Foundation
The Cali Cartel was formed by the Rodriguez brothers and Santacruz, all coming from what is described as a higher social background than most other traffickers of the time. The recognition of this social background was displayed in the group's nickname as "Cali's Gentlemen."
The group originally assembled as a ring of kidnappers known as Las Chemas, which was led by Luis Fernando Tamayo Garcia. Las Chemas were implicated in numerous kidnappings including that of two Swiss citizens, a diplomat Herman Buff and a student, Zack Jazz Milis Martin. They reportedly received $700,000 dollars in ransom, which is believed to have gone on to fund their drug trafficking empire.
The assembled group first involved itself in trafficking marijuana. Due to the product's low profit rate, and larger amount required to traffic to cover resources, the fledgling group decided to shift their focus to the more lucrative drug, cocaine.
In the early 1970s the cartel sent Helmer "Pacho" Herrera to New York City to establish a distribution center. This action came during a time when the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was not fully pursuing cocaine, and viewed the drug as less critical than heroin, at one point releasing a report stating of cocaine "it is not physically addictive ... and does not usually result in serious consequences, such as crime, hospital emergency room admissions or both."
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