Given the complexities of U.S.-Cuba diplomacy, Vesto’s return could take months. In addition to criminal charges stemming from his alleged 1972 bilking of Investors Overseas Services, a long-defunct mutual fund, he also faces a 1989 indictment for cocaine trafficking. The drug charge is a product of Vesco’s reputed partnership with Colombian kingpin Carlos Lehder, now in a U.S. prison. Vesco reportedly taught Lehder how to launder the cartel’s money.
In the United States, Vesco is chiefly remembered for his $200,000 contribution to Pdehard Nixon’s 1972 re-election campaign, one of the dirty secrets that led to Watergate. In Cuba, he reputedly joined some of Castro’s lieutenants in drug smuggling; one of his main allies was executed in 1989. Rumors that Vesco had fallen from favor have been frequent, but there is no clear answer–aside from the fact that Castro is increasingly desperate to end the U.S. embargo – why the Cubans decided to offer him up now. Perhaps the aging buccaneer had outlived his usefulness–or spent all of his money.
