News (Media Awareness Project) - Colombia: Killing Pablo - In Medellin, The Trap Begins To Close |
| Title: | Colombia: Killing Pablo - In Medellin, The Trap Begins To Close |
| Published On: | 2000-12-16 |
| Source: | Inquirer (PA) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-09-02 08:49:58 |
IN MEDELLIN, THE TRAP BEGINS TO CLOSE
Chapter 35 of a continuing serial
Lt. Hugo Martinez drove away from his police surveillance unit's
temporary staging area in a Medellin parking lot on Thursday, Dec. 2,
1993. His friend on the switchboard at the Tequendama Hotel in Bogota
had just alerted him that Pablo Escobar was on the line to the hotel.
Escobar's voice had been recognized right away, even though he was
still pretending to be a journalist. He had called the hotel several
times to speak with his wife and family staying there.
All of the men at the staging area followed Hugo out. The rest of the
Search Bloc was converging on the Medellin neighborhood of Los Olivos,
where Hugo's surveillance team had pinpointed the source of Escobar's
call.
Excited and nervous, Hugo could feel all of his father's men, hardened
veterans of the police assault team, close on his heels. Hugo's
reputation with the men in the Search Bloc had improved since his
rocky beginning, but they remained skeptical. He knew that if he
failed again now, with all these men awaiting his direction, he would
never live it down.
The tone in his headphones and the line on his scanner directed Hugo
to an office building just a few blocks from the parking lot. He was
certain that was where Escobar was speaking. No sooner had he named
the address than the assault force descended, crashing through the
front doors and moving loudly through the building.
Escobar continued to speak calmly, as though nothing was happening.
Clearly the fugitive was not in the office building now being raided.
Hugo felt panic. How could his equipment be wrong? He took two long
deep breaths, forcing himself to remain calm. So long as Escobar was
talking, he could still be found.
In the passenger seat of the white Mercedes van, Hugo closed his eyes
for a moment and then looked again more carefully at the screen, which
was no bigger than the palm of his hand. This time he noticed a slight
vibration in the white line that stretched from side to side. The line
spanned the entire screen, which meant the signal was being
transmitted close by, but the slight movement suggested something else.
From experience, Hugo knew this vibration probably meant he was
picking up a reflection. It was very slight, which is why he hadn't
noticed it before. When the reflection was bouncing off water, the
line usually had a slight squiggle in it, but this line had no squiggle.
"This is not it! This is not it!" he shouted into his radio. "Let's
go!"
To his left was a drainage ditch with a gently moving stream of dirty
water. To get to the other side, where Hugo was now convinced the
signal originated, his driver had to go up a block or two and turn
left over a bridge.
When the van had crossed the bridge and returned on the other side of
the ditch, Hugo realized that only one car from his unit had followed
him. There were three men in it. The men in the other car either
hadn't heard him or were ignoring him.
Escobar's conversation with his son continued.
Juan Pablo repeated a question from a list of 40 given to him by a
Colombian journalist. He and his father were formulating Escobar's
replies. This question asked why so many other countries had refused
to allow Juan Pablo, his mother and sister entry.
The family, under death threats from the vigilantes of Los Pepes, had
been trying desperately to flee Colombia.
"The countries have denied entry because they don't know the real
truth," Escobar said, answering the question.
"Yes," Juan Pablo said, evidently taking notes as his father
spoke.
"We're going to knock on the doors of every embassy from all around
the world because we're willing to fight incessantly," Escobar
continued. "Because we want to live and study in another country
without bodyguards and hopefully with a new name."
"Just so you know," Juan Pablo said. "I got a phone call from a
reporter who told me that President Alfredo Cristiani from Ecuador,
no, I think it is El Salvador . . ."
"Yes?" Escobar got up now and moved to the second-floor window,
mindful that this conversation had dragged on for several minutes;
twenty seconds was his usual limit. As he listened, he looked at the
cars moving on the street below.
"Well, he has offered to receive us. I heard the statement, well, he
gave it to me by phone," Juan Pablo said.
"Yes?"
"And he said if this contributed in some way to the peace of the
country, he would be willing to receive us, because the world receives
dictators and bad people, why wouldn't he receive us?"
"Well, let's wait and see, because that country is a bit hidden
away."
"Well, but at least there's a possibility, and it has come from a
president."
"Look, with respect to El Salvador," Escobar said.
"Yeah?"
"In case they ask anything, tell them the family is very grateful and
obliged to the words of the president, that it is known he is the
president of peace in El Salvador."
"Yeah."
Escobar stayed at the window, still mindful of the length of the call.
When Juan Pablo related a question about the family's experiences
under government protection, his father answered: "You respond to that
one."
Juan Pablo rattled off three more of the questions, but then his
father abruptly ended the conversation. He had seen something on the
street below.
"OK, let's leave it at that," Escobar said.
"Yeah, OK," Juan Pablo said. "Good luck."
"Good luck."
Chapters in this series with links:
Chapter 1: Escobar's Rise To Power
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1692/a04.html
Chapter 1 (continued): A Deadly Manhunt Guided By The US
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1690/a07.html
Chapter 2: A Top-Secret Electronic Tracking Unit Rejoins The Hunt
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1696/a07.html
Chapter 3: With Escobar Eluding Capture, Americans Summon Delta Force
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1702/a01.html
Chapter 4: Delta Force, In Bogota, Gets The Lay Of A Confusing Land
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1704/a08.html
Chapter 5: Raring To Get Started, Delta Learns Its Limits
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1712/a10.html
Chapter 6: Delta, Colombians Get Off To Bad Start
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1715/a05.html
Chapter 7: Incorruptible Colonel Rejoins Escobar Pursuit
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1729/a05.html
Chapter 8: Escobar's Nemesis Hones His Troops For The Hunt
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1727/a04.html
Chapter 9: Luxury 'Prison' Affords A Rare Look At Escobar
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1741.a07.html
Chapter 10: A Conditional Offer To Surrender
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1733/a06.html
Chapter 11: Frustrating Hunt Gives Rise To Vigilantism
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1741.a08.html
Chapter 12: Homegrown Escobar Enemy Joins Fight
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1743.a06.html
Chapter 13: Escobar's Powerful Foes Ally Against Him
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1746.a08.html
Chapter 14: Angry Widow Aids Pursuit Of Escobar
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1752/a09.html
Chapter 15: A Former Ally Offers A Profile Of Escobar
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1757/a04.html
Chapter 16: A Rivalry Grows Between Spy Units
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1779/a06.html
Chapter 17: A Traitor Within The Search Bloc
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1776/a01.html
Chapter 18: Los Pepes' Killings Put Heat On Escobar
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1781/a01.html
Chapter 19: Escobar Complains Of Unfair Treatment
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1788/a03.html
Chapter 20: U.S. Spy Data, Vigilante Killings Start To Coincide
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1818.a09.html
Chapter 21: 'Tacit Support' For Tough Tactics
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1816.a07.html
Chapter 22: Martinez Pushes Ahead With The Hunt
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1819/a02.html
Chapter 23: Search Bloc Leader Tries To Keep His Son From Joining The
Manhunt http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1816.a07.html
Chapter 24: Pressure Mounts On Escobar Family
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1821/a01.html
Chapter 25: A Father And Son's High-Tech Connection
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1826/a01.html
Chapter 26: Mission Stirs Concern Back Home
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1836/a07.html
Chapter 27: Trackers Get A Line On Elusive Escobar
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1843/a05.html
Chapter 28: As The Hunters Close In, A Narrow Escape
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1849/a05.html
Chapter 29: Escobar's Wife, Children Become The Bait
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1853/a04.html
Chapter 30: Escobar Employs A Ruse As His Family Takes Flight
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1856.a04.html
Chapter 31: Denied Escape, Escobar's Family Returns Home
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1864.a03.html
Chapter 32: Ever Elusive Escobar Still Intent On Settling Scores
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1869.a05.html
Chapter 33: Quietly, Search Bloc Pins Escobar Down
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1872.a07.html
Chapter 34: A Long Phone Call Helps Target Escobar
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1878/a05.html
Chapter 35 of a continuing serial
Lt. Hugo Martinez drove away from his police surveillance unit's
temporary staging area in a Medellin parking lot on Thursday, Dec. 2,
1993. His friend on the switchboard at the Tequendama Hotel in Bogota
had just alerted him that Pablo Escobar was on the line to the hotel.
Escobar's voice had been recognized right away, even though he was
still pretending to be a journalist. He had called the hotel several
times to speak with his wife and family staying there.
All of the men at the staging area followed Hugo out. The rest of the
Search Bloc was converging on the Medellin neighborhood of Los Olivos,
where Hugo's surveillance team had pinpointed the source of Escobar's
call.
Excited and nervous, Hugo could feel all of his father's men, hardened
veterans of the police assault team, close on his heels. Hugo's
reputation with the men in the Search Bloc had improved since his
rocky beginning, but they remained skeptical. He knew that if he
failed again now, with all these men awaiting his direction, he would
never live it down.
The tone in his headphones and the line on his scanner directed Hugo
to an office building just a few blocks from the parking lot. He was
certain that was where Escobar was speaking. No sooner had he named
the address than the assault force descended, crashing through the
front doors and moving loudly through the building.
Escobar continued to speak calmly, as though nothing was happening.
Clearly the fugitive was not in the office building now being raided.
Hugo felt panic. How could his equipment be wrong? He took two long
deep breaths, forcing himself to remain calm. So long as Escobar was
talking, he could still be found.
In the passenger seat of the white Mercedes van, Hugo closed his eyes
for a moment and then looked again more carefully at the screen, which
was no bigger than the palm of his hand. This time he noticed a slight
vibration in the white line that stretched from side to side. The line
spanned the entire screen, which meant the signal was being
transmitted close by, but the slight movement suggested something else.
From experience, Hugo knew this vibration probably meant he was
picking up a reflection. It was very slight, which is why he hadn't
noticed it before. When the reflection was bouncing off water, the
line usually had a slight squiggle in it, but this line had no squiggle.
"This is not it! This is not it!" he shouted into his radio. "Let's
go!"
To his left was a drainage ditch with a gently moving stream of dirty
water. To get to the other side, where Hugo was now convinced the
signal originated, his driver had to go up a block or two and turn
left over a bridge.
When the van had crossed the bridge and returned on the other side of
the ditch, Hugo realized that only one car from his unit had followed
him. There were three men in it. The men in the other car either
hadn't heard him or were ignoring him.
Escobar's conversation with his son continued.
Juan Pablo repeated a question from a list of 40 given to him by a
Colombian journalist. He and his father were formulating Escobar's
replies. This question asked why so many other countries had refused
to allow Juan Pablo, his mother and sister entry.
The family, under death threats from the vigilantes of Los Pepes, had
been trying desperately to flee Colombia.
"The countries have denied entry because they don't know the real
truth," Escobar said, answering the question.
"Yes," Juan Pablo said, evidently taking notes as his father
spoke.
"We're going to knock on the doors of every embassy from all around
the world because we're willing to fight incessantly," Escobar
continued. "Because we want to live and study in another country
without bodyguards and hopefully with a new name."
"Just so you know," Juan Pablo said. "I got a phone call from a
reporter who told me that President Alfredo Cristiani from Ecuador,
no, I think it is El Salvador . . ."
"Yes?" Escobar got up now and moved to the second-floor window,
mindful that this conversation had dragged on for several minutes;
twenty seconds was his usual limit. As he listened, he looked at the
cars moving on the street below.
"Well, he has offered to receive us. I heard the statement, well, he
gave it to me by phone," Juan Pablo said.
"Yes?"
"And he said if this contributed in some way to the peace of the
country, he would be willing to receive us, because the world receives
dictators and bad people, why wouldn't he receive us?"
"Well, let's wait and see, because that country is a bit hidden
away."
"Well, but at least there's a possibility, and it has come from a
president."
"Look, with respect to El Salvador," Escobar said.
"Yeah?"
"In case they ask anything, tell them the family is very grateful and
obliged to the words of the president, that it is known he is the
president of peace in El Salvador."
"Yeah."
Escobar stayed at the window, still mindful of the length of the call.
When Juan Pablo related a question about the family's experiences
under government protection, his father answered: "You respond to that
one."
Juan Pablo rattled off three more of the questions, but then his
father abruptly ended the conversation. He had seen something on the
street below.
"OK, let's leave it at that," Escobar said.
"Yeah, OK," Juan Pablo said. "Good luck."
"Good luck."
Chapters in this series with links:
Chapter 1: Escobar's Rise To Power
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1692/a04.html
Chapter 1 (continued): A Deadly Manhunt Guided By The US
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1690/a07.html
Chapter 2: A Top-Secret Electronic Tracking Unit Rejoins The Hunt
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1696/a07.html
Chapter 3: With Escobar Eluding Capture, Americans Summon Delta Force
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1702/a01.html
Chapter 4: Delta Force, In Bogota, Gets The Lay Of A Confusing Land
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1704/a08.html
Chapter 5: Raring To Get Started, Delta Learns Its Limits
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1712/a10.html
Chapter 6: Delta, Colombians Get Off To Bad Start
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1715/a05.html
Chapter 7: Incorruptible Colonel Rejoins Escobar Pursuit
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1729/a05.html
Chapter 8: Escobar's Nemesis Hones His Troops For The Hunt
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1727/a04.html
Chapter 9: Luxury 'Prison' Affords A Rare Look At Escobar
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1741.a07.html
Chapter 10: A Conditional Offer To Surrender
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1733/a06.html
Chapter 11: Frustrating Hunt Gives Rise To Vigilantism
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1741.a08.html
Chapter 12: Homegrown Escobar Enemy Joins Fight
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1743.a06.html
Chapter 13: Escobar's Powerful Foes Ally Against Him
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1746.a08.html
Chapter 14: Angry Widow Aids Pursuit Of Escobar
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1752/a09.html
Chapter 15: A Former Ally Offers A Profile Of Escobar
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1757/a04.html
Chapter 16: A Rivalry Grows Between Spy Units
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1779/a06.html
Chapter 17: A Traitor Within The Search Bloc
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1776/a01.html
Chapter 18: Los Pepes' Killings Put Heat On Escobar
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1781/a01.html
Chapter 19: Escobar Complains Of Unfair Treatment
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1788/a03.html
Chapter 20: U.S. Spy Data, Vigilante Killings Start To Coincide
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1818.a09.html
Chapter 21: 'Tacit Support' For Tough Tactics
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1816.a07.html
Chapter 22: Martinez Pushes Ahead With The Hunt
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1819/a02.html
Chapter 23: Search Bloc Leader Tries To Keep His Son From Joining The
Manhunt http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1816.a07.html
Chapter 24: Pressure Mounts On Escobar Family
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1821/a01.html
Chapter 25: A Father And Son's High-Tech Connection
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1826/a01.html
Chapter 26: Mission Stirs Concern Back Home
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1836/a07.html
Chapter 27: Trackers Get A Line On Elusive Escobar
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1843/a05.html
Chapter 28: As The Hunters Close In, A Narrow Escape
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1849/a05.html
Chapter 29: Escobar's Wife, Children Become The Bait
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1853/a04.html
Chapter 30: Escobar Employs A Ruse As His Family Takes Flight
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1856.a04.html
Chapter 31: Denied Escape, Escobar's Family Returns Home
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1864.a03.html
Chapter 32: Ever Elusive Escobar Still Intent On Settling Scores
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1869.a05.html
Chapter 33: Quietly, Search Bloc Pins Escobar Down
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1872.a07.html
Chapter 34: A Long Phone Call Helps Target Escobar
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1878/a05.html
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