NewsFinale
  • Home
  • News
  • Local News
  • Business
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Celeb Lifestyle
  • Crime
  • Entertainment
  • Advertise Here
Gleammour AquaFresh
NewsFinale
  • Home
  • News
  • Local News
  • Business
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Celeb Lifestyle
  • Crime
  • Entertainment
  • Advertise Here
Home Local News Experienced DEA informant faces charges for attempting to blackmail top cocaine dealers

Experienced DEA informant faces charges for attempting to blackmail top cocaine dealers

Longtime DEA informant charged in alleged scheme to extort high-level cocaine traffickers
Up next
Pride Month has been hijacked: Jillian Michaels
Jillian Michaels speaks out on Pride Month hijacking
Published on 19 June 2025
Author
NewsFinale Journal
Share and Follow
FacebookXRedditPinterestWhatsApp


MIAMI – A drug informant who helped the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration build some of its biggest cases has been arrested and charged with scheming to extort major cocaine traffickers facing extradition from Colombia and the Dominican Republic.

Jorge Hernández, 57, was charged in a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday with one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud. He remains in custody after being arrested and making his initial court appearance Wednesday in federal court in Fort Lauderdale.

Court papers allege that Hernández operated a scheme starting in 2020 in which he pretended to be a paralegal who, for the right price, could obtain lighter sentences for drug kingpins, according to 17-page FBI affidavit.

The FBI alleged that Hernández demanded payments of $1 million from six suspected drug traffickers who ended up surrendering or being extradited to the U.S.

In exchange for the payments — which came in the form of cash, jewelry, properties and vehicles in Colombia — Hernández guaranteed short prison sentences that would be served “in an apartment similar to being on house arrest,” the court papers said.

But Hernández never delivered on his promises, nor did he have authority to offer such leniency. As the traffickers who thought they were buying influence grew upset, he would deny responsibility and shift blame to the traffickers’ attorneys, the FBI said.

Nestor Menendez, an attorney who represented Hernández at his initial appearance, declined to comment.

In two decades as a confidential informant, Hernández had been one of federal law enforcement’s most prolific case-makers, providing the types of tips and information that led to prosecutions of high seas drug smugglers, a former University of Miami money laundering expert and a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Better known in law enforcement circles by his Spanish nickname Boliche — bowling ball — the beefy, bald-headed Colombian was also the star witness in the 2023 bribery trial of two former DEA supervisors convicted for leaking information on ongoing drug investigations.

He got his start as an informant in 2000 shortly after he was arrested in Venezuela, where he had fled to escape drug dealers seeking to kill him, according to a 2023 investigation by The Associated Press.

After bribing officials to secure his release, he approached the DEA, admitting to killing three people during his days as a drug runner near his home along Colombia’s Caribbean coast. He then began helping the DEA build some of its biggest cases.

Agents grew so reliant on Hernández’s network of criminal associates across the Western hemisphere that they set him up with a phone and desk at a federal anti-narcotics task force, the AP found.

The DEA terminated his cooperation agreement in 2008, court records show, after authorities discovered he had threatened to expose informants as snitches unless they paid him to keep quiet.

But he kept close to some of his former DEA handlers and eventually returned to Miami. In 2016, he met DEA agent John Costanzo, who was supervising agents investigating Colombian businessman Alex Saab, a suspected bag man for Venezuela’s Maduro. In 2023, Hernández testified against Costanzo and another former DEA agent convicted of taking bribes from narco defense attorneys.

Hernández turned the tables on the DEA around the same time he was charged alongside University of Miami professor Bruce Bagley for helping move $3 million on behalf of Saab, who prosecutors said was secretly negotiating a deal to betray Maduro.

Those charges remain under seal. In the complaint unsealed Wednesday, the FBI that Hernández is serving a term of probation on a federal conviction for conspiracy to commit money laundering that is set to end in May 2027.

—

Mustian reported from New York.

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Share and Follow
FacebookXRedditPinterestWhatsApp
You May Also Like
Hurricane Melissa leaves at least 25 dead in Haiti, widespread damage in Jamaica and Cuba
  • Local News

Hurricane Melissa Claims Over 25 Lives in Haiti, Causes Extensive Damage in Jamaica and Cuba

SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba (AP) — Hurricane Melissa’s devastating path has resulted…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • October 29, 2025
WATCH LIVE at 9 a.m.: DeSantis holds news conference at University of South Florida
  • Local News

Live Coverage at 9 a.m.: Governor DeSantis Addresses Press at University of South Florida Conference

TAMPA, Fla. – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is set to address the…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • October 29, 2025
Public gets glimpse at Savannah Civic Center plans
  • Local News

Unveiled: Exciting New Plans for the Future of Savannah Civic Center

SAVANNAH, Ga. () – The Savannah Civic Center is set to be…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • October 29, 2025
The science behind record-breaking Hurricane Melissa
  • Local News

Unveiling the Scientific Forces Driving Record-Breaking Hurricane Melissa

Jeff Berardelli serves as the Chief Meteorologist and Climate Specialist at WFLA.…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • October 29, 2025
Trump directs Pentagon to start testing nuclear weapons
  • Local News

Trump Orders Pentagon to Initiate Nuclear Weapons Testing: A Bold Move Igniting Global Debate

On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump declared that he has directed the…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • October 30, 2025
'Level 3 sex offenders' in Chatham County must report to sheriff’s office on Halloween
  • Local News

Chatham County Mandates Halloween Check-In for Level 3 Sex Offenders at Sheriff’s Office

In an effort to enhance community safety this Halloween, the Chatham County…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • October 30, 2025
The US draws down troops on NATO's eastern flank as Europe frets about a security vacuum
  • Local News

US Troop Withdrawal Sparks Security Concerns: Is NATO’s Eastern Flank Vulnerable?

BRUSSELS – The United States has announced plans to reduce its military…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • October 29, 2025
Cyclone Montha weakens after battering India's eastern coast with rain and wind
  • Local News

Cyclone Montha Diminishes After Lashing India’s Eastern Coast with Intense Rain and Wind

NEW DELHI – Cyclone Montha began to lose its intensity on Wednesday…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • October 29, 2025
Bachelor star jailed for huge cocaine and ice haul is pregnant
  • Entertainment

Pregnant ‘Bachelor’ Star Faces Jail Time After Massive Cocaine and Ice Bust

Marjorie Griffiths, who gained fame as a contestant on The Bachelor, has…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • October 30, 2025
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in New Jersey on Election Day
  • Local News

New Jersey Election Day 2023: Key Insights and Expectations Revealed in AP Decision Notes

WASHINGTON – The race for New Jersey’s governor’s seat is heating up,…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • October 30, 2025

Missouri School Bus Incident: Dozens of Students En Route to FFA Convention Involved in Rollover Accident

A journey to the National Future Farmers of America (FFA) Convention took…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • October 30, 2025
Sia’s estranged husband denied sole custody of their son after contentious divorce battle
  • Celeb Lifestyle

Sia’s Custody Battle: Estranged Husband Loses Bid for Sole Custody of Son Amid Divorce Dispute

Sia’s estranged husband, Dan Bernad, recently faced a setback in his legal…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • October 30, 2025
NewsFinale Journal
  • Home
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Sitemap
  • DMCA
  • Advertise Here
  • Donate
Go to mobile version