by Mark Bowden
4
Trouble at once…falling, too. DEA chronology. Pablo concluded…radio or cell phone. Centra Spike soldiers. The dialogue from the released tape is reprinted in Canon's El Patrón. Pablo had vehemently denied involvement in Jaramillo's murder, Whitewash, 236–3 7, arguing that the killing must have been done by right-wing paramilitaries, and stating, "I have never belonged to the right because it repulses me." The tape told a different story. This made…colonel's men. Centra Spike soldiers. DEA chronology. Interviews with Colombian members of the Search Bloc. Gen. Martinez denied threatening his men that he would shoot traitors in the head. The story was related to me by several of his men. He also denied the Centra Spike accounts of his men's reluctance to crawl in the dirt or fish information from latrines, or that two sources were beaten or thrown from helicopters. Martinez claimed that these accusations stemmed from statements made by Escobar during that time, and that he was vigilant in upholding the rights of prisoners. Escobar did accuse the then colonel of throwing men from helicopters, as reported in Whitewash, 263. The two men in question from this incident, Martinez told me, were turned over to the authorities and prosecuted for aiding a fugitive. The Centra Spike soldier I interviewed believed (perhaps wrongly) that the men had been killed, and reported this belief to Jacoby as I have recorded it here. Two days…not to kill him. Gaviria. News of a Kidnapping, 26. Pablo shifted…August, 1989. DEA chronology. El Tiempo, "Escobar: 17 Años." But Gaviria…through carefully. Gaviria. News of a Kidnapping 70, 74–75. Death Beat, 252–56. Pablo answered…know too much." Gaviria. DEA chronology. News of a Kidnapping 84–86, 90–93. Whitewash, 248. The Andean Cocaine Industry, 111–12. But not…too much." Gen. Martinez. News of a Kidnapping 95. The dismembered body of Jaramillo, a sixty-six-year-old retired journalist, was not found until October 1997. Pablo still had…biggest victory. Gaviria. So the dying…soul of stone." Gaviria. News of a Kidnapping 126, 144, 178. DEA chronology. Monica de Greiff…to stop. Whitewash, 224. Gaviria. The drug boss's…from there? Gaviria, Mendoza. Just as Gaviria…say later. Gaviria. Whitewash, 250. News of a Kidnapping, 186–87. But his efforts…surrendered. DEA chronology El Tiempo, "Escobar: 17 Años."
5
Pablo orchestrated…of honor." This account of the surrender is drawn from News of a Kidnapping, 280–87. Whitewash, 254–56. Newspaper accounts from June 20, 1991, in El Tiempo, El Nuevo Siglo, El Espectador, and El Tiempo, June 21. Visit to prison site earlier is reported in Mi Hermano Pablo, 39, 40. It was over…very tall." Gaviria, Mendoza, transcript of Pablo's confession hearing from Semana, February 11, 1992, translated by Ricky Ortiz. The Andean Cocaine Industry, 112. So ended…public relations. Gaviria Mendoza, Gen. Martinez. He told…Colombia. "I Won't Study Law," El Colombiano, translated by Ricky Ortiz. Murphy.
IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE: JUNE 1991–SEPTEMBER 1992
1
Pablo had fallen…back together. Uribe. During the months…behind them. DEA chronology. The Andean Cocaine Industry, 9 (chart), 99. Uribe. Description of the prison is from CIA videotape, DEA photographs, and Agent Peña's descriptions from his July 26, 1992, visit. Mi Hermano Pablo, 52–56. It was not…and then. Uribe. The Andean Cocaine Industry, 113. Pablo's attitude toward these excursions was expressed in a July 25 conversation with his attorneys recorded by Centra Spike. To pass time…of ground. Uribe, Mi Hermano Pablo, 52–58. There were also…regular visits. Uribe. DEA chronology. President Gaviria…maneuver. Mendoza, Gaviria, Estupinan.
2
Throughout the…to form suspicions. Gaviria, Busby, Mendoza, Estupinan, Gen. Martinez, de Greiff, Pardo. Entrusted with…to act. Gaviria, Mendoza, Uribe, DEA cables. The Andean Cocaine Industry, 48. Whitewash, 274.
3
Mendoza, Gaviria, Pardo. Dialogue is based on their memories. Also the minutes of the Colombian Security Council investigation of Pablo's escape (from Gaviria's archives).
4
Gaviria, Mendoza. Dialogue is based on their memories. Security Council minutes.
5
Morris D.Busby…Pablo Escobar. Busby, Christ, Gaviria, Toft, Wagner, Mendoza, Pardo, DEA cables.
6
On the day…the United States. Centra Spike soldiers. Apart from…want a piece. Parameters, summer 1997, Centra Spike soldiers, Pentagon sources. Major Jacoby…the answer. Busby, Centra Spike soldiers, Pentagon sources.
7
When Pablo…army patrols. Mendoza, Gaviria, Pardo, Clear and Present, 12. Mi Hermano Pablo, 64–69. In a taped…comrades." Pablo's statement is from Gaviria's archives, translated by Julie Lopez. The day after…very much. DEA cables, Gaviria, de Greiff, DEA cables from July 22–26. Trying to cut through…good luck then." Transcript of Pablo's conversation is from Gaviria's archives, translated by Julie Lopez.
8
Centra Spike soldiers, Delta Force soldiers, Pentagon sources, Busby, Toft, Wagner, Joulwon, Murphy, Gaviria, Burruss, Peña.
9
Busby, Centra Spike soldiers, Toft, Pardo, Gaviria, Wagner.
10
The colonel…is not clear. Gen. Martinez, Capt. Martinez, Murphy, Peña, DEA cables, Wagner, CIA videotape, CIA profile. A week after…escape. DEA cables, Centra Spike soldiers, Delta Force soldiers, Wagner, Reyes.
11
Transcript of September 8, 1992, RCN interview, translated by Maria Carrizosa.
LOS PEPES: OCTOBER 1992–OCTOBER 1993
This chapter is based on State Department and DEA cables, as indicated in the text, on the DEA chronology, the Archive chronology, and interviews with Busby, Wagner, Gen. Martinez, Capt. Martinez, Delta Force soldiers, Centra Spike soldiers, Toft, Murphy, Peña, Uribe, de Greiff, Londono, Pardo, and Sheridan. Pablo's note to Martinez was in Gaviria's archives, translated by Julie Lopez. Pablo's letter to Busby is from the former ambassador's files, translated by Eduardo Mendoza. The letter by Lehder and accounts of the debriefings of Ospina (SZE-92–0053) are from the DEA's Bogotá files. Twelve of Pablo's men were killed: Brance Muñoz and his brothers Paul and Jhon, Jhony River, Jhon Tobon, Wilmar Arroyava, William Trujillo, Juan Diaz, Jorge Zapata, William Echeverry, Juan Muñoz, and Carlos Arcila. Martinez said he turned over these men's names to de Greiff for prosecution, but that nothing was ever done, and he suggests that the former attorney general may have had some relationship with the death squad. De Greiff denies it.
THE KILL: OCTOBER 1993–DECEMBER 2, 1993
1
Colonel Martinez…his strength. Gen. Martinez, DEA cables, State Dept. cables, Peña, Delta Force soldiers, Busby, Capt. Martinez, members of the Search Bloc. The letters to Pablo from Maria Victoria and Juan Pablo were in the Bogotá embassy files and were translated by Julie Lopez.
2
Mendoza.
3
It was during…operations worldwide. See Black Hawk Down. When I wrote the book about the October 3, 1993, battle, I had never heard of Centra Spike. Some of the same men who served with Delta in Colombia also fought in the Battle of Mogadishu, among them John Macejunas, Earl Fillmore, Joe Vega, and Dave McKnight. Fillmore was killed in Mogadishu. It was in this climate…their efforts." "Exit El Patron," 77–78. Guillermoprieto's story…in Colombia. Sheehan, Powell, Sheridan, Slocombe, Pentagon sources.
4
Capt. Martinez, DEA cables, Gen. Martinez, Estupinan, Centra Spike soldiers, Delta Force soldiers.
5
Magee, Murphy, Peña, Busby, DEA cables, State Dept. cables, de Greiff, Rubin, and Gaviria.
6
Magee, videotape of the airport scene from Bogotá TV stations (collected by Mills and Doughenbaugh), DEA cables, State Dept. cables, Busby, Toft, Peña, Murphy, Gaviria, Pablo's letter to Los Pepes and accounts of his phone calls from Gaviria's archives, translated by Julie Lopez.
7
Capt. Martinez, Gen. Martinez, Centra Spike soldiers; description of the house is from DEA photos and videotape shot by camera crews working on the documentary Killing Pablo, and still photos shot by Akira Suwa of The Philadelphia Inquirer, DEA cables, Cepeda, Fern
andez, details of Pablo's last day from El Patrón, chapter 19, translated by Ricky Ortiz. Pablo's last conversations from Gaviria's archives, translated by Julie Lopez.
AFTERMATH
Police on…for so long. Capt. Martinez, Search Bloc members, Naranjo, autopsy photos and report for Pablo and Limón. Aguilar confirmed that he fired the fatal shot in an interview wth El Tiempo, November 17, 2000. Gen. Martinez asserted that the shot had to have been more than "one meter" away in the same El Tiempo article, and also to me. Murphy told me the story of the Search Bloc member selling his blood-splattered clothing. Capt. Martinez told me that it was Murphy who had shaved off one end of Pablo's mustache first, for a souvenir, and that the other end was then shaved off by Search Bloc members to complete the look. Murphy denies it. The colonel…of victory. Gen. Martinez, Capt. Martinez, Pardo. Ambassador Morris…said Busby. Busby, Canas. Days before…successful mission. Murphy, Peña, Delta Force soldiers, Toft, Gen. Martinez, Capt Martinez. Moments before…showstopper." Toft, Vargas, Busby, Canas, Gaviria. I asked the former ambassador if his own cable didn't indicate that he believed there was a connection between Los Pepes and the Search Bloc, and he said that it did not. "I was never convinced of it," he said. Colombian TV…and home." Video of the death scene compiled by Mills and Doughenbaugh from Bogotá and Medellín TV files. Delta Force soldiers. Analyzing the…all by himself. Centra Spike soldiers, Murphy. Pictures of the party in Medellín from DEA files. Hermilda…went through." From a TV interview given by Hermilda. After Pablo…all that." Gen. Martinez, Capt. Martinez, DEA chronology. In the days…or deportation. Video compiled by Mills and Doughenbaugh. The account of Juan Pablo's visit to the embassy is from Busby and Toft. Uribe told me about the family's recent travails. Centra Spike…much reduced. Centra Spike soldiers, Pentagon sources. The death…flowerpots. Colombian news accounts, video compiled by Mills and Doughenbaugh, Busby, Murphy, photos of the grave by Akira Suwa. Eduardo Mendoza…us all." Gaviria, Mendoza. Roberto…made it. Uribe. After his…the means" Toft, DEA cables, Murphy, Peña, Magee, "Inside America's Troubled Wars."
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I'd like to thank all the people I can't name for their help on this book. The manhunt for Pablo Escobar is another of those complex missions in the modern history of the U.S. military, like the battle story told in Black Hawk Down, that otherwise would have remained largely unknown. The issue of whether the United States should target foreign citizens for assassination merits scrutiny and discussion, but I think this story makes it clear that on occasion it still does so.
Robert J.Rosenthal and David Zucchino at The Philadelphia Inquirer were enthusiastic about this story from the start, and supported me with it throughout. I'm grateful again to Morgan Entrekin for his careful editing and steady encouragement, to Brendan Cahill, for his always cheerful and efficient help, to Michael Hornburg, Beth Thomas, and Bonnie Thompson for their diligent copyediting, and Don Kennison, Chuck Thompson, and Diana Marcela Alvarez for their proofreading, and to all the warm, talented people at Grove/Atlantic. Thanks again to my agent, Rhoda Weyr, who never steers me wrong.
Major Fernando Buitrago of the Policía Nacional de Colombia was tremendously helpful to me on my first trip to Colombia, and Jay Brent and Gerardo Reyes were of invaluable assistance on my second. Maria Carrizosa was a very lucky find for me in Bogotá, and I'm grateful to Adriana Foglia for steering me to her. Eduardo Mendoza was extremely generous with his time, and his willingness to translate for me at a moment's notice enabled me to carry on extensive e-mail conversations with sources in Colombia. General Hugo Martinez was unfailingly polite and diligent in answering my questions, even about difficult matters. Organization of American States General Secretary César Gaviria was also a great help.
Thanks to Arthur Fergenson of Ballard, Spahr, Andrews & Ingersall, LLP, for the loan of office space in Baltimore, to Michael Evans of the National Security Archive for sharing his research, and to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for allowing me to interview the agents who worked on this case. And, lastly, thanks again to Gail and my children for putting up with my long absences—even those that occur when I'm at home.
INDEX
Aguilar, Maj. Hugo, 228–9, 331, 335, 338, 340, 347
Alexander, Col. John, 271
Allende, Salvador, 235
Alzate, Carlos, 106, 258, 370
Alzate, Oscar, 246
Andean Initiative, 85
Angel, Luis, 246
Arciniegas, German, 13
Argentina, 349
Arías John, 119
assassinations, 71, 110, 139, 156, 256, 317, 366, 369, 370, 377
autodefensas (private armies), 37
Avianca airliner bombing, 80, 106–7, 147, 185, 224, 249, 308, 370
Ayuso, Freddie, 298
bandidos, 15, 18
Barco, Virgilio, 72, 75, 77–8, 84, 86, 94, 110, 115, 122;
assassination plots and, 114;
death of Rodríguez-Gacha and, 95;
Galán's assassination and, 104, 106
Beckwith, Gen. Charlie, 119, 200
Bennett, William J., 86
Betancur, Belisario (president of Colombia), 41, 48, 55, 79;
narcos (cocaine traffickers) and, 62, 64;
negotiations with Marxists, 71;
U.S. drug war and, 60
Bias, Len, 57
Bloque de Busqueda (Search Bloc), 87–90, 103, 115, 119, 121, 125, 128, 199, 201, 202, 221–6, 228–9, 231, 243–5, 251–2, 254, 259, 264, 270, 272–3, 276, 280, 291, 296–301, 304–5, 313, 315, 317, 322, 324, 336, 343–6, 351, 356, 368, 370, 373, 374–5;
American pilots and, 287–8;
Centra Spike and, 225, 260;
Escobar's death and, 338, 341;
final encounter with Escobar, 329–30;
killings of Escobar's sicarios, 127, 259;
Los Pepes and, 234, 238, 256, 260, 261–3, 285, 286, 287, 289, 300, 304, 343, 348, 349;
raids of, 244, 251, 294;
traitors within, 223, 228;
United States and, 221, 337, 344, 345
Bogotá, city of, 9, 34, 71, 90, 93, 94, 223
Bogotazo, El, 14, 15
Bolívar, Simón, 16
Bolivia, 34
bombings, 221, 223, 224, 231, 232, 233, 239, 247, 252, 254, 305, 310, 349
Bonner, Robert, 129
Bonnie and Clyde, 20, 36
Boykin, Col. Jerry, 195, 196, 197, 199
Brazil, 349
bribery/bribes, 27, 52, 72, 79, 91–2, 98, 148, 251, 253, 262, 357
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), 98, 186
Burruss, Lt. Col. Lewis H., 199
Busby, Morris D., 151, 177, 179, 183, 184, 186, 222, 227, 231, 250, 251, 263, 264, 286, 288, 290, 306, 307, 360, 362, 369, 372–3, 374, 375;
Escobar family and, 250–251, 351, 355;
Escobar's death and, 339, 342, 343;
Los Pepes and, 233, 236, 247, 249, 260–262, 289, 356;
U.S. armed forces in Colombia and, 187, 195–7, 204–6;
U.S. presidential election and, 224
Bush, George H.W., 56, 85, 86, 107, 182, 224;
election of, 108, 194, 224;
Escobar on, 209;
U.S. armed forces in Colombia and, 196;
visit to Colombia, 113
Bush, Jeb, 79
Bush administration, 78, 80, 107
Caffrey, Ron, 67
Cali, city of, 35, 106, 234, 247
Cali cartel, 34, 55, 98, 143, 209, 213, 240, 278, 317, 351, 359;
attack on Escobar family and, 76, 78;
Centra Spike and, 345;
Colombian government and, 299, 355, 356–8, 360;
Colonel Martinez and, 119, 347;
hunt for Escobar and, 315, 357–8;
leaders of, 109, 299, 313, 361;
Los Pepes and, 247, 256, 261, 315, 348, 358
campesinos (peasants), 12, 15, 45
Canada, 307
Canas, Richard, 339, 342
&
nbsp; Cano, Guillermo, 59, 72, 74, 94, 147, 253
capitalism, 10, 37
Capone, Al, 20, 217, 315
car theft, 26–7
Carlos, Roberto, 36
Castaño, Carlos, 246, 261, 313
Castaño, Fidel, 10, 244–6;
Bloque de Busqueda (Search Bloc) and, 244–5, 313, 348;
as a leader of Los Pepes, 256, 261–2, 285, 348, 357
Castaño, Mario, 258, 259
Castro, Fidel, 10, 13, 14, 15, 65, 145, 244
Catedral, La (Escobar's "prison"), 128, 130–131, 138–9, 143–4, 147–51, 153–6, 160–161, 163, 169, 172–4, 180, 185, 189–93, 195, 202–3, 206, 217, 283;
Colombian police at, 150–151;
Escobar's effects at, 153, 208–10, 213–14, 282
Catholic Church, 16–17, 39
Centra Spike, 96–7, 99, 101–5, 108–19, 128, 139, 185, 187–8, 193, 200, 202, 205–6, 217, 225, 230, 233, 236, 256, 260, 265, 271, 286–8, 290, 291, 293, 306, 314, 317, 322, 331, 344, 352, 367, 369–75;
Colonel Martinez and, 115, 117, 118, 228;
Escobar's communications and, 110–12, 113, 114, 119, 270, 295;
Escobar's death and, 345;
hiatus in drug war and, 185;
Los Pepes and, 256, 260, 287;
rivalry with Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), 227–8, 298, 352;
