Convicted leader of the Medellin drug gang Oficina de Envigado, Alirio de Jesus Rendon, alias “El Cebollero” (The Onion Seller) has been released from prison and placed under house arrest, Colombian media reported Friday.
After reviewing the convict’s health problems, a Medellin judge discharged El Cebollero from the Itagui maximum-security prison.
He had served two-thirds of his 50-month sentence for conspiracy to join and fund La Union, a branch of the Oficina de Envigado gang.
El Cebollero reportedly carried out much of Oficina’s drug-dealing and money laundering business in Medellin.
Authorities suspect that prior to his arrest, El Cebollero was the successor of alias “Don Berna,” who was considered the godfather of Oficina de Envigado until his 2008 extradition to the United States.
El Cebollero, however, insists that he was just a very successful onion salesman.
