Imagine if your boss wanted you to start selling insurance on your product to make more money. But you knew the whole thing was a scam.
As a person of integrity, you’d stand up to your boss—tell him or her what they wanted you to do isn’t right.
Now imagine your boss is Pablo Escobar. And taking a moral stand against him could get you killed.
This scenario isn’t made up. It’s the predicament my guest found himself in once he got out of prison (the first time).
Dr. Jorge Valdes is the author of Coming Clean: The True Story of a Cocaine Drug Lord and His Unexpected Encounter with God. His more recent books are Narco Mindset & Narco Mindset Journal, which helps the reader achieve the “Ultimate Mindset in 12 Weeks.”
Dr. Valdes grew up under communist rule in Cuba. At age 10, his family escaped religious persecution to settle in Miami, Florida.
Age 19, he had a bright future. He became the youngest employee at the Federal Reserve Bank while pursuing a degree at University of Miami. Then his life took a dramatic turn.
He accepted an accounting position at a small grocery store in Little Havana (Miami) to help with Spanish-speaking clients. Days into his new job, he noticed a bag with $135,000 cash in the office.
The next time he saw a big bag of cash he called the boss to ask what was going on. His boss told him, “We’re not grocers. We’re drug dealers.”
Jorge Valdes soon became the biggest cocaine dealer in the United States. His prominent position put him in direct contact with presidents of foreign countries and other recognizable names.
In this episode, he mentions dealing with “Somoza” (President of Nicaragua 1974-1979), “Noriega” (Military Leader of Panama 1983-1989) & “Pablo” (Escobar, Dr. Valdes’ Columbian boss).
Dr. Valdes lived a lavish lifestyle for many years. His income from importing and selling cocaine amounted to $1 million a month. He had mansions around the country and owned $1 million worth of cars. He says money laundering laws in the US were created because of his organization.
Now in his 60s, Dr. Valdes is on a mission to change lives. He’s earned a PhD and been invited to the White House to advise the United States government on drug policy.
Other topics discussed:
- Conversations with his dad
- Reason they left Cuba
- Why his father refused food stamps
- Why he wakes up at 4:30am
- Grocery store was a front for drug deals
- How he became a partner in a drug cartel
- His plane crashed in a Panama jungle
- Why he didn’t blow up the plane
- Watching a boy get tortured in prison
- Why they kept him in a dungeon in Panama
- Why he wouldn’t talk [to his captors]
- Message he sent to Noriega to get his attention
- Bribing the District Attorney to get out of prison
- Noriega sold his cocaine
- Noriega’s visited him in prison
- Noriega’s terms for release
- Learning the Bible from his karate teacher
- Why prison life in the US was so good
- When his mother found out he was a drug dealer
- Why he decided to come clean
- Getting arrested 4 years after he retired
- Why Pablo Escobar put a contract out to kill him
- Defining the real American dream
- The only way the history will remember your name
Listen here:
“The only thing a man has control of in his life is his word—don’t break it for anything.” – Dr. Valdes’s father
Question asked:
- They say “nobody leaves the cartel”…are you a living proof that that is not necessarily true?
- What did you tell them [recruits] about the possibility of getting out [of the cartel]?
Fun questions:
- Apple or Android?
- Narcos: 10% bullsh*t or 90% bullsh*t?
- Is there a documentary or movie I can watch that would be more true-to-life than Narcos?
- What is the most money you have ever seen in front of you?
- What is the most money you have ever lost and found?
- What advice would you give your 19-year-old self?
Books
Connect with Dr. Valdes:
- Website: JorgeValdesPhD.com
- on Facebook
- on Twitter
- on Youtube
