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Upon his release in 1975, Jung, now partners with Lehder, devised a plan to smuggle cocaine into the United States. As they established logistics, including utilizing unsuspecting transportation methods with naive couriers, their operation flourished. The duo soon transitioned to flying cocaine directly from Colombia to U.S. soil, revolutionizing the drug trade model.
With the Medellín Cartel forming an alliance with them, their smuggling operations expanded rapidly, supplying around 80% of the cocaine in the U.S. by the late 1970s. This newfound wealth fueled a lifestyle of excess, marked by opulence and recklessness. However, as money flowed, so did the violence and chaos that accompanied the drug trade.