DEA Implicated In Deal With Terrorists, Part 3 of 3

LOS PEPES WERE A RESULT OF ESCOBAR'S GREED

Brothers Miguel and Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela were not alone in their war
against fellow drug trafficker Pablo Escobar.

From La Catedral prison, where he was interned after his surrender in June
1991, Escobar created his own enemies.

The drug lord decided to hound his partners in drug trafficking for not
coming up with the ever-growing sums of money he demanded for his war
against the Colombian government.

After that, the Rodriguez brothers started to get calls from Escobar
associates seeking protection and revenge.

A bloody event was key to the formation of Los Pepes (People Persecuted by
Pablo Escobar). On July 4, 1992, from his cell in La Catedral, Escobar
ordered the assassination of Fernando Galeano and Gerardo Moncada, drug
traffickers who were at large and were well liked by other members of the
Medellin Cartel.

According to testimony from self-confesed drug trafficker Luis Ramirez,
Escobar ordered the assassinations after hearing that Galeano and Moncada
had hidden $20 million that they were supposed to pay to Escobar.

"People think that Pablo Escobar was a narco so devoted to his work that he
would sit down to plan a route, a load, to make contacts and all that,"
said a former associate of Los Pepes identified only as Ruben.

"But that was a myth," the man said. "Escobar was a drone who only
collected and extorted. He would phone the narcos to demand their
contributions under a condition they couldn't ignore: 'Pay up or die.' "

Many died but others survived and joined forces to fight Escobar, each for
personal reasons.

Among those most threatened by Escobar were the brothers Fidel and Carlos
Castano, veteran guerrilla fighters in the areas of Uraba and Magdalena
Medio. Summoned by Escobar to the prison one day, they had to turn back
when the road was closed by a landslide. Later they learned they had been
slated for assassination in an ambush at the prison, a source told El Nuevo
Herald.

After learning about the deaths of their friends Galeano and Moncada, the
Castano brothers met with the leaders of the Cali Cartel and agreed to
create a front that would cut Escobar's financial sources, destroy his
properties and harass his people.

The group would be bankrolled by its own members, Ruben said. According to
testimony delivered in court, the grandson of a former president of
Colombia donated money to the group after learning that his brother was
murdered on orders from Escobar.

Los Pepes found another source of money: Intimidated by Los Pepes' threats,
several of Escobar's own associates dug into their pockets for contributions.

In the process, it was inevitable that Los Pepes would rub elbows with
Colombian government and American agents who also were keeping track of
Escobar's activities.

"It was a cordial, mutually convenient relationship. Information was
shared," Ruben said.

"They knew that we could reach Escobar's people more quickly to squeeze
them and give them an ultimatum: 'If you're with him, you're against us,' "
he said.

The wave of reprisals began in late January 1993. Los Pepes set off car
bombs outside the homes of three of Escobar's relatives. In early February,
they set fire to the country estate where Escobar kept original Picassos
and Dalis. On Feb. 17, they torched a warehouse where Escobar kept an
expensive collection of antique cars.

Until that time -- and so long as the targets were objects, not humans --
many Colombians sympathized discreetly with Los Pepes' actions.

But the thirst for vengeance raised the violence to new levels. In less
than two months, four of Escobar's lawyers and one architect were murdered.
Los Pepes killed Escobar's principal attorney, Guido Parra.

"I never agreed with that," Ruben said. "The lawyers would have been more
useful to Los Pepes alive than dead, because they're the ones who knew
where the money was."