jesus Christ.[16] Suárez had lost most of his fortune, spent on the construction of buildings and other philanthropic activities.[17] He spent the remaining years of his life managing his hacienda.

Personal life

Suárez lived in a large hacienda in northern Bolivia and used most of his land as airstrips and cattle ranching.[18] He gained popularity by building churches, hospitals, streets in rural villages and soccer fields.[16] In his hometown province of Beni, Suárez was most popular around the locals and often called "Robin Hood".[19] His Robin Hood image gained popularity and protection with the Bolivian government and the Roman Catholic Church.[20]

Suárez married Ayda Levy in 1958 and had four children; Roberto, Gary, Heidy and Harold Suárez Levy. The couple split after Levy discovered his involvement in the drug trade but remained on good terms.[8] Gómez was not involved in politics.[21] Suárez's son, Roberto "Robby" Levy, was killed by Bolivian police on March 22, 1990 in Santa Cruz.[22]

Death and legacy

On Thursday evening, July 20, 2000, Suárez died from a heart attack in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.[7][13][23] Weeks before his death, in a TV interview, Suárez repented his crimes and stated "The worst mistake I ever made in my life was to have gotten involved in cocaine trafficking".[4] Suárez was buried in a small niche in Cochabamba.[24]

The character Alejandro Sosa in the 1983 American crime film Scarface and the 2006 video game Scarface: The World Is Yours has been inspired from Suárez.[25] On November 21, 2012, Suárez's ex-wife Ayda Levy published an account of his life, entitled "The King of Cocaine: My Life With Roberto Suárez And The Birth Of The First Narco-State".[26]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://articles.latimes.com/1988-08-31/news/mn-1238_1_suarez-gomez>
  2. ↑ http://www.britannica.com/biography/Roberto-Suarez-Gomez
  3. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/22/world/bolivian-drug-lord-is-captured.html
  4. 1 2 http://articles.latimes.com/2000/jul/24/local/me-58236
  5. ↑ Tully, p. 404
  6. ↑ "Suárez Gómez, Roberto". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
  7. 1 2 3 Lutteman, Markus (2007). El Choco : svensken i Bolivias mest ökända fängelse (in Swedish). Norstedts. pp. 118–120. ISBN 978-91-7263-878-5.
  8. 1 2 http://boliviateamo.blogspot.com/2013/03/el-rey-blanco-roberto-suarez-gomez-el.html
  9. ↑ http://eju.tv/2012/12/una-vida-cinematogrfica-revelaciones-de-la-viuda-del-boliviano-roberto-surez-el-rey-de-la-cocana/
  10. ↑ http://eju.tv/2012/12/una-vida-cinematogrfica-revelaciones-de-la-viuda-del-boliviano-roberto-surez-el-rey-de-la-cocana/
  11. ↑ http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/713761/Roberto-Suarez-Gomez
  12. ↑ http://www.infobae.com/2012/12/01/1062435-la-cinematografica-vida-un-jefe-narco
  13. 1 2 "Roberto Suarez Gomez; Bolivian Drug Trafficker". Los Angeles Times. July 24, 2000. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
  14. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPgawO1c2ic
  15. ↑ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/drug-boss-model-for-scarface-dies-in-bolivia-707584.html
  16. 1 2 http://www.economist.com/node/28950
  17. ↑ http://www.clarin.com/mundo/Rey-Cocaina-fundo-primer-narcoestado_0_817118384.html
  18. ↑ http://articles.latimes.com/1988-08-31/news/mn-1238_1_suarez-gomez
  19. ↑ http://www.businessinsider.com/meet-the-bolivian-drug-lord-who-built-the-general-motors-of-drug-trafficking-2012-11
  20. ↑ http://boliviateamo.blogspot.com/2013/03/el-rey-blanco-roberto-suarez-gomez-el.html
  21. ↑ http://boliviateamo.blogspot.com/2012/11/hoy-bolivia-esta-llena-de-narcos.html
  22. ↑ http://boliviateamo.blogspot.com/2013/03/el-rey-blanco-roberto-suarez-gomez-el.html
  23. ↑ http://lubbockonline.com/stories/072200/wor_0722000027.shtml#.VtstP4-cG1t
  24. ↑ http://www.worldcrunch.com/world-affairs/when-the-king-of-cocaine-built-the-general-motors-of-drug-trafficking/trafficking-drug-kingpin-roberto-suarez/c1s10252/
  25. ↑ "El Rey Blanco" (in Spanish). Pagina 12. March 10, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  26. ↑ http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2012/11/mexican-narcos-dominate-bolivia.html

Bibliography

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