The Colombian Cartels and Football

The history of Colombia has been plagued with the stories of the atrocious acts done by the drugs cartels. Their stories have been portrayed in various TV shows and movies; the most recent and popular one being the Netflix show "Narcos".

By the 1980s, cocaine was a multi-billion dollar enterprise, pulling over $4 billion into the Colombian economy led by notorious drug lords like Miguel and Gilberto Orejuela, and Pablo Escobar.

 

Mugshot of Pablo Escobar

1973 saw the first investment by a drug cartel into Colombian football, with marijuana trafficker Eduardo Enrique Dávila buying out recent national champions Unión Magdalena in the city of Santa Marta. Cocaine money changed the face of Colombian football forever. Despite being fanatical supporters of their local rivals Deportivo, the Orejuela brothers poured millions into club América de Cali at the end of the 1970s. America had been relative unknowns up until the end of the decade. Deportivo, meanwhile, had won five Colombian titles between 1965 and 1974, and in 1978 became the first Colombian side to reach the Copa Libertadores final, losing to the famous Boca Juniors.

With Deportivo turning down the Orejuela’s advances, the balance of power in Cali soon shifted. Drug money assembled Colombia’s best club side. A host of major players came through the door, including Argentine forward Ricardo Gareca from River Plate, Paraguayan star Roberto Cabañas and Peruvian midfielder Julio Uribe. The football club was the perfect depository for laundered drug money. Cartels could inflate transfer fees and gate receipts to legitimize their earnings. Football clubs were given a taste of success for as long as they allowed cartel cash to flow through the coffers. The Cali cartel bought themselves five straight Colombian championships, as well as a place in three consecutive Libertadores finals.

In the early 1980s the Medellín cartel invested in various football clubs, including Atlético Nacional, and Bogotá’s Millonarios. This game of football became a mean for the cartel to show their superioirty. The success of the team directly translated to the success of the cartel.

This went on for about two decades; the period consisted of anarchy and chaos, filled with murders, threats and war for power over the sport, and several prison sentences. However, peace was finally established. Even though the drug cartels and their influence is long gone, to this day, their echoes can still be felt in the society, including its football teams.