José Orlando Henao Montonya was a leader of the Norte del Valle cartel, which until 1994 was allied to the Cali cartel.
In 1986, he was approached by Mexican socialite Isabella Bautista to form a joint operation to undercut their bosses, the Cali cartel and the Guadalajara cartel respectively. Eventually, Enedina Arellano Félix of Tijuana also became a part of the partnership.
In 1994, he cut off his ties with the Cali cartel after Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela announced the Cali cartel, and its allies would leave the drug trafficking business in 6 months. The relationship between the cartels further deteriorated after Pacho Herrera murdered a Norte del Valle boss, Claudio Salazar. Henao formed a partnership with Mexican drug lord and Cali cartel ally Amado Carrillo Fuentes, who too was opposed to the Cali cartel's retirement plan. He then ordered two unsuccessful simultaneous raids targeting Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela in Cali and Pacho in Mexico. After most of the Cali cartel leadership were arrested in 1995, he had his lieutenant Wilber Varela kill the last Cali boss David Rodriguez in a drive-by shooting.
After the fall of the Medellín cartel in 1993, and the Cali cartel in 1995, Henao's cartel became the biggest drug cartel in Colombia. Henao gave higher autonomy to the lower levels of his organization, effectively taking his organization off public eyes and into the underground. This, combined with the rapid rise of cocaine trafficking in Mexico, would shift the War on Drugs from Colombia to Mexico.
After the fall of the Cali Cartel, Orlando Henao put an assassin to kill Pacho Herrera. He surrended to the police in 1997. In November 1998 he ordered the killing of Hélmer Herrera, that was killed in prison by a sicario on November 4 1998, days later on November 13 1998 he was killed in prison by Hélmer Herrera brother, Alvaro Herrera for ordering the killing of his brother pacho.
Trivia[]
- He is one of several characters that appears in both Narcos and Narcos: Mexico (including Amado Carrillo Fuentes, Hélmer Herrera, Pablo Escobar, Chepe Santa Cruz, Gilberto Rodriguez, Navegante, Blackie, Poison and Jorge Salcedo.
Appearances[]
| Narcos Season 3 | ||||
| "The Kingpin Strategy" Appears |
"The Cali KGB" Appears |
"Follow the Money" Absent |
"Checkmate" Absent |
"MRO" Appears |
| "Best Laid Plans" Appears |
"Sin Salida" Appears |
"Convivir" Absent |
"Todos Los Hombres del Presidente" Appears |
"Going Back to Cali" Absent |
| Narcos Mexico Season 2 | ||||
| "Salva El Tigre" Appears |
"Alea Iacta Est" Absent |
"Ruben Zuno Arce" Absent |
"The Big Dig" Absent |
"AFO" Absent |
| "El Dedazo" Appears |
"Truth and Reconciliation" Absent |
"Se Cayó El Sistema" Absent |
"Growth, Prosperity, and Liberation" Absent |
"Free Trade" Absent |
| Narcos Mexico Season 3 | ||||
| "12 Steps" Absent |
"Como La Flor" Absent |
"Los Juniors" Absent |
"GDL" Absent |
"Boots on the Ground" Absent |
| "La Jefa" Appears |
"La Voz" Absent |
"Last Dance" Appears |
"The Reckoning" Absent |
"Life in Wartime" Absent |