Friday, April 02, 2021
“He had everything, but …”
Ex-soccer professional has to go to prison for a long time
Jhon Viáfara is a professional footballer in Europe in two of the continent’s biggest leagues, and for Colombia he makes 34 international matches – but at some point a lot obviously goes wrong. After years of investigation, it is clear: a career in football was followed by a career in crime. It temporarily ends in prison.
Jhon Viáfara played for Portsmouth FC in the Premier League and once scored against Manchester City, for Real Sociedad San Sebastian he picked up two red cards in eleven games in the Primera Division and he won the Copa Libertadores, the South American Champions League – but after the end of his career, the Colombian ex-national player got off track. Or rather on the wrong track: In Texas, the 42-year-old was convicted by a court of drug smuggling – and now has to go to prison for eleven years.
Prosecutors accused Viáfara of conspiring with members of the Gulf Cartel to organize cocaine shipments that left Colombia on speedboats and headed for Mexico before eventually ending up in the United States. The Gulf cartel is one of the most powerful criminal syndicates in Colombia and is particularly active in the north-west of the country. It was founded by right-wing paramilitaries in the early 2000s. The group is said to have close contacts with the Mexican Sinaloa cartel.
The former soccer player was investigated for three years. In 2019, he and four other people were arrested near the southern city of Cali after being involved in a car accident. The police reported at the time that he drove at excessive speed and under the influence of alcohol. In the same year, the ex-professional pleaded guilty to the conspiracy to import five kilograms or more of cocaine into the United States; in January 2020, Viáfara was extradited from Colombia to the United States.
“The defendant in this case had it all, worldwide fame, fortune and prestige – despite all of this, he decided to use his talents to advance the ills of drug trafficking,” said Acting US Attorney Nicholas Ganjei. “Drug smugglers should be careful no matter who they are or where they live. The US will punish them if they try to bring drugs into the country.” Viáfara ended his professional career in 2015.
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