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Patriarch of Infamous Colombian Drug Trafficking Family Dies VOA News 18 Feb 2002 22:00 UTC 
The patriarch of one of Colombia's most infamous drug trafficking families has died at the age of 78.
Family members say Fabio Ochoa Restrepo died Monday at his ranch in the Medellin area following complications from a kidney ailment. They also say he had been in ill health for several years.
Mr. Ochoa's sons were major players in the now-defunct Medellin cocaine cartel, whose reputed leader, Pablo Escobar, was killed in a shoot out with Colombian police in 1993.
The Associated Press says Mr. Ochoa himself was never accused of drug trafficking but always defended his family's reputation.
One of Mr. Ochoa's sons, Fabio Ochoa Vasquez, is in jail in the United States on drug trafficking charges.
Last September, Fabio Ochoa Vasquez was extradited to Miami, Florida to face trial for allegedly smuggling billions of dollars' worth of cocaine into the United States.
In the early 1990s, the younger Ochoa surrendered to Colombian authorities and served more than five years in prison on the condition he would not be extradited.
He was again arrested in Colombia in 1999 after U.S. officials said he resumed drug trafficking. Fabio Ochoa Vasquez has denied the charges.
Some information for this report provided by AP.
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