Carlos Lehder held Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones and Ringo Starr of the Beatles on his private island in the Bahamas for about a month – Source: Eric Vandeville/Getty Images
The stories of Colombian drug traffickers are shrouded in a halo in which it is often difficult to distinguish reality from fiction. This is especially true when considering the eccentricities of the Medellín Cartel, which has been one of the most wanted groups by Colombian and international authorities for years. So the story behind the importation of Pablo Escobar's hippos exists with the legend that he demanded that the Rolling Stones play for him at a private show at the Hacienda Nápoles.
From Infobae
In this sense, Carlos Lehder is one of the most famous artists for his extravagances. The Quindiano, of German descent, is a special figure in the history of drug trafficking in Colombia because he had the most complex personality of all the bosses. His abrupt mood swings and contradictions (he admired John Lennon, Adolf Hitler and Che Guevara alike) were well known, and there was also the fact that he violated a sacred rule of drug traffickers: not to use the drugs with which they operated .
Nevertheless, his role in the organization was too important to be able to do without Lehder. Finally, starting in 1978, the boss came up with the idea that gave the Medellín cartel its most glorious years with the takeover of Norman Cay, an island in the Bahamas that served as a bridge between Colombia and the United States for the export of cocaine. On the best days, the Lehder airport set up there could receive up to 3,000 kg of the alkaloid every hour.
This privileged position in the operation allowed Lehder to amass a large fortune. With money came influence, and with influence came the opportunity to not only live like the rock stars of the day, but to pursue them. And the Quindian loved rock, unlike his colleagues in the Medellín cartel, who preferred rancheras (as in the case of Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha, aka El Mexicano) or romantic ballads (in the case of Pablo Escobar). This went so far that Lehder had a statue of John Lennon erected on his private estate in Quindío, the Posada Alemana, which was stolen in 2003 and whose whereabouts are still unknown today.
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