A leader of the Cali drug cartel surrendered to authorities on Friday, becoming the second member of a younger gen-eration of Cali bosses to give themselves up this month.
Juan Carlos Ortiz, 33, turned himself in to prosecutors in Cali, 185 miles southwest of the capital, Bogota, and home to the world's largest drug organization.Ortiz, known as "The Razor," was arrested in 1994 on charges of murder, kidnapping, and extortion, but was later released for unknown reasons, RCN radio reported.
The only formal charge against him is for illegal possession of a weapon, the prosecutor's office said. An elite police unit that searches for drug kingpins has carried out raids on Ortiz's properties in and around Cali.
Ortiz's lawyers had been negotiating his surrender for about three weeks, said National Police Chief Rosso Jose Serrano.
Earlier this month, Juan Carlos Ramirez, another young cartel leader, turned himself in.
Ramirez, known as "The Lollipop," and Ortiz are leaders of an emerging group of Cali drug traffickers who gained prominence after authorities jailed the drug syndicate's top people last year.