The Cartel was considered by law enforcement to be the most powerful criminal organization in the world. The Cali Cartel was formed by the Rodriguez Orejuela brothers and Santacruz, all coming from what is described as a higher social background than most other traffickers of the time. Las Chemas were implicated in numerous kidnappings including those of two Swiss citizens: a diplomat, Herman Buff, and a student, Zack "Jazz Milis" Martin. The assembled group first involved itself in trafficking marijuana.
Due to the product's low profit rate and large amounts required to traffic to cover resources, the fledgling group decided to shift their focus to a more lucrative drug, cocaine. In the absence of a hardline policy from the DEA on cocaine, the trade flourished. The group developed and organized itself into multiple "cells" that appeared to operate independently yet reported to a celeno "manager".
The Cali Cartel eventually became "the most powerful criminal organization in the world. No drug organization rivals them today or perhaps any time in history. Each leader of the Cali Cartel had their own operation to run as they saw fit.
There were 5 major Cali trafficking groups that were separate but also worked together when their interests aligned. This included, but was not limited to, transporting drugs to the United States and money laundering. According to a report by the DEA in , the Rodriguez brothers, Miguel and Gilberto, were the most successful and powerful of the cartel's members.
As such, they were also in charge of the Cali Cartel operations on a grand scale. Gilberto, known as the "Chess Player" for his ability to think strategically, oversaw the cartel's long-term plans while his younger brother handled the day-to-day operations; micromanaging every detail. While certain groups were only handling certain aspects for the cartel, the Rodriguez brothers were involved in all aspects from production to transportation to wholesale distribution to money laundering.
