Ochoa kept many ranches near Medellín, raised more than a thousand Paso Fino Horses and was a successful businessman. Because most of his wealth did not come from criminal activities, it is generally assumed that Ochoa himself was not linked to drug trafficking, although his sons are well known for their involvement in the trade. In
A True Story: Trafficking by Berkley Rice, he writes that Fabio, "smuggled television sets and
Scotch before getting started in cocaine. He collected Picasso paintings and artifacts of Spanish culture.
Jorge Luis Ochoa Vázquez, who was at one time considered the number two leader in the
Medellín Cartel, was arrested in 1996 and given a five-year prison sentence in Colombia.
Fabio Ochoa Vázquez "Fabito" (b. 1957) was
extradited to the United States in September 2001. "In his autobiography,
My life in the world of Horses, published by a
vanity press Mr Ochoa writes that 'Don Fabio is to Colombia's Horse world what
Garcia Marquez is to Colombia's world of letters or what
Fernando Botero is to Colombia's world of painting." A 1989 picture of Fabio Ochoa Restrepo shows him signing his book which he planned to send to the Pope. ==Death and legacy==