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Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw
A tour de force of investigative journalism-this is the story of the violent rise and fall of Pablo Escobar, the head of the Colombian Medellin cocaine cartel. Escobar's criminal empire held a nation of thirty million hostage in a reign of terror that would only end with his death. In an intense, up-close account, award-winning journalist Mark Bowden exposes details never before revealed about the U.S.-led covert sixteen-month manhunt. With unprecedented access to important players—including Colombian president Cisar Gaviria and the incorruptible head of the special police unit that pursued Escobar, Colonel Hugo Martinez-as well as top-secret documents and transcripts of Escobar's intercepted phone conversations, Bowden has produced a gripping narrative that is a stark portrayal of rough justice in the real world.
296 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
About the author
Mark Bowden
65 books1,530 followersMark Robert Bowden (born July 17, 1951) is an American writer who is currently a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, and a 1973 graduate of Loyola College in Maryland, Bowden was a staff writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer from 1979-2003, and has won numerous awards. He has written for Men's Journal, The Atlantic Monthly, Sports Illustrated, and Rolling Stone over the years, and as a result of his book, Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, Bowden's received international recognition. The book has been made into a 2001 movie, and was directed by Ridley Scott. He currently lives in Oxford, Pennsylvania.
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January 11, 2024
Mark Bowden - Image from Grove Atlantic
This is great stuff! Bowden’s 1999 best-seller, Blackhawk Down, was a masterpiece of the genre. Killing Pablo, published in 2001, keeps that momentum going. It tells the tale of the rise and fall of, arguably, the greatest gangster (outside of government) of the 20th century. It is fast-paced, gripping, and gives one a feel for Colombia during the period when narco-terror ruled. (It’s all better now, right?) There is a large cast of characters portrayed here; Steve Jacoby, and American signals intelligence expert, Colonel Hugo Martinez, an incorruptible leader of Colombian police, and his son who was determined to contribute to the battle with Escobar, Mossir Busby, an American diplomat who was instrumental in gaining US involvement in tracking Escobar down. What makes Pablo Escobar significant for more than his mere criminality is that his level of influence and terror led to a change in American policy. It changed from seeing Escobar as a gangster to defining him as a threat to American security and ultimately waged war against him. This is a book you will not want to put down, even knowing that the bad guy gets it in the end.
=============================EXTRA STUFF
Bowden on Twitter
July 2017 – National Geographic and ProPublica joined forces for this alarming report of a drug cartel outrage in the town of Allende, near the US border in Mexico - How the U.S. Triggered a Massacre in Mexico - By Ginger Thompson
February 2, 2024
Mark Bowden is a masterful storyteller and Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw is no exception. I listened to it on audiobook and it is narrated by Mark Bowden. I love it when authors narrate their own work. I have read several Bowden books including Huế 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam, The Last Stone, The Case of the Vanishing Blonde: And Other True Crime Stories, and Life Sentence: The Brief and Tragic Career of Baltimore’s Deadliest Gang Leader. Many of his other books are on my TBR list.
I am currently watching the Netflix docuseries, Griselda, played by Sofia Vergara. The first episode begins with a quote from Pablo Escobar, "The only man I was ever afraid of was a woman named Griselda Blanco." Both Griselda and Pablo were leaders in cocaine trafficking.
Pablo was the sole leader of the Medellin Cartel in Columbia. His nicknames were El Doctor, El Patron, and the King of Cocaine. Bowden described the ruthlessness of Pablo as "terror becomes art." Pablo often kidnapped people, held them for ransom, and then killed them after receiving the ransom. However, to many people in Columbia he was viewed as a type of Robin Hood because he built amenities for the poor and advocated for them. Pablo's funeral was attended by 25,000 mourners.
I am currently watching the Netflix docuseries, Griselda, played by Sofia Vergara. The first episode begins with a quote from Pablo Escobar, "The only man I was ever afraid of was a woman named Griselda Blanco." Both Griselda and Pablo were leaders in cocaine trafficking.
Pablo was the sole leader of the Medellin Cartel in Columbia. His nicknames were El Doctor, El Patron, and the King of Cocaine. Bowden described the ruthlessness of Pablo as "terror becomes art." Pablo often kidnapped people, held them for ransom, and then killed them after receiving the ransom. However, to many people in Columbia he was viewed as a type of Robin Hood because he built amenities for the poor and advocated for them. Pablo's funeral was attended by 25,000 mourners.
October 1, 2021
This is a thorough and well researched book. First we follow the life of Pablo Escobar - the man synonymous with cocaine trafficking - his upbringing, his family, his involvement in the drug trade and his role in the Medellin cartel, his short career in politics. Then we learn about the Colombian police and then military tasked with capturing Escobar, and then the involvement of the USA.
While we get a thorough background of Escobar, we see it from a strictly criminal and political perspective. We hear about his lavish lifestyle, his predilection for teenage girls, the fact he is a marijuana smoker, but doesn't meddle in the cocaine that makes him his millions of dollars. What we don't get is a wider picture of Escobar - the private zoo with the exotic animals, his car collections (other than when the authorities destroy them to taunt him), so not such a human picture. It does talk about the ebb and flow of public support for Pablo - as he poured his ill gotten money into housing, sports fields and the like he was seen as a Robin Hood figure, but violent bombings and public executions turned many against him.
The second part of the book outlines the authorities actions to take Pablo down. People who act against Escobar have a strange habit of winding up dead. Particularly judges. Policemen fare poorly too. Between targetted assassinations and bribe money, Escobar remains relatively free to carry out his business. As the Colombian police prove ineffective, the more they open up politically to the option of assistance from the USA. George Bush has ramped up his war on drugs and has decided that stopping cocaine at the border, or going after people distributing within the States was not yielding results - he wanted to target the source. To me this seems like America blaming Colombia for the American's who are buying drugs...
So Bush signed off on a heap on ambiguous requests for the US Embassy, DEA, CIA, NSA, Delta Force and an outfit called Centra Spike, who were a specialist digital surveillance team with high tech planes to use cellphone detection to trace the location of targets. I say ambiguous because typically the agreed scope it to either provide training or to provide expertise in surveillance, but clearly not to be taking part in missions / raids / executions (!). I am happy to admit I cant write a simple explanation of each of the above American parties, how they interacted with the Colombian authorities, and who did what. It was a complex web of people and politics. What is obvious is that the US was far more involved than legitimately authorised, they were morally well across lines (for example knowing about the kill squad called Los Pepes who claimed to operate as an independent vigilante organisation, when it was obvious the Colombian Police were feeding them information, and the US operatives were aware of this, and almost certainly knew that the leaders of that origination and financing was from the Cali cartel).
I probably need to leave my description of the details of the book there, as i will only get it tangled. I will say that the above sort of covers the middle part of the book, and that the last part is the demise of Pablo Escobar, and then these is a chapter of the aftermath. Lastly are pages and pages of the source material, and a thorough index.
So overall I enjoyed the book. It was quite fast paced, but also shared the drudgery of constant surveillance and lack of results etc, so contained some flat parts. It mixed it up enough following events from both sides of the story - we hear plenty about what Escobar, his cartel and his family are doing, and plenty about those pursing him.
I was certainly entertained while reading; I enjoyed the detail about the pursuit and ultimately elimination of Pablo Escobar. The politics and complexities added to the intrigue, and the source information gave reassurance of the legitimacy. As other have mentioned the tv series Narcos is a fictionalisation of events, and not intended to be a documentary, so people shouldn't assume it is accurate.
Finally, a couple of quotes I liked:
P30
P33
While we get a thorough background of Escobar, we see it from a strictly criminal and political perspective. We hear about his lavish lifestyle, his predilection for teenage girls, the fact he is a marijuana smoker, but doesn't meddle in the cocaine that makes him his millions of dollars. What we don't get is a wider picture of Escobar - the private zoo with the exotic animals, his car collections (other than when the authorities destroy them to taunt him), so not such a human picture. It does talk about the ebb and flow of public support for Pablo - as he poured his ill gotten money into housing, sports fields and the like he was seen as a Robin Hood figure, but violent bombings and public executions turned many against him.
The second part of the book outlines the authorities actions to take Pablo down. People who act against Escobar have a strange habit of winding up dead. Particularly judges. Policemen fare poorly too. Between targetted assassinations and bribe money, Escobar remains relatively free to carry out his business. As the Colombian police prove ineffective, the more they open up politically to the option of assistance from the USA. George Bush has ramped up his war on drugs and has decided that stopping cocaine at the border, or going after people distributing within the States was not yielding results - he wanted to target the source. To me this seems like America blaming Colombia for the American's who are buying drugs...
So Bush signed off on a heap on ambiguous requests for the US Embassy, DEA, CIA, NSA, Delta Force and an outfit called Centra Spike, who were a specialist digital surveillance team with high tech planes to use cellphone detection to trace the location of targets. I say ambiguous because typically the agreed scope it to either provide training or to provide expertise in surveillance, but clearly not to be taking part in missions / raids / executions (!). I am happy to admit I cant write a simple explanation of each of the above American parties, how they interacted with the Colombian authorities, and who did what. It was a complex web of people and politics. What is obvious is that the US was far more involved than legitimately authorised, they were morally well across lines (for example knowing about the kill squad called Los Pepes who claimed to operate as an independent vigilante organisation, when it was obvious the Colombian Police were feeding them information, and the US operatives were aware of this, and almost certainly knew that the leaders of that origination and financing was from the Cali cartel).
I probably need to leave my description of the details of the book there, as i will only get it tangled. I will say that the above sort of covers the middle part of the book, and that the last part is the demise of Pablo Escobar, and then these is a chapter of the aftermath. Lastly are pages and pages of the source material, and a thorough index.
So overall I enjoyed the book. It was quite fast paced, but also shared the drudgery of constant surveillance and lack of results etc, so contained some flat parts. It mixed it up enough following events from both sides of the story - we hear plenty about what Escobar, his cartel and his family are doing, and plenty about those pursing him.
I was certainly entertained while reading; I enjoyed the detail about the pursuit and ultimately elimination of Pablo Escobar. The politics and complexities added to the intrigue, and the source information gave reassurance of the legitimacy. As other have mentioned the tv series Narcos is a fictionalisation of events, and not intended to be a documentary, so people shouldn't assume it is accurate.
Finally, a couple of quotes I liked:
P30
He was violent and unprincipled, and a determined climber. He wasn't an entrepreneur, and he wasn't even an especially talented businessman. He was just ruthless. When he heard about a thriving cocaine-processing lab on his turf, he shouldered his way in. If someone developed a lucrative delivery route north, Pablo demanded a majority of the profits - for protection. No one dared refuse him.
P33
Pablo was establishing a pattern of dealing with the authorities which would become his trademark. It soon became simply Plata o plomo. One either accepted Pablo's Plata (silver), or his Plomo (lead).4 Stars
December 5, 2017
Mark Bowden brought to light a sordid path of destruction and unimaginable terror and death brought about by the hands of one ruthless individual - Pablo Escobar. A mass murderer well on his way to becoming one of the world's "Most Wanted". Shattered lives laid in his wake. His ruthlessness knew no bounds. Negotiated with bullets and blood. His character was well-drawn as the most unscrupulous drug lord of all time. A dubious Crown to behold. This well-written narrative slammed me into the gates of hell as I stood witness to the murder and mayhem - Pure Evil.
Pablo Escobar was raised within a middle-class family. For him, It wasn't enough. In need of garnering attention he wasn't getting at school or home, he sought his vocation on the streets of Colombia. Early on, it consisted of robbing banks and stealing cars. He soon graduated up to the protection racket. People paid him not to have their cars stolen. He was just warming up. Big change was on the way. A gangster was born.
As Pablo graduated further into a life of crime, he discovered an inexhaustible source of wealth that laid at his feet - cocaine. Savagely, he dove in and built an empire of white powder that catapulted him up in standing to one of the most feared and richest men in the world. Though, It came at a high price. For all his concerted effort, much blood was spilled. Blinded by his own ambition, he thought nothing of ordering the death of countless judges, politicians and policemen. In the end, it would all come back to haunt him. That which goes around...
Exiled, Pablo could have taken refuge in a number of countries that had no extradition with the United States. He might have lived out the remainder of his days a wealthy man - anywhere, but not Columbia. No, not Pablo. He chose to return to his homeland. Thought he was indestructible - untouchable. He'd never leave his homeland again.
Public sentiment eventually turned against Pablo. No longer a friend but foe to his countrymen, his stage had disappeared. Vigilantism had emerged with a group known as Los Pepes. Death squads responded quickly and viciously. Revenge had been swiftly taken by killing known associates of the drug kingpin. Anyone with ties to him such as friends, family, cartel members, policemen, lawyers, money launderers and bankers were mercilessly slaughtered. For every vengeful act of violence committed by him, they responded immediately in kind. Eye for an eye. For days on end, the streets of Columbia ran red.
Pablo was no longer being sought for his arrest. Those days were over. Although not officially acknowledged, a death warrant had been issued for him. By this time, America had joined the hunt. The day of reckoning was finally served by the Colombian national police with a hail of bullets that had the name Pablo Escobar personally engraved upon them. Final words could be heard shouted from a rooftop, "Vivá Colombia! We have just killed Pablo Escobar!" His reign of terror had finally come to a crushing end.
Though over two decades has passed since his death, Colombia carries a large scar across its nation. For some, the nightmare is over, For others, it will last a lifetime.
Pablo Escobar was raised within a middle-class family. For him, It wasn't enough. In need of garnering attention he wasn't getting at school or home, he sought his vocation on the streets of Colombia. Early on, it consisted of robbing banks and stealing cars. He soon graduated up to the protection racket. People paid him not to have their cars stolen. He was just warming up. Big change was on the way. A gangster was born.
As Pablo graduated further into a life of crime, he discovered an inexhaustible source of wealth that laid at his feet - cocaine. Savagely, he dove in and built an empire of white powder that catapulted him up in standing to one of the most feared and richest men in the world. Though, It came at a high price. For all his concerted effort, much blood was spilled. Blinded by his own ambition, he thought nothing of ordering the death of countless judges, politicians and policemen. In the end, it would all come back to haunt him. That which goes around...
Exiled, Pablo could have taken refuge in a number of countries that had no extradition with the United States. He might have lived out the remainder of his days a wealthy man - anywhere, but not Columbia. No, not Pablo. He chose to return to his homeland. Thought he was indestructible - untouchable. He'd never leave his homeland again.
Public sentiment eventually turned against Pablo. No longer a friend but foe to his countrymen, his stage had disappeared. Vigilantism had emerged with a group known as Los Pepes. Death squads responded quickly and viciously. Revenge had been swiftly taken by killing known associates of the drug kingpin. Anyone with ties to him such as friends, family, cartel members, policemen, lawyers, money launderers and bankers were mercilessly slaughtered. For every vengeful act of violence committed by him, they responded immediately in kind. Eye for an eye. For days on end, the streets of Columbia ran red.
Pablo was no longer being sought for his arrest. Those days were over. Although not officially acknowledged, a death warrant had been issued for him. By this time, America had joined the hunt. The day of reckoning was finally served by the Colombian national police with a hail of bullets that had the name Pablo Escobar personally engraved upon them. Final words could be heard shouted from a rooftop, "Vivá Colombia! We have just killed Pablo Escobar!" His reign of terror had finally come to a crushing end.
Though over two decades has passed since his death, Colombia carries a large scar across its nation. For some, the nightmare is over, For others, it will last a lifetime.
May 11, 2016
Too many characters and I only cared about one of them, and I already knew what was going to happen to him. I would encourage you to watch Narcos instead of reading this book.
April 10, 2019
It is, I think, a common misconception that Pablo Escobar was a creature which rose from the depths of big time illegal drug trade. For while it is true, as depicted in this book, that illegal drugs were what made him big, as in fact at the highest point of his criminal career he was one of the world’s richest men, illegal drugs alone would not have made this possible. It was rather the culture of violence, prevalent in Colombian society and where Pablo Escobar was born into and grew up in, which made him what he was.
Violence permeated his world. The country’s two major political factions fought eight civil wars in the 19th century, one of them leaving more than one hundred thousand dead and practically crippled the government. With this, the ordinary people learned to distrust the government and instead found heroes in outlaws and bandits who roamed the countryside defying everything. These ‘bandidos’ became role models and idols of worship to the many powerless, terrorized and oppressed poor.
“Terror became art, a form of psychological warfare with a quasi-religious aesthetic,” wrote the author. Violence is OK, even the gory and sadistic kind. It was in this society where Pablo Escobar grew up.
He started, not as a drug dealer, but as a thief. He robbed banks and anyone who caught his fancy, then went into carnapping, kidnapping for ransom, murder and protection racket. He was ruthless, charismatic and had ambition. Soon he became a local legend, a modern day Robin Hood, murderous but with a social conscience ( perception he nurtured by his well-publicized acts of charity).
This book entertainingly narrates his beginnings, his rise to power, the zenith of his career (when he almost practically brought down the government), his nail-biting, prolonged cat-and-mouse game with the authorities (aided by the US) and his eventual capture, his body riddled with bullets. Even with the most sophisticated tracking devices supplied by American operatives the hunt for him was very difficult because he had tremendous aid and support not only from people under his employ, but from the common people as well.
Fighting illegal drugs while promoting disrespect for the law and a culture of violence and impunity is, I think, a very bad idea. It is like burning a house to kill a mouse hiding in it. Worse, if the whole enterprise is but a pretense because the ones ostensibly fighting the menace are themselves neck-deep into it.
Violence permeated his world. The country’s two major political factions fought eight civil wars in the 19th century, one of them leaving more than one hundred thousand dead and practically crippled the government. With this, the ordinary people learned to distrust the government and instead found heroes in outlaws and bandits who roamed the countryside defying everything. These ‘bandidos’ became role models and idols of worship to the many powerless, terrorized and oppressed poor.
“Terror became art, a form of psychological warfare with a quasi-religious aesthetic,” wrote the author. Violence is OK, even the gory and sadistic kind. It was in this society where Pablo Escobar grew up.
He started, not as a drug dealer, but as a thief. He robbed banks and anyone who caught his fancy, then went into carnapping, kidnapping for ransom, murder and protection racket. He was ruthless, charismatic and had ambition. Soon he became a local legend, a modern day Robin Hood, murderous but with a social conscience ( perception he nurtured by his well-publicized acts of charity).
This book entertainingly narrates his beginnings, his rise to power, the zenith of his career (when he almost practically brought down the government), his nail-biting, prolonged cat-and-mouse game with the authorities (aided by the US) and his eventual capture, his body riddled with bullets. Even with the most sophisticated tracking devices supplied by American operatives the hunt for him was very difficult because he had tremendous aid and support not only from people under his employ, but from the common people as well.
Fighting illegal drugs while promoting disrespect for the law and a culture of violence and impunity is, I think, a very bad idea. It is like burning a house to kill a mouse hiding in it. Worse, if the whole enterprise is but a pretense because the ones ostensibly fighting the menace are themselves neck-deep into it.
March 8, 2022
Колумбийският наркобос Пабло Ескобар е митологизирана личност. У нас кой знае защо за него се говори с почитание и уважение. Историческата истина е далеч по-тривиална - Пабло е престъпник, отговорен за смъртта на стотици. Възходът му е резултат от безскрупулност във времена на беззаконие и повсеместна корупция.
Пабло Ескобар създава наркокартела Меделин в едноименния колумбийски град. Бързо става основният "износител" на кокаин и марихуана за САЩ. В зенита на своята дейност богатството му е несметно, определен е за седмия най-богат човек в света. Освен за удоволствия, Пабло използва парите и за благотворителност. Съгражданите му го сравняват с Робин Худ. Но положителните качества свършват дотук. Наркобосът е безмилостен в своя бизнес. С мрежата си от наемни убийци (сикарио) Пабло изцяло доминира криминалния свят в Колумбия. Негови жертви стават журналисти, полицаи, съдии, политици, дори кандидат за президент. Противниците му бързо биват елиминирани чрез показни екзекуции.
Към края на осемдесетте години ситуацията в Колумбия коренно се променя след намесата на САЩ за прекъсване на наркотрафика. Учудващо, Пабло влиза в споразумение с правителството и доброволно влиза в затвора. Уловката е, че затворът La Catedral е пострен с негови средства и прилича по-скоро на петзвезден хотел. "Задържането" му не трае дълго. След като бива информиран, че се планира преместването му в истински затвор, Пабло решава да избяга. Укрива се в многобройните си тайни имоти и често сменя местоположението. Неговото отмъщение се проявява под формата на ежедневни атентати. Меделин става най-опасното място на Земята, където не се водят военни действия. Избухването на коли бомби става нещо обичайно. Загиват напълно невинни граждани.
С атентатите Пабло си спечелва многобройни и твърде разнородни врагове - колумбийската полиция, американските тайни служби и отдели за борба с наркотиците, конкурентния наркокартел Кали, както и незаконна паравоенна организация Los Pepes. Надпреварата кой първи ще стигне до Пабло е яростна и води до използване на свръхмодерни за времето си технологии. През декември 1993 г. правителствени агенти установяват локацията на беглеца след прихващане на телефонен разговор между него и сина му. Пабло е разстрелян върху покрива на сграда при опита си да избяга.
Поуката, ако въобще има такава, е, че всеки прекалено показен престъпник, рано или късно, получава заслуженото. Но на каква цена?
Последвайте ме в Инстаграм @fibroknigi за още ревюта на интересни книги.
Пабло Ескобар създава наркокартела Меделин в едноименния колумбийски град. Бързо става основният "износител" на кокаин и марихуана за САЩ. В зенита на своята дейност богатството му е несметно, определен е за седмия най-богат човек в света. Освен за удоволствия, Пабло използва парите и за благотворителност. Съгражданите му го сравняват с Робин Худ. Но положителните качества свършват дотук. Наркобосът е безмилостен в своя бизнес. С мрежата си от наемни убийци (сикарио) Пабло изцяло доминира криминалния свят в Колумбия. Негови жертви стават журналисти, полицаи, съдии, политици, дори кандидат за президент. Противниците му бързо биват елиминирани чрез показни екзекуции.
Към края на осемдесетте години ситуацията в Колумбия коренно се променя след намесата на САЩ за прекъсване на наркотрафика. Учудващо, Пабло влиза в споразумение с правителството и доброволно влиза в затвора. Уловката е, че затворът La Catedral е пострен с негови средства и прилича по-скоро на петзвезден хотел. "Задържането" му не трае дълго. След като бива информиран, че се планира преместването му в истински затвор, Пабло решава да избяга. Укрива се в многобройните си тайни имоти и често сменя местоположението. Неговото отмъщение се проявява под формата на ежедневни атентати. Меделин става най-опасното място на Земята, където не се водят военни действия. Избухването на коли бомби става нещо обичайно. Загиват напълно невинни граждани.
С атентатите Пабло си спечелва многобройни и твърде разнородни врагове - колумбийската полиция, американските тайни служби и отдели за борба с наркотиците, конкурентния наркокартел Кали, както и незаконна паравоенна организация Los Pepes. Надпреварата кой първи ще стигне до Пабло е яростна и води до използване на свръхмодерни за времето си технологии. През декември 1993 г. правителствени агенти установяват локацията на беглеца след прихващане на телефонен разговор между него и сина му. Пабло е разстрелян върху покрива на сграда при опита си да избяга.
Поуката, ако въобще има такава, е, че всеки прекалено показен престъпник, рано или късно, получава заслуженото. Но на каква цена?
Последвайте ме в Инстаграм @fibroknigi за още ревюта на интересни книги.
June 24, 2018
This is an excellent book. And also a sad one.
Think Clear and Present Danger. Now blend it with Desperado and Miami Vice and you get the fascinating rise and fall of Pablo Escobar. In this book, Mark Bowden gives a very detailed, tense and colorful depiction of Pablo's life, from his early days on the streets of Medellin, engaging in petty crime to his election to the Colombian parliament to becoming the world's no.1 wanted man, leading a narco-terrorist empire worth some 40 billion dollars. The hunt that would eventually lead to Pablo's death after a gruesome decade of violence cost some 3,000 civilian lives.
But the breathtaking, movie-like action is only side of this story. The more fascinating, the more sordid side is the life in the 80s-90s Colombia. This book is primarily about the huge gap between the wealthy and the poor in the country, the brutal struggle, the civil war between the right government and the left guerilla, the corruption, the cheapness of life. Pablo's network stretched deep into every level of Colombian life, including senators, judges, police. And then, when these people crossed him, he would target their lives and their families.
In the end, Pablo's downfall required the same ugly, violent measures that he employed - a vigilante group called Los Pepes, indirectly and directly supported by the government and the police and CIA surveillance help, engaged in assassinations, bombing and terror much like Pablo's until he was finally cornered and killed. There can't be any happy ending to something like that.
We also get a glimpse into Pablo's personal life - he often used underage prostitutes but was devoted to his life and kids, he had special luxurious bathrooms installed in every getaway house he had, because he was very finicky about his hygiene, he loved caricatures of him and hated any political criticism. It's a story that trumps all fiction.
I am glad to have chosen this book for two reasons. One, after reading Black Hawk Down, which I initially wrongly voted with two stars - amended to five, I wanted to give another stab at Mark's work, and as expected, he does not disappoint. He is a great writer. Two, Pablo's life is a refreshing departure from the Europe-heavy history reading I've been doing lately. It's always nice to get a different perspective of the world. Not just that. A different world.
Well worth your time.
Igor
Think Clear and Present Danger. Now blend it with Desperado and Miami Vice and you get the fascinating rise and fall of Pablo Escobar. In this book, Mark Bowden gives a very detailed, tense and colorful depiction of Pablo's life, from his early days on the streets of Medellin, engaging in petty crime to his election to the Colombian parliament to becoming the world's no.1 wanted man, leading a narco-terrorist empire worth some 40 billion dollars. The hunt that would eventually lead to Pablo's death after a gruesome decade of violence cost some 3,000 civilian lives.
But the breathtaking, movie-like action is only side of this story. The more fascinating, the more sordid side is the life in the 80s-90s Colombia. This book is primarily about the huge gap between the wealthy and the poor in the country, the brutal struggle, the civil war between the right government and the left guerilla, the corruption, the cheapness of life. Pablo's network stretched deep into every level of Colombian life, including senators, judges, police. And then, when these people crossed him, he would target their lives and their families.
In the end, Pablo's downfall required the same ugly, violent measures that he employed - a vigilante group called Los Pepes, indirectly and directly supported by the government and the police and CIA surveillance help, engaged in assassinations, bombing and terror much like Pablo's until he was finally cornered and killed. There can't be any happy ending to something like that.
We also get a glimpse into Pablo's personal life - he often used underage prostitutes but was devoted to his life and kids, he had special luxurious bathrooms installed in every getaway house he had, because he was very finicky about his hygiene, he loved caricatures of him and hated any political criticism. It's a story that trumps all fiction.
I am glad to have chosen this book for two reasons. One, after reading Black Hawk Down, which I initially wrongly voted with two stars - amended to five, I wanted to give another stab at Mark's work, and as expected, he does not disappoint. He is a great writer. Two, Pablo's life is a refreshing departure from the Europe-heavy history reading I've been doing lately. It's always nice to get a different perspective of the world. Not just that. A different world.
Well worth your time.
Igor
March 3, 2009
I originally was fascinated and awed by the life and story of Escobar and held a sort of reverence for the man, but during and after reading this book I was rooting for him to be caught and killed. For someone who is an adamant pacifist, it was striking for me to feel relieved by someone's death.
December 28, 2012
Killing Pablo has an incredible plot, and very uninspiring writing and shoddy, unforgivable editing. This does not read like a book at all, but a first attempt at a (bad) magazine article. Being non fiction, this story is in the public domain. Yet, the pathetic research done by Mark Bowden puts one off, giving an extremely sketchy, uneven overview of the whole scenario and kills the supposed thrill emanating from the chase.
The story is simple, Pablo Escobar, kingpin of cocaine dealers, big shit in Columbia, extremely violent gangster, dreaded in the US so much so that millions of dollars and hundreds of personnel are poured into Columbia over a period of a year and a half to kill Pablo (without much concern over stanching off the cocaine supply). Escobar is crazy violent enough to affect policy changes in the government favouring himself by violence and bribes (any judge passing a sentence against him is blown away, any journalist writing is bombed, any public servant making any efforts to still Pablo has his entire family blown away with a car bomb, and specially, lots and lots of policemen killed by targeting, along with no concern for collateral damage to civilians. All this while, Pablo is spending on his old neighbourhoods, donating to schools and spreading propaganda for the masses becoming a sort of local hero at defying the USA. Then a rival vigilante organization called Los Pepes crops up which starts specifically targeting everyone ever connected with Pablo Escobar, including family members and civilians who have never been indicted but who prop up Pablo, like lawyers, bankers, corrupt officials. Every bomb that Escobar blows up, a rival bomb blows up at the houses of someone connected to Escobar. All this while, regular electronic surveillance is on, trying to track Escobar down all the while he keeps getting more and more panicked about a possible attack on his own wife and kids. This is Columbia in 1992-1993 where rival bombs are blowing up across the cities, vigilante policemen are picking up information from CIA agents, american soldiers are running around trying to track the world's richest criminal in one of the most poorest and electronically untraceable neighbourhood.
Bowden has not been able to piece together this naturally bombastic thriller of a story into any sort of a narrative. You never get any look into any of the characters, Pablo is nowhere in the book. Even the investigators who are covered in a little more detail have such shoddy, generalised sketches that it is evident that Bowden has never spent any time with any of them. To describe Juan Pablo Escobar (Pablo's 15 year old son), there are at least 10 places in the book that he is referred to as "a 6' tall chubby teenager". That is all he is ever described as.
There are countless frequent repetitions in the book, even so much so as to have used the same sentence over and over again as a rejoinder. And it is surprising how everything has been dumped into any sort of chronological order as if actually writing the book was too much effort for the author and he couldn't be bothered with it. So you would have a long, un-necessary chapter about Lt. Hugo Martinez, and then immediately into the next chapter, you would have a long paragraph explaining who is Lt. Hugo Martinez, and what is he doing in the story right now, as if the reader might have lost him while turning the page.
I had picked this book after seeing it on Breaking Bad, quite enthused by the idea that I could at least pick up a good book recommendation from a shitty show. I should have known better.
It is all the more sad since the background story is really striking, and that this was happening out there in the real world is scary and worthy of having a good book written about it. This is not it.
The story is simple, Pablo Escobar, kingpin of cocaine dealers, big shit in Columbia, extremely violent gangster, dreaded in the US so much so that millions of dollars and hundreds of personnel are poured into Columbia over a period of a year and a half to kill Pablo (without much concern over stanching off the cocaine supply). Escobar is crazy violent enough to affect policy changes in the government favouring himself by violence and bribes (any judge passing a sentence against him is blown away, any journalist writing is bombed, any public servant making any efforts to still Pablo has his entire family blown away with a car bomb, and specially, lots and lots of policemen killed by targeting, along with no concern for collateral damage to civilians. All this while, Pablo is spending on his old neighbourhoods, donating to schools and spreading propaganda for the masses becoming a sort of local hero at defying the USA. Then a rival vigilante organization called Los Pepes crops up which starts specifically targeting everyone ever connected with Pablo Escobar, including family members and civilians who have never been indicted but who prop up Pablo, like lawyers, bankers, corrupt officials. Every bomb that Escobar blows up, a rival bomb blows up at the houses of someone connected to Escobar. All this while, regular electronic surveillance is on, trying to track Escobar down all the while he keeps getting more and more panicked about a possible attack on his own wife and kids. This is Columbia in 1992-1993 where rival bombs are blowing up across the cities, vigilante policemen are picking up information from CIA agents, american soldiers are running around trying to track the world's richest criminal in one of the most poorest and electronically untraceable neighbourhood.
Bowden has not been able to piece together this naturally bombastic thriller of a story into any sort of a narrative. You never get any look into any of the characters, Pablo is nowhere in the book. Even the investigators who are covered in a little more detail have such shoddy, generalised sketches that it is evident that Bowden has never spent any time with any of them. To describe Juan Pablo Escobar (Pablo's 15 year old son), there are at least 10 places in the book that he is referred to as "a 6' tall chubby teenager". That is all he is ever described as.
There are countless frequent repetitions in the book, even so much so as to have used the same sentence over and over again as a rejoinder. And it is surprising how everything has been dumped into any sort of chronological order as if actually writing the book was too much effort for the author and he couldn't be bothered with it. So you would have a long, un-necessary chapter about Lt. Hugo Martinez, and then immediately into the next chapter, you would have a long paragraph explaining who is Lt. Hugo Martinez, and what is he doing in the story right now, as if the reader might have lost him while turning the page.
I had picked this book after seeing it on Breaking Bad, quite enthused by the idea that I could at least pick up a good book recommendation from a shitty show. I should have known better.
It is all the more sad since the background story is really striking, and that this was happening out there in the real world is scary and worthy of having a good book written about it. This is not it.
September 11, 2015
The first section about Escobar's rise to power was the best part of the book. Once the DEA and various other American agencies got involved, Bowden shows a bad habit of fawning all over them, and comparing their rugged cynical professionalism to the whacky zany Colombians in some pretty patronizing ways. Still, it's a lively and very readable account and Bowden isn't entirely supportive of the ruthless extremes the hunters used in tracking down Escobar, giving the last word to the Colombian DEA chief who even today thinks that the ends, in this case, didn't justify the means.
July 6, 2020
3.50 Stars - Mark Bowden is an extremely talented fellow & this classic tale is no let down that's for sure. As someone whom has a fair knowledge of these events already, I was surprised at just how many details there where in here that took me deeper down the rabbit hole & helped fill in more of the ’how’ in a concentrated telling of events that built.towards that fateful rooftop chase. Those few outside if Medellin whom hold Escobar in any sort of esteem will rightly become more clear as to just what a dangerous narcissistic sociopath the man really was.
Well researched & a well structured easy read, Killing Pablo is a tense, thrilling & highly informative read for anyone looking for more detail in the events that lead to the eventual shooting of the worlds largest drug kingpin.
Well researched & a well structured easy read, Killing Pablo is a tense, thrilling & highly informative read for anyone looking for more detail in the events that lead to the eventual shooting of the worlds largest drug kingpin.
February 28, 2021
Qualche mese fa riuscì a recuperare la serie Netflix Narcos e ne rimasi totalmente ammaliata e quando seppi che era tratta da questo libro di Bowden andai subito nella mia libreria di fiducia a ordinarlo!
È noto a tutti il nome di Pablo Escobar, noto in Colombia con il soprannome de El Patron o El Doctor (ancora così tanto amato e venerato dalla sua gente di Medellin), ma conoscere veramente la sua storia, beh quello è un altro paio di maniche!
Ed è proprio questo l'obbiettivo del libro: analizzare in profondità Pablo, le persone a lui intorno e le vicende storiche che portarono alla sua uccisione!
Il libro, come dice lo stesso autore, si basa su documenti, nastri, articoli e interviste realmente esistenti e ho apprezzato molto le note dell'autore e il nominare le fonti a cui attinge.
Come avviene ed è avvenuto nella storia contemporanea gli USA hanno giocato un ruolo estremamente rilevante nella ricerca e nella cattura/morte di Pablo, impensabile per loro che così tanti dollari finissero in mano a narcos sudamericani! Ma Pablo è stato solo la punta dell'iceberg del mercato della cocaina, che dopo la sua morte ha continuato e continua a entrare negli USA! È una guerra che non avrà mai fine e che è costata un monte di vite umane!
L'inizio della fine di Pablo è stata la sua vanità: il suo orgoglio di ritenersi un eroe nazionale, un nuovo Sancho Villa, e di entrare in politica per diventare presidente della Colombia!
Leggendo il libro da una parte sei quasi mossa a "compassione" verso la sua figura, perché mossa dagli stessi nostri istinti umani, dall'altra è agghiacciante la sua serenità nel commettere omicidi e questo non lo rende diverso dai nostri (ahimè) mafiosi!
Sconcertante l'impiego massiccio di mezzi, soldi e uomini da parte degli Stati Uniti e dell'enorme corruzione vigente in Colombia!
Sconvolgente anche il modo in cui una persona che aveva beffato 2 Stati per così tanto tempo sia morta così miseramente e il pubblico ludibrio a cui fu sottoposto il corpo di Pablo (con gente che tiene ancora la foto ricordo appesa nel proprio ufficio!!)
Insomma un libro che va letto per conoscere a pieno la nostra storia contemporanea e che si legge bene (a parte quando partono con le tremila sigle degli enti che parteciparono alla cattura 😅)
È noto a tutti il nome di Pablo Escobar, noto in Colombia con il soprannome de El Patron o El Doctor (ancora così tanto amato e venerato dalla sua gente di Medellin), ma conoscere veramente la sua storia, beh quello è un altro paio di maniche!
Ed è proprio questo l'obbiettivo del libro: analizzare in profondità Pablo, le persone a lui intorno e le vicende storiche che portarono alla sua uccisione!
Il libro, come dice lo stesso autore, si basa su documenti, nastri, articoli e interviste realmente esistenti e ho apprezzato molto le note dell'autore e il nominare le fonti a cui attinge.
Come avviene ed è avvenuto nella storia contemporanea gli USA hanno giocato un ruolo estremamente rilevante nella ricerca e nella cattura/morte di Pablo, impensabile per loro che così tanti dollari finissero in mano a narcos sudamericani! Ma Pablo è stato solo la punta dell'iceberg del mercato della cocaina, che dopo la sua morte ha continuato e continua a entrare negli USA! È una guerra che non avrà mai fine e che è costata un monte di vite umane!
L'inizio della fine di Pablo è stata la sua vanità: il suo orgoglio di ritenersi un eroe nazionale, un nuovo Sancho Villa, e di entrare in politica per diventare presidente della Colombia!
Leggendo il libro da una parte sei quasi mossa a "compassione" verso la sua figura, perché mossa dagli stessi nostri istinti umani, dall'altra è agghiacciante la sua serenità nel commettere omicidi e questo non lo rende diverso dai nostri (ahimè) mafiosi!
Sconcertante l'impiego massiccio di mezzi, soldi e uomini da parte degli Stati Uniti e dell'enorme corruzione vigente in Colombia!
Sconvolgente anche il modo in cui una persona che aveva beffato 2 Stati per così tanto tempo sia morta così miseramente e il pubblico ludibrio a cui fu sottoposto il corpo di Pablo (con gente che tiene ancora la foto ricordo appesa nel proprio ufficio!!)
Insomma un libro che va letto per conoscere a pieno la nostra storia contemporanea e che si legge bene (a parte quando partono con le tremila sigle degli enti che parteciparono alla cattura 😅)
May 11, 2017
Very well researched and truly a page-turner kind of book. I didn't need to refer to other sources while reading and the investigation was not biased as I was expecting..
If you are interested in money laundering and illegal activities this book will be a very good real life case study, it gets exciting with every chapter towards the end of the story.
Highly recommended.
Mark Bowden is an American writer and author. He has been The Distinguished Writer in Residence at The University of Delaware since 2013. He is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and also a National Correspondent for The Atlantic. Another famous book by Bowden is "Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War".
If you are interested in money laundering and illegal activities this book will be a very good real life case study, it gets exciting with every chapter towards the end of the story.
Highly recommended.
Mark Bowden is an American writer and author. He has been The Distinguished Writer in Residence at The University of Delaware since 2013. He is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and also a National Correspondent for The Atlantic. Another famous book by Bowden is "Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War".
May 11, 2013
-¿El enemigo de mi enemigo es mi amigo aunque sea mi enemigo?.-
Género. Novela.
Lo que nos cuenta. Relato breve del ascenso del narcotraficante Pablo Escobar hasta ser el líder del Cartel de Medellín y largo relato de los hechos que desembocaron finalmente en su muerte.
¿Quiere saber más del libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Novela.
Lo que nos cuenta. Relato breve del ascenso del narcotraficante Pablo Escobar hasta ser el líder del Cartel de Medellín y largo relato de los hechos que desembocaron finalmente en su muerte.
¿Quiere saber más del libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
April 11, 2013
-¿El enemigo de mi enemigo es mi amigo aunque sea mi enemigo?.-
Género. Novela.
Lo que nos cuenta. Relato breve del ascenso del narcotraficante Pablo Escobar hasta ser el líder del Cartel de Medellín y largo relato de los hechos que desembocaron finalmente en su muerte.
¿Quiere saber más del libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Novela.
Lo que nos cuenta. Relato breve del ascenso del narcotraficante Pablo Escobar hasta ser el líder del Cartel de Medellín y largo relato de los hechos que desembocaron finalmente en su muerte.
¿Quiere saber más del libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
February 11, 2023
A very thorough biography of Pablo Escobar, the brutal drug lord of Colombia, and the chilling violence that was his world. The story tells of his rise from a small city street thug to the most powerful and richest criminal in the world. Escobar loved his hometown and won the people over there and in all Columbia, by building soccer fields and public housing for the them. He became a local hero, he served in Congress, all the while blowing up cars and killing those that got in his way. Unfortunately many innocents were blown away too. Escobar owned the police and anyone he threatened knew better then to cross him. Columbian officials were unprepared and unable to stop him.
Then, the USA was persuaded to join the hunt and things began to change. Bush, infuriated with the contrite use of drugs in the USA, began his war on drugs. He recruited all the ABC agencies and Special Ops teams we had available. The "rule" was, none of them could take Pablo down. They could only help train and observe the Columbian forces . If this is what truly happened, I cannot tell you. It seems unlikely that the Columbian forces could have done this alone. Then again, Escobar's snitches within the system would have made it difficult for anyone to catch him. As soon as the U.S. would get a lead on him, using special spy planes, a raid on the compound would strike, and guess what? No sign of Pablo.
Escobar was finally put into a prison, by making an agreement with the Columbian government. Another unfortunate: The so called prison was built and owned by Pablo and was more a luxury resort then any type of a prison. The prison guards were under his control and Escobar continued his drug funneling and murder while supposedly locked up.
I have read Bowden before and have enjoyed his books. This fell short for me due to the extreme writing and explanation of all the forces involved in bringing Escobar down. There were chapters of explanations on every agency that became involved that I had to skim over in order to complete the book. In my opinion most of this could have been cut down, making it a more satisfying read. I will read him again, his research on his subjects is always top notch.
Then, the USA was persuaded to join the hunt and things began to change. Bush, infuriated with the contrite use of drugs in the USA, began his war on drugs. He recruited all the ABC agencies and Special Ops teams we had available. The "rule" was, none of them could take Pablo down. They could only help train and observe the Columbian forces . If this is what truly happened, I cannot tell you. It seems unlikely that the Columbian forces could have done this alone. Then again, Escobar's snitches within the system would have made it difficult for anyone to catch him. As soon as the U.S. would get a lead on him, using special spy planes, a raid on the compound would strike, and guess what? No sign of Pablo.
Escobar was finally put into a prison, by making an agreement with the Columbian government. Another unfortunate: The so called prison was built and owned by Pablo and was more a luxury resort then any type of a prison. The prison guards were under his control and Escobar continued his drug funneling and murder while supposedly locked up.
I have read Bowden before and have enjoyed his books. This fell short for me due to the extreme writing and explanation of all the forces involved in bringing Escobar down. There were chapters of explanations on every agency that became involved that I had to skim over in order to complete the book. In my opinion most of this could have been cut down, making it a more satisfying read. I will read him again, his research on his subjects is always top notch.
April 26, 2011
In the 1980s, the biggest industry in Colombia, a nation of then 30 million people, was cocaine manufacture and smuggling, accounting for 6% of the country's GDP. It was controlled by two cartels, one based in Medellín, the other in Cali. The head of the Medellín cartel was one Pablo Escobar, a professional criminal who assassinated his way to the top of an existing production and distribution network, and grew the business. Listed by Forbes Magazine as the seventh richest man in the world, Escobar lived in opulence: his country estate had a private zoo with hippos; he organized races of naked beauty queens for his friends to watch. However, this was not enough for him: he wanted to enter politics. Offering "silver or lead" to Colombians who stood in his way, Escobar assassinated presidential candidates, judges, journalists, policemen and soldiers, kidnapped children of politicians. Escobar also went out of his way to cultivate his image of a man of the people among Colombia's poor, although he was nothing of the sort: he was a drug baron who once had a dishonest servant drowned in front of his guests to drive home the point that this is what happens to people who cross him. After he blew up an airliner that a presidential candidate was supposed to fly in, the United States has had enough, and brought pressure on Colombia to extradite Escobar so he could be tried on drug and terrorism charges in a court he did not own. After a campaign of terror to fight the extradition, Escobar and the government agreed to a deal: he would not be extradited, but instead would serve five years in a prison he himself built. The prison was more like a luxury hotel with a telephone switchboard from which he ran his cocaine empire. After Escobar ordered two subordinates murdered, the government felt that he had broken his part of the deal, and sent a vice minister of justice to tell him that he would be transferred to a regular prison. The vice minister was taken hostage; the prison was stormed, and Escobar walked out: what soldier would risk his life by pointing his gun at the most powerful man in his country? After Escobar's escape, the government no longer felt bound by any deal; it brought in elite American soldiers and eavesdroppers; also, somebody whose identity is not revealed organized a regular Latin American death squad, which murdered, tortured and dispossessed not Marxist guerrillas and Liberation Theology priests, but Escobar's relatives and associates; the death squad seems to have made use of the American surveillance data. A year and a half after the escape, a young lieutenant, a son of the colonel who headed the task force for tracking down Escobar, honed in on the emissions of Escobar's cell phone, and saw him in a window of a house in Medellín. The lieutenant called in his father's forces, and Escobar was killed in a firefight, which ended a mission that cost hundreds of lives and hundreds of millions of dollars.
May 4, 2010
This well told, if a bit over-told, story of Pablo Escobar, the man who held a country of 27 million hostage, raises interesting questions for those of us living in post 9-11 times. On the one-hand, the author makes very clear that this wanna-be Latin Robin Hood, who built apartments and soccer stadiums for the poor with his $5-$10 billion in drug money, was nevertheless a very bad man who killed presidential candidates, the prosecutors who investigated him, the police who accompanied them and the judges who later issued warrants for his arrest relating to such murders. And all that was before lunch. Escobar also engaged in the wholesale murder of his drug-dealing competitors, hired Communist insurgent groups to hold the entire Colombian Supreme Court hostage (which resulted in the death of half the justices), held the rich and famous hostage (and killed many of them) and detonated car bombs throughout Bogota. He was effectively a combination of Al Queda and Al Capone.
On the other hand, the response of the Colombian government is somewhat disturbing. Completely unable to stop him, the Colombian President decided upon a new strategy which abandoned any pretense of constitutionality and instead relied upon an unholy alliance of other drug-dealers, murderers, rogue police units and American Special Forces to kill all of Escobar's family, friends, business associates, attorneys and accountants in an attempt to hurt his ability to finance his private war and thereby flush him out. While the strategy ultimately worked, the question is whether the price of success was too high. The book never really grapples with this issue, but we need to since 9-11 saw Congress and most of the Country ready to cede all power to the President with their blessing to do anything necessary to make sure it never happened again. This makes the story a timely read for all of us.
On the other hand, the response of the Colombian government is somewhat disturbing. Completely unable to stop him, the Colombian President decided upon a new strategy which abandoned any pretense of constitutionality and instead relied upon an unholy alliance of other drug-dealers, murderers, rogue police units and American Special Forces to kill all of Escobar's family, friends, business associates, attorneys and accountants in an attempt to hurt his ability to finance his private war and thereby flush him out. While the strategy ultimately worked, the question is whether the price of success was too high. The book never really grapples with this issue, but we need to since 9-11 saw Congress and most of the Country ready to cede all power to the President with their blessing to do anything necessary to make sure it never happened again. This makes the story a timely read for all of us.
June 17, 2018
tons of fun, very light and breezy read. not as good as Kings of Cocaine, but an excellent supplement thereof.
March 17, 2021
I was told this book would be a historically accurate version of Narcos in response to my sudden desire to watch Narcos. Never ended up watching Narcos, but this book was Crazy stuff! I appreciated the historical and political context to Pablo Escobar’s rise, reign, and downfall - and the associated rise of the global illicit narcos market.
“Diplomacy and war spring from different philosophical wells. The underlying premise of diplomacy is that people, no matter what their differences, are well-intentioned and can work together. Warriors believe in intractable evil. Certain forces cannot be compromised with; they must simply be defeated.”
December 3, 2020
Starting from the unsettling cover till the last disturbing word this book is a masterpiece. I don't know what is it about Mark's Bowden writing that makes the violence sound so exciting. There are bombings, kidnappings, torturing and brutal murders and I was repelled and strangely attracted to the story at the same time. When extremely brutal vigilante group fighting Pablo Escobar arose I was straight up spooked. Seriously, how do you fight people like narco kingpins? Is the only answer to violence is more violence? Good reminder that the world we are living in can be very frightening.
July 4, 2014
-¿El enemigo de mi enemigo es mi amigo aunque sea mi enemigo?.-
Género. Novela.
Lo que nos cuenta. Relato breve del ascenso del narcotraficante Pablo Escobar hasta ser el líder del Cartel de Medellín y largo relato de los hechos que desembocaron finalmente en su muerte.
¿Quiere saber más del libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Novela.
Lo que nos cuenta. Relato breve del ascenso del narcotraficante Pablo Escobar hasta ser el líder del Cartel de Medellín y largo relato de los hechos que desembocaron finalmente en su muerte.
¿Quiere saber más del libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
October 16, 2021
Better than watching Narcos. Outstanding work of journalism that reads like a thriller novel.
Recommended!
Recommended!
October 30, 2021
Bei 30 % abgebrochen weil ich die Beweihräucherung dieses Psychopaten nicht ertrage. Als gäbe es irgendwas gutes über diesen Killer zu sagen ... an so einem ist jede Zeile verschwendet.
January 8, 2018
An excellent and nearly unbelievable account of the costly hunt for Pablo Escobar.
September 9, 2017
Belonging to a minority who hasn’t watched Narcos yet on Netflix, there was next to nothing I knew about the exploits of Pablo Escobar. The contents of the book offer a comprehensive view on the Escobar phenomenon in Colombia and across the world and also is an account of the manhunt that eventually brought him down. As it chronicles the rise and fall of a crime lord, the book moves at the speed of a thriller and is quite well researched and comprehensively written. If it was not for the too obvious way in which the author leaned towards the Americans, this would have made for a splendid work of non-fiction.
The rise of Escobar as the undisputed drug boss of Colombia speaks much about the state of affairs in Colombia of old. The degree to which corruption had rusted the machinery of the government needs to be read to be believed. Escobar was also shrewd enough to understand how best to employ fear to achieve the status of a living legend. He lived flamboyantly and rivalled any legitimate business mogul in displays of wealth. When the Forbes magazine itself featured him as one of the richest men alive, the notion grew within Escobar’s criminal enterprise that they were reaching some levels of legitimacy equal to a large business house. The entire government machinery was more or less in his pockets and his influence reached everywhere in society across all stratas. Playing the role of a rich Robin Hood, Escobar even pandered to the whims and fancies of the general populace with the clever manipulation of media. With increasing revenues from the drug business Escobar grew so omnipotent and in the process made two enemies. The United States was one of the biggest markets that Escobar catered to and this brought him eventually to the sights of the US law enforcement. The second was when Escobar overstepped all the lenience that the Colombian government was showing him and unleashed a string of murders through the nation – judges, police men and even their families fell like flies in this carnage. Like the proverbial straw the broke the camel’s back, the Colombian governments finally decided to shake hands with the Americans and the tables turned on Escobar. This is part I of the book and is a roller coaster ride. The research that Bowden has done for these chapters is brilliant and is stocked full of facts and figures of Escobar’s early life.
Part II of the story deals with the manhunt which was only rivalled later in history by the money and effort spent to bring down Bin Laden. The Americans brought in technological support and also manpower in the form of Delta force and the SEAL’s who assisted the Colombians in tracking Escobar down. The job however was not easy for the hunters as Escobar and his men eluded them for years and continued to carry out judgements and executions even when in exile. Pushed beyond their usual limits, there came to the fore Los Pepes who began rivalling Esocbar in brutality and began taking out Escobar’s associates and friends. The theories surrounding this group and their connections to American military/intelligence establishments is yet to be proved but this tactic of an eye for an eye did bring Escobar out of hiding and finally led to him being gunned down.
There is a strong sense of anti-climax here if you consider this : At the start of the chase, Escobar was being touted as the thousand headed demon who controlled everything related to drugs but by the time he lay dead under a hail of bullets the drug empire were controlled by a host of other players. In the words of one of the officers who led the chase, the death of Escobar hardly put a dent in the overall scheme of things. It is also here that the author comes across as staunchly pro-American. While the Colombians mostly are portrayed as incompetent and corrupt (with the exception of Colonel Ramirez maybe), the Americans are knights in shining armour. Bowden is smart enough to avoid such a treatment all through the book and yet it surfaces from time to time in the narrative. This was my only gripe with the writing as such.
Recommended. I should now watch Narcos !
The rise of Escobar as the undisputed drug boss of Colombia speaks much about the state of affairs in Colombia of old. The degree to which corruption had rusted the machinery of the government needs to be read to be believed. Escobar was also shrewd enough to understand how best to employ fear to achieve the status of a living legend. He lived flamboyantly and rivalled any legitimate business mogul in displays of wealth. When the Forbes magazine itself featured him as one of the richest men alive, the notion grew within Escobar’s criminal enterprise that they were reaching some levels of legitimacy equal to a large business house. The entire government machinery was more or less in his pockets and his influence reached everywhere in society across all stratas. Playing the role of a rich Robin Hood, Escobar even pandered to the whims and fancies of the general populace with the clever manipulation of media. With increasing revenues from the drug business Escobar grew so omnipotent and in the process made two enemies. The United States was one of the biggest markets that Escobar catered to and this brought him eventually to the sights of the US law enforcement. The second was when Escobar overstepped all the lenience that the Colombian government was showing him and unleashed a string of murders through the nation – judges, police men and even their families fell like flies in this carnage. Like the proverbial straw the broke the camel’s back, the Colombian governments finally decided to shake hands with the Americans and the tables turned on Escobar. This is part I of the book and is a roller coaster ride. The research that Bowden has done for these chapters is brilliant and is stocked full of facts and figures of Escobar’s early life.
Part II of the story deals with the manhunt which was only rivalled later in history by the money and effort spent to bring down Bin Laden. The Americans brought in technological support and also manpower in the form of Delta force and the SEAL’s who assisted the Colombians in tracking Escobar down. The job however was not easy for the hunters as Escobar and his men eluded them for years and continued to carry out judgements and executions even when in exile. Pushed beyond their usual limits, there came to the fore Los Pepes who began rivalling Esocbar in brutality and began taking out Escobar’s associates and friends. The theories surrounding this group and their connections to American military/intelligence establishments is yet to be proved but this tactic of an eye for an eye did bring Escobar out of hiding and finally led to him being gunned down.
There is a strong sense of anti-climax here if you consider this : At the start of the chase, Escobar was being touted as the thousand headed demon who controlled everything related to drugs but by the time he lay dead under a hail of bullets the drug empire were controlled by a host of other players. In the words of one of the officers who led the chase, the death of Escobar hardly put a dent in the overall scheme of things. It is also here that the author comes across as staunchly pro-American. While the Colombians mostly are portrayed as incompetent and corrupt (with the exception of Colonel Ramirez maybe), the Americans are knights in shining armour. Bowden is smart enough to avoid such a treatment all through the book and yet it surfaces from time to time in the narrative. This was my only gripe with the writing as such.
Recommended. I should now watch Narcos !
June 26, 2017
I remember the Pablo Escobar saga, as it played out at the time. I was a teenager in the 80's, when Miami Vice was the most popular show on TV, and there were about ten different kinds of hysteria in the United States about cocaine. It was described as the cause of most of society's ills, and would be the undoing of our country - it was completely addictive, nearly impossible to quit, and the vast majority of people even tangentially involved with transporting it, selling it, buying it or using it were destined to die a very horrible death, probably taking innocent others with them, and all the while, the market for it continued to grow. The pop culture depiction of it, and those associated with it, undeniably glorified it, in part because the decade of the 80's was an era that embraced excess and everything that went with it, and in part because the people who wrote the books, TV shows and movies that ostensibly spoke out against cocaine tended to themselves be cocaine users.
Escobar fit right into that. I think he understood how the mania fit into the era, and that he could make untold amounts of money from it. And he understood his own country, and knew what he could get away with, which was just about anything. So he became an emblem of the excess of the 80's, and he became famous, at the time, for having so much money that he spent $2,500 per month on rubber bands to wrap up his cash, which he kept hidden in barns and buried in fields, and had to write off approximately 10% of his total cash reserves because it was eaten by rats and other rodents. And part of that excess was the violence and cruelty he and his minions used to maintain their share of the market, and people around the world were afraid of it, but they found the drama inherently compelling and in a weird way, I think they kind of liked it. And I think he knew that, and played upon it.
Bowden's book doesn't focus as much on Escobar's rise to power, but it more a description of the campaign to get him. And it is an inherently interesting story, because even after the United States got involved, and even after the Colombian government became fully committed not only to stopping him, but to actually assassinating him, he still kept on for a surprisingly long time. What's most interesting about it to me, and what I would like to have seen Bowden address in more detail, was the legality behind the involvement of the U.S. The U.S. said the cocaine trade was a threat to national security, and based upon this spurious argument, began conducting military operations inside another sovereign country.
In a sense, Escobar became a sort of a symbol of Colombian nationalism, especially early in the campaign when he was arguing against extradition, because he said it ran counter to the notion that Colombia could and should handle it's own internal affairs. In a weird way, Escobar was like a Colombian Larry Flynt, a nauseating emblem of an interesting and legitimate point of constitutional law. He actually had a point, but it was lost in what an irredeemable dirtbag he was.
Bowden's book is well-researched and covers the details of the hunt for Escobar and its results in great detail. It reads a lot like "Blackhawk Down," which was also meticulously researched and an incredibly clear accounting of a specific series of related events. It's clear that Bowden is a journalist, and a very good one, because the book reads more like a long magazine article, rather than a book. At times, it became a little difficult to stay with, I think because it read like an article, because that's how he's used to writing. It was full of really interesting detail, and it was put together in a logical and comprehensive way, but it just doesn't flow like a book.
Escobar fit right into that. I think he understood how the mania fit into the era, and that he could make untold amounts of money from it. And he understood his own country, and knew what he could get away with, which was just about anything. So he became an emblem of the excess of the 80's, and he became famous, at the time, for having so much money that he spent $2,500 per month on rubber bands to wrap up his cash, which he kept hidden in barns and buried in fields, and had to write off approximately 10% of his total cash reserves because it was eaten by rats and other rodents. And part of that excess was the violence and cruelty he and his minions used to maintain their share of the market, and people around the world were afraid of it, but they found the drama inherently compelling and in a weird way, I think they kind of liked it. And I think he knew that, and played upon it.
Bowden's book doesn't focus as much on Escobar's rise to power, but it more a description of the campaign to get him. And it is an inherently interesting story, because even after the United States got involved, and even after the Colombian government became fully committed not only to stopping him, but to actually assassinating him, he still kept on for a surprisingly long time. What's most interesting about it to me, and what I would like to have seen Bowden address in more detail, was the legality behind the involvement of the U.S. The U.S. said the cocaine trade was a threat to national security, and based upon this spurious argument, began conducting military operations inside another sovereign country.
In a sense, Escobar became a sort of a symbol of Colombian nationalism, especially early in the campaign when he was arguing against extradition, because he said it ran counter to the notion that Colombia could and should handle it's own internal affairs. In a weird way, Escobar was like a Colombian Larry Flynt, a nauseating emblem of an interesting and legitimate point of constitutional law. He actually had a point, but it was lost in what an irredeemable dirtbag he was.
Bowden's book is well-researched and covers the details of the hunt for Escobar and its results in great detail. It reads a lot like "Blackhawk Down," which was also meticulously researched and an incredibly clear accounting of a specific series of related events. It's clear that Bowden is a journalist, and a very good one, because the book reads more like a long magazine article, rather than a book. At times, it became a little difficult to stay with, I think because it read like an article, because that's how he's used to writing. It was full of really interesting detail, and it was put together in a logical and comprehensive way, but it just doesn't flow like a book.
January 28, 2018
Excellently written, and while the life of Pablo Escobar was filled with violence, the author tries not to be dramatic regarding the way in which Escobar. killed, tortured, held a country in grips, and went down in history as one of the greatest Cocaine lords .
It took a team of many to finally hone in on Escobar's final hiding place. Using radio signals monitored by a team, in particular the son of one of the highest governmental generals, in the end, after many slick escapes, Pablo died in a hail of gunfire, and Bowden is quick to note that only one of Escobar's thugs died with him.
While filled with details, the book is never boring. The lowly street thug, Pablo Escobar, could have worked in the shadows, continued to amass his billions, instead his ego cried for recognition and fame. It was when he tried in vain to be part of the government, thereafter, the megalomaniac was know as a drug king who killed many, succeeding periodically at bribing governmental men on the take.
It took a team of many to finally hone in on Escobar's final hiding place. Using radio signals monitored by a team, in particular the son of one of the highest governmental generals, in the end, after many slick escapes, Pablo died in a hail of gunfire, and Bowden is quick to note that only one of Escobar's thugs died with him.
While filled with details, the book is never boring. The lowly street thug, Pablo Escobar, could have worked in the shadows, continued to amass his billions, instead his ego cried for recognition and fame. It was when he tried in vain to be part of the government, thereafter, the megalomaniac was know as a drug king who killed many, succeeding periodically at bribing governmental men on the take.
October 29, 2023
3.5 rating for all my books, as a detailed description of an historic event; definitely a 5 star rating.
After watching narcos, I wanted to get a more detailed look at the life of Pablo Escobar and the coalition of men that led to finally catching him and this book provided exactly that.
There’s a quote in the book about how an outlaw gains a following, and I believe after watching and reading about Pablo, he is the greatest outlaw ever. His power and influence and ability to do so much at once without any internet / computing technology is insane to me.
The most interesting part of the book for me was learning the main Columbian general who was hunting for Escobar, his son was the one manning the radio technology that finally led to pinpointing where Pablo was. He tried to resign and give up many times but fate wouldn’t let him! He also firmly believed in this “new tech” his son was using and knew that was how they would beat Pablo.
Would recommend to anyone who enjoys history.
After watching narcos, I wanted to get a more detailed look at the life of Pablo Escobar and the coalition of men that led to finally catching him and this book provided exactly that.
There’s a quote in the book about how an outlaw gains a following, and I believe after watching and reading about Pablo, he is the greatest outlaw ever. His power and influence and ability to do so much at once without any internet / computing technology is insane to me.
The most interesting part of the book for me was learning the main Columbian general who was hunting for Escobar, his son was the one manning the radio technology that finally led to pinpointing where Pablo was. He tried to resign and give up many times but fate wouldn’t let him! He also firmly believed in this “new tech” his son was using and knew that was how they would beat Pablo.
Would recommend to anyone who enjoys history.
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