Dr. Jorge Valdes is an author, coach and motivational speaker. Before turning his life around, Valdes was the #1 cocaine drug trafficker in America as head of U.S. operations for the group that became known as Colombia’s Medellin Drug Cartel.
As a young man in his twenties with an insatiable thirst for money and power, Dr. Jorge Valdes was a founding member of a group that became known as Colombia’s Medellin Drug Cartel, partnering with Pablo Escobar and other infamous drug lords. His key position as a head of U.S. operations brought him into direct contact with presidents, generals, Hollywood celebrities, and hired killers. This Cuban immigrant, raised in poverty, was living the high life in more ways than one. His deeds took him from the lap of luxury to the depths of prison. He has been featured in over 300 television and radio programs worldwide, as well as numerous national and international magazines.
In 1989, Valdes’s life began to change when he asked God to help him find the peace and tranquility he saw in other Christians. It was in prison that he began to study his new-found faith, earning a BA and beginning to study for his Masters degree. In 2000, he published his first book Coming Clean: The True Story of a Cocaine Drug Lord and His Unexpected Encounter with God.
Dr. Valdes earned a BA in accounting from the University of Miami in 1976, a BA in New Testament and Bible Theology from Southeastern Bible College in 1994, a Masters in Bible Theology from Wheaton College in 1995, and a Ph.D. in New Testament, Early Christianity and Ethics from Loyola University in 2001. Valdes serves as an adjunct professor at Wheaton College in Illinois.