Saturday, March 27, 2010

Killing Pablo

Killing Pablo by Mark Bowden is the story of the hunt for the infamous Colombian drug dealer Pablo Escobar. Escobar, leader of the Medellin Cartel, was the biggest cocaine supplier to the United States throughout the 1980's and 1990's. He owned numerous mansions in Colombia, a residence in the United States, and controlled half of the Colombian government. This led to major problems during the manhunt for him. A majority of the government officials were on his payroll, and the ones that weren't were blackmailed or threatened in to helping him. Eventually, the situation got out of hand and the United States had to get involved. Agencies such as the C.I.A., F.B.I., and Delta Force got involved. These agencies spent months looking for Pablo, through car bombs, shootouts, and government blockades (at one point, Pablo ordered a group of prison guards to point their guns at the warden--they obliged). However, after a foot chase through the streets of the city of Medellin, Pablo was shot and killed. This was a great book, and I was shocked at the level of corruption in the Colombian government. I would recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting true story.

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