Cali cartel boss’ daughter charged with extortion

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Authorities in Colombia have jailed the daughter of one of the world’s most famous drug lords on extortion charges after she allegedly threatened a businessman who owns a farm that she says once belonged to her father.

Maria Alexandra Rodriguez is the daughter of Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, a former head of the Cali cartel, which supplied the bulk of cocaine entering the United States in the 1990s. He is serving a 30-year sentence at a U.S. federal prison in North Carolina.

Rodriguez tried to regain control of the farm near Cali that she said belonged to her father. Prosecutors say that when the businessman who legally owns the property refused, Rodriguez threatened to harm him and his family unless he paid $500,000.

Colombia’s chief prosecutor announced her arrest Thursday.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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