The son of notorious Colombian drug lord Miguel Rodriguez-Orejuela has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges and agreed to testify against his father and an uncle, both alleged founders of the Cali drug cartel.
William Rodriguez-Abadia agreed to cooperate with authorities Wednesday in federal court in Miami. His father, Miguel Rodriguez-Orejuela, and uncle, Gilberto Rodriguez-Orejuela, are also jailed in Miami, awaiting trial in September.
Rodriguez-Abadia's decision comes two months after he made his first court appearance in Miami, following his surrender to U.S. officials in Panama. He is scheduled for sentencing later this month.
A lawyer, Rodriguez-Abadia is accused of taking up the leadership of the cocaine-smuggling ring after his father and uncle were jailed in the 1990s.
Authorities allege the defendants and several others conspired to import more than 200,000 kilograms of cocaine into the United States between 1990 and 2002.
U.S. officials say the Cali cartel controlled 80 percent of the cocaine entering the United States during the 1980s and early 1990s. Authorities allege the cocaine was hidden in concrete posts, frozen vegetables, pumpkins, lumber, ceramic tile, coffee, chlorine cylinders and other items.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.