It was she who shared the last moments of the drug trafficker before his capture, her love led her to serve a sentence for trying to avoid being arrested. Among the secrets that she still keeps, there are clues to some facts such as the notorious process 8000, which financed the presidential campaign of Ernesto Samper.
The former queen of tourism is one of the most recognized ex-partners of the late drug trafficker.
Aura Rocío at 20 years old was already the queen of tourism in Valle del Caucaand was about to finish his degree in business administration. One night at the end of 1987, she was invited to a meeting in a building north of Cali. According to her, a senator introduced her toGilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, at that time he was only involved in a problem with the law Spanish, but, they introduced him as a businessman.
“We were destined to be together, life put him there. He was conquering me without me noticing. When you are in love you are not aware of anything, I knew who you were, you think with your heart, not with your head”,
said Aura, which according to her at the time the romance began he was divorcing his second wife. She added: “I was not the little girl who gave herself up to a mobster for money. I fell in love with him”.
What started as a dream story, little by little faded, Aura Rocío Restrepo was with Gilberto Rodríguez at the most violent moment of the cartel war, in the resurgence of attacks and homicides in Colombiaand what was the fall of her husband and her brother Miguel, who led the criminal group of Cali.
Her life It began to be that of any persecuted criminal, not because she was responsible or co-author of what Gilberto was doing, but because the authorities knew that wherever she was, the capo would also accompany her. For this reason, she herself has revealed that the millions were worth nothing, for example, in an interview with El Tiempo she revealed:
“When I give talks to children and young people, I do it to tell them that money is not everything. Having a house with luxurious furniture, a sofa that cost several thousand dollars, but without being able to go out, without enjoying a family.”
Aura Rocío despite if he is innocent, he has details of several stories, for example, of the renowned 8000 process, case where it is presumed that the Cali Cartel financed the presidential campaign of Ernesto SamperBy the way, recently she herself said she witnessed calls between the former president and the drug trafficker.
The former president asks that the situation of the candidate with alleged links to criminal groups be clarified.
To this the former queen replied:
“I heard Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela speak with you on the phone, I saw boxes and boxes of dollars sent for his campaign, I know about the commitments he made and could not fulfill. Don’t be cynical scoundrel. Seriously, it’s over… Shame on others”,
she herself had stated that these monies were sent in shoe boxes and that communication between Samper and Rodríguez Orejuela was frequent.
In their years as a couple, they could see a very educated man, despite only completing fourth grade, someone very charismatic who had intelligence among his main virtues; but, as revealed Gilberto became very depressed, so much so that he took antidepressants at night.
In his book, “I don’t want to shut up anymore” he reveals that despite the love he had for her, he was never happy, in fact, she was never his wife anymore. that Gilberto did not separate from Miriam, but he was not capable of leaving him, because Aura was his only consolation.
It all ended on Friday, June 9, 1995, when they noticed the presence of the authorities around 3 in the afternoon, she herself put Gilberto in the closet where minutes later the police found him.This made her pay a 3-year sentence for the crimes of concealment and conspiracy to commit a crime.
The relationship became by correspondence until one day it ended, according to what she says, with He left everything: the money, his properties, the episodes of violence and the “karma” of being the wife of a drug dealer. Years later, when he regained his freedom, he got married and had children, but, despite everything, Gilberto never stopped being the love of his life.
Aura Rocío Restrepo on her Twitter account
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