Colombia Drug King Guilty on All Counts in Fla. Trial : Convicted of Smuggling Tons of Cocaine Into U.S.

Carlos Lehder Rivas, the biggest foreign drug dealer ever brought to trial in this country, was found guilty today of running a smuggling operation that shipped tons of cocaine from Colombia to the United States.

The verdict against the leader of Colombia’s violent Medellin drug cartel came just after 11 a.m. following seven days of deliberation.

Lehder, 38, and co-defendant Jack Carlton Reed, 57, were convicted of conspiring to smuggle 3.3 tons of cocaine, by way of Norman’s Cay in the Bahamas, from 1978 to 1980.

U.S. Atty. Robert Merkle called Lehder the Henry Ford of drug trafficking, pioneering mass shipments of cocaine by air from Colombia to the United States.

At a news conference this afternoon, Merkle called the verdict “a victory for the good guys.”

Asked whether Lehder will spend the rest of his life in jail, Merkle said: “I certainly hope so. . .. . That is certainly going to be my recommendation.”

Lehder was found guilty on all counts: one count of conspiracy, two of importation of cocaine, seven of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and one of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise.

Life Plus 150 Years

He now faces life plus 150 years in prison and up to $350,000 in fines.

He looked down, then stared straight ahead as the court clerk read the verdicts. Two jurors cried, with one sobbing and burying her face in her hands, as the seven-month trial came to an end.

Reed, of San Pedro, Calif., was convicted on a single conspiracy count and faces up to 15 years in prison and $25,000 in fines.

After reaching the verdict on the charges, the jury had to consider whether Lehder should be forced to forfeit all his Bahamian property, including large parts of Norman’s Cay, several homes, an airstrip and possibly a number of planes, to the U.S. government.

The jury returned for those deliberations after a brief hearing.

Authorities said the Medellin Cartel, named for a city in Colombia, was believed to be responsible for 80% of the cocaine smuggled into the United States. Prosecutors called Lehder the biggest foreign drug smuggler ever brought to trial in the United States.

Jurors’ Names Secret

Jurors’ names have not been revealed for security reasons, and U.S. District Judge Howell W. Melton had the foreman sign the verdict form only with his number.

When Lehder was first brought to the Jacksonville federal courthouse, a small army of police armed with shotguns and automatic weapons surrounded the building. Security eased during the trial, but each day up to 10 federal marshals were in the courtroom.

Lehder allegedly paid off Bahamian Prime Minister Lynden O. Pindling to look the other way while his smuggling operation took over the small island of Norman’s Cay, a short hop from Florida.

The principal prosecution witness was Ed Ward, an ex-Marine pilot running his own marijuana smuggling operation from the island. He teamed up with Lehder, but eventually fell out with Lehder’s co-defendant Reed, he said.

After he was arrested in early 1981, he began cooperating with the DEA.

Ward, who is under federal protection and has been given a new identity, testified about hauling 1,600 kilograms of cocaine from Colombia to Norman’s Cay and flying tons of cocaine from the Bahamian island to airstrips in Florida and Georgia.

Cronkite Testifies

The trial included a brief appearance by former CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite, who testified about being chased away from Norman’s Cay in 1978 when he tried to anchor there. “I was the most naive yachtsman in the Bahamas,” he said.

Lehder was captured by the Colombian army on Feb. 4, 1987, after a fire fight outside a Medellin mansion. He was immediately flown to Florida in a swift extradition move that caused controversy in Colombia.