For decades, Diego Marín, a low-profile yet cunning operative for Colombia’s Cali cartel, built a global money-laundering empire — and did so under the protection of the very agency meant to stop him.
While the DEA publicly labeled Marín a top target, an investigation by the Associated Press reveals a darker truth: the agency was deeply compromised. Marín corrupted a DEA agent, José Irizarry, with luxury gifts, prostitutes, and bribes. Irizarry, in return, protected Marín, helped launder drug money, and even made him godfather to his children.
Marín’s “White Wash” sting operation, created by DEA to capture him, became a sham. Instead of arrests and seizures, it turned into a globe-trotting party, with agents spending laundered funds on yachts, drugs, and strip clubs — all while Marín expanded his empire, generating up to $100 million a year.
The fallout was staggering. A 2020 audit revealed that most of the operation’s reported successes were fabricated. Only five actual convictions were tied to the effort, and over $19 million remains unaccounted for.
Irizarry eventually pleaded guilty and is now serving 12 years in prison. Marín was arrested in Spain in 2023, fled to Portugal, and is now seeking asylum amid accusations of bribing Colombian officials and donating illegally to President Gustavo Petro’s campaign.
“He was untouchable,” said a former U.S. investigator. Even a Colombian general who pursued him lost his job.
Now exposed, Marín’s story reflects the deep flaws within DEA’s operations — and the high cost of turning a blind eye to corruption.
