For Bahamians of a certain generation, the name Carlos Lehder immediately evokes one place: Norman’s Cay.
Beginning in the late 1970s, the Colombian drug trafficker transformed the quiet Exuma cay into a major cocaine transshipment base between Colombia and the United States. The DEA’s own history identifies Norman’s Cay as Lehder’s base for air smuggling, while contemporary accounts describe an airstrip, armed security and aircraft carrying cocaine north toward Florida. DEA
It was one of the most extraordinary chapters of the cocaine era—and one that left a lasting mark on The Bahamas and its relationship with American drug enforcement.
But Lehder’s story apparently did not end there.
In this fascinating article from Word on Fire, we encounter a very different Carlos Lehder: an aging former drug kingpin confronting his past and turning toward Christianity.
Coming as The Bahamas once again debates the role of the DEA on Bahamian soil, the history of Norman’s Cay makes this account particularly timely—and the transformation at its center makes it quite remarkable.
