Rudolfo "El Yayo" Yana (1945-) was a Bolivian drug trafficker who served as head of production for the Santa Blanca Cartel.
Biography[]
Rudolfo Yana was born in Bolivia in 1945, a descendant of a long line of Aimara cocaleros. He farmed coca with his bare hands and became a union leader, but the United States' attempt to destroy coca production during the "Dignity Plan" caused Yana to become involved with criminal narcotrafficking. Yana became head of production for Rodrigo Carlos Pérez Morales' Santa Blanca Cartel after the cartel threatened his family, and, while he preferred making deals over violence and championed traditional attitudes towards coca growing, he was increasingly forced to throw his lot in with the violent Santa Blanca organization as it took over Bolivia's illicit drug trade. His grandson Gonzalo Yana became a liaison between the cartel and its governmental allies, while he employed Marcus Jensen and Katrine Svendsen to grow hybrid coca plants.
In 2019, the United States launched Operation Kingslayer to bring down Santa Blanca after the murder of undercover DEA agent Ricky Sandoval, and Yana was captured by the American Ghost Recon special forces team at his home in Espiritu Santo.
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