Killing Pablo

Philly.com ^ | Posted on Tue, Nov. 20, 2001 | Phiily.com

[Hacksaw]

Escobar's rise to power: From small-time gangster to the terror of Colombia

Pablo Escobar was arguably the richest and most violent criminal in history. Forbes Magazine in 1989 listed him as the seventh-richest man in the world.

A small-time gangster and car thief from Medellin, the second-largest city in Colombia, Escobar violently consolidated the cocaine industry there in the late 1970s. Elected as an alternate to Colombia's Congress in 1983, Escobar enjoyed widespread popularity among the poor in Colombia, especially in his home state of Antioquia.

He turned his violent methods against the state in 1984, when Colombia began cracking down on the cocaine exporters and extraditing them to the United States for trial.

His campaign of murder, kidnapping, bombing and bribery from then until his death in 1993 forced a constitutional crisis in Colombia. He cowed the government into banning extradition, and his murder campaign against judges and prosecutors so intimidated the nation that it abandoned trial by jury and began appointing anonymous, "faceless" judges to prosecute crimes.

At the height of his power in the late 1980s, Escobar and his Medellin drug cartel controlled as much as 80 percent of the multibillion-dollar export of Colombian cocaine to the United States.

Escobar was blamed for assassinating three of the five candidates for Colombian president in 1989, and for instigating a takeover of the Palace of Justice in Bogota in 1986. More than 90 people died in the subsequent siege, including 11 Supreme Court justices.

When one of Escobar's bombs brought down an Avianca Airliner in Colombia in November 1989, killing 107 people, he became one of the most feared terrorists in the world.

Men working for Escobar were caught that same year trying to buy Stinger antiaircraft missiles in Miami.

A heavy pot-smoker, Escobar cultivated a relaxed, informal style with his friends and associates, but he was so vicious to his enemies that he was feared by everyone. In his battle with Colombian police, he placed a bounty on the head of officers in Medellin, paying higher rewards for killing those of greater rank. By the time of his death at age 44, Dec. 2, 1993, Escobar was considered responsible for thousands of deaths in Colombia, yet he was mourned publicly by large crowds in his home city.

[Hacksaw]

You can buy the book or see the documentary of the history channel, which is playing now. This is an an older article, but is relevant because of the book and documentary. It is also some food for thought for those who say that using drugs is a victimless crime.

[My2Cents]

I saw the documentary on History Channel last night. Riveting. Astounding how one criminal, backed by drug money paid by coke heads mainly in the US, could cause such terror and destruction in a nation. His death was a long-time coming. Too bad his place has been taken by communist thugs.

[toothless]

"I saw the documentary on History Channel last night. Riveting. Astounding how one criminal, backed by drug money paid by coke heads mainly in the US, could cause such terror and destruction in a nation. His death was a long-time coming. Too bad his place has been taken by communist thugs. "

You can thank the War on Drugs for that.

[Hacksaw]

You can thank the War on Drugs for that.

Nice way to transfer responsibility.

[Prysson]

Book is phenominal...I honestly couldnt put it down. read it in one sitting...work sucked the next day I was so tired but man was it worth it. Totally awesome read...almost as good as Black Hawk Down.

[toothless]

"Nice way to transfer responsibility."

The WODs makes coke 10x more valuable then gold. Thats a force that goventment can't match.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[hchutch]

I saw the documentary and have read the book.

Truly, there were a lot of heroes who stood up to an evil person. Hugo Martinez Sr., Hugo Martinez Jr., the DEA Agents, the Delta and Centra Spike Operators, and Carlos Castano (member of Los Pepes and now head of the AUC) ALL played vital roles.

Castano's treatment at the hands of the State Department has been shameful, IMO, and is the one issue I have a MAJOR beef with. He took major chances on our behalf, took out a large part of Pablo Escobar's support structure, and has now turned to fight FARC, which has taken over the drug trade. His thanks? He goes on the same list as FARC and al-Qaeda, and that is a disgraceful way to treat someone who is, on balance, a hero.

[Hacksaw]

This is the history channel link:

Killing Pablo

The book was written by the same person that wrote Blackhawk Down.

[dcwusmc]

Pablo rose to power in the exact manner of Al Capone or Joe Kennedy... except that old Joe was able to "sanitize" the family and rose to political prominence AFTER the failed War on Americans in the guise of alcohol prohibition ended. The OTHER gangsters we were gifted with by the first Prohibitionists stayed with crime and today are fattening on the profits garnered by the OTHER war on Americans, in the guise of (some) Drug Prohibition. And THIS is what you drug warriors want to continue to inflict on Americans.

[My2Cents]

Yeah, we should simply let these criminals run loose, terrorize and butcher their innocent countrymen, and let Americans smoke or snort themselves into oblivion....Watching "Killing Pablo" made me realize, even more, the necessity of the war on drugs.

[Physicist]

It is also some food for thought for those who say that using drugs is a victimless crime.

You can write a nearly identical article, substituting "Capone" for "Escobar" and "Chicago" for "Medellin", and conclude that it is food for thought for those who say that drinking alcohol is a victimless crime.

Wouldn't you agree?

[Hacksaw]

Castano's treatment at the hands of the State Department has been shameful, IMO, and is the one issue I have a MAJOR beef with. He took major chances on our behalf, took out a large part of Pablo Escobar's support structure, and has now turned to fight FARC, which has taken over the drug trade. His thanks? He goes on the same list as FARC and al-Qaeda, and that is a disgraceful way to treat someone who is, on balance, a hero.

I think the AUC is still regarded as a "necessary evil" by both Columbia and the US. There is supposedly a lot of cooperation between the Colombian military and AUC, even though they have disavowed them (sort of like Los Peppes and the Columbian National Police). As long as they keep fighting communists, they will (IMO) get a wink and a nod even as they are trashed publicly.

[Hacksaw]

Wouldn't you agree?

Not really. Capone did not target completely innocent civilians and assasinate presidential candidates. He was a violent man, but nowhere near the scale as Escobar.

Even so, it does not make funding people like Escobar any more moral.

[hchutch]

Perhaps, but listing the AUC in the same list as FARC and al-Qaeda, with the penalties involved is still a problem. That list, IIRC, is reserved for group that are a threat to American interests or citizens.

Now, event he State Department said that the AUC avoids targeting American interests and citizens. If anything, they are FIGHTING groups that have targeted and killed American citizens. So why did they go on the same list as the groups they are fighting?

[Hacksaw]

Now, event he State Department said that the AUC avoids targeting American interests and citizens. If anything, they are FIGHTING groups that have targeted and killed American citizens. So why did they go on the same list as the groups they are fighting?

I would suspect Clinton holdovers in the state dept.

[MrLeRoy]

Yeah, we should simply let these criminals run loose, terrorize and butcher their innocent countrymen,

Terrorism and butchery are and would remain illegal; what we'd be doing is defunding these criminals.

and let Americans smoke or snort themselves into oblivion

They're doing it today despite the War On Some Drugs.

[toothless]

"Yeah, we should simply let these criminals run loose, terrorize and butcher their innocent countrymen, and let Americans smoke or snort themselves into oblivion....Watching "Killing Pablo" made me realize, even more, the necessity of the war on drugs."

Yea, its working out real well.

[toothless]

Also, Escobar is a creation of the war on drugs. Not the other way around.

[bucephalus]

This book was written by the author who wrote BLACK HAWK DOWN. Unfortunately, I didn't read or see the latter, thus I can't comment upon it. I found KILLING PABLO something of a flat read, though. I usually devour this kind of book but this one left me wanting. Gabriel Garcia Marquez's book NOTES ON A KIDNAPPING (Is that the exact title?) was better although it wasn't as good as I had expected.

I haven't read many books on Columbia; if anyone can recommend some other books, articles, etc. please do so.