A former police officer believed to be a leader of the world's biggest cocaine gang surrendered Saturday, the second such suspect to turn himself in this month.
Victor Patino, 35, joined the Cali cartel in the late 1980s and rose to the No. 5 position in the gang, which supplies 80 percent of the world's cocaine.Patino, suspected of being in charge of the cartel's hit men, surrendered at a military police base in Bogota. He said he feared for his life and wanted to answer accusations, said Defense Minister Fernando Botero.
Patino walked into the base alone, Botero said. He appeared tired as he stood before journalists an hour after his surrender, handcuffed and flanked by two soldiers at a boxing gym at the military complex. He wore a suit and tie and wire-rimmed glasses.