4. The Era of Terror
The central fear of Pablo’s life was extradition to the United States. He famously declared: “Better a grave in Colombia than a cell in the United States.” To prevent an extradition treaty from being signed, Pablo waged a campaign of narco-terrorism that paralyzed Colombia for nearly a decade.
The Palace of Justice Siege (1985): Pablo funded the M-19 guerrilla movement to storm the Supreme Court in Bogotá, resulting in the destruction of legal documents and the deaths of half the Supreme Court justices.
The Assassination of Luis Carlos Galán (1989): The charismatic presidential candidate who promised to eradicate drug cartels was gunned down at a political rally on Pablo’s order.
Avianca Flight 203 (1989): Believing presidential candidate César Gaviria was aboard, Pablo’s operatives detonated a bomb inside a commercial airliner mid-flight, killing all 107 people on board and two on the ground. (Gaviria was not on the plane).
DAS Building Bombing (1989): A truck loaded with 500 kilograms of explosives flattened the headquarters of the Administrative Department of Security, killing 52 people and injuring over 1,000.
Car bombs became a daily horror on the streets of Bogotá and Medellín. Pablo offered standing bounties for killing police officers—paying up to $4,000 per officer assassinated—resulting in the deaths of over 500 police officers in Medellín alone.
Pablo Escobar As You Have Never Known Him
