Pablo received information from his spies in the armed forces about a meeting that took place at the military club between Supreme Court Chief Justice Alfonso Reyes Echandía, and the justices of the Constitutional Room, Manuel Gaona Cruz, Carlos Medellín Forero, Ricardo Medina Moyano, and Alfonso Patiño Rosseli. The topic of conversation was the extra security and protection they required considering the delicate issue of extradition.
Iván Marino Ospina, head of the M-19s at a protest march in Corinto – Cauca, during the signing of the ceasefire, August 24, 1984. (Photo courtesy of the newspaper El Espectador)
Pablo Escobar had them in his sights because it was Reyes Echandía who had drafted the 1980 criminal code that authorized and incorporated extradition. Those justices were all in favor of extradition.
Pablo explained, “I will give you two million dollars, but there will be five more waiting for you when you finish the operation.27 Two of my men will go with you and together you will burn the files of every person who is scheduled for extradition from Colombia to the United States. And you will kill Reyes Echandía, Medellín Forero, Medina Moyano, and Patiño Rosselli, for they are traitors to our country.”
The two men looked at each other and then Iván Ospina stammered, “No, no, we don’t think it’s a good idea for people outside of the command to come with us. Our men have been training for several months for the operation and it would be too risky.”
“Well, then you will have to make sure that this objective is accomplished,” Pablo answered coolly.
Pablo Escobar congratulated them on their aspirations, but suggested that they start thinking about taking the Colombian Congress and getting rid of every corrupt politician. Pablo reasoned that it would be more politically effective, beneficial, and spectacular; with such a blow, the government would negotiate more easily and most likely give in to any demands.
Pablo Escobar decided to finance the operation and supply the weapons. In addition, if they succeeded in putting an end to extradition, he promised the M-19 and the guerilla movement unimaginable sums of money in U.S. dollars. With this operation, Pablo had the potential to win from both sides, especially since burning the files would produce a significant delay in the terms of the extradition process.
The Chief was seduced by the idea of helping the guerrilla group and in doing so attacking the core of the Colombian justice system with which he was confronted. Pablo needed to eliminate those judges—they were all in favor of extradition. He ordered the other justices to be assassinated for the same reasons.
The M-19 leaders planned the capture of the Palace of Justice, finishing their training at the Nápoles Hacienda. There, the guerrilla commandos received twenty rifles and a great deal of ammunition, all financed by Pablo Escobar.
Undercover M-19 agents stored a great amount of food in the palace through the court’s cafeteria entrance. The leaders were convinced that the occupation would last for months.
Neither the missing files nor the destruction of the building would be the greatest loss for the court; it would be the death of its eleven distinguished justices, the best of the Colombian judicial system. In the end, both the government and the M-19 lost. The eleven justices were murdered. The national army fought for twenty-eight hours straight, finally eliminating the guerrilla forces. And for those twenty-eight hours, Pablo watched live by television, as excited and happy as a child to see the culmination of the plan hatched by the M-19 and financed by him. He not only got to disappear with his files as they burned in the flames, but he also got his dirty work done for him—the justices who signed the extradition orders were dead, either incinerated or killed with a bullet to the brain. The death of the eleven judges demonstrated before his eyes just how vulnerable Colombia and justice in the nation really were. In addition, a good deal of ground was gained in the war against extradition. It was Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria who won.
El Espectador newspaper reported Escobar’s hand in the taking of the palace; Don Guillermo Cano28 did much of the investigative work himself. Pablo was furious and murmured, “We have to kill Guillermo Cano.”
The M-19, as planned, denied its connection with the mafia and the palace operation. Nevertheless, Álvaro Fayad and other leaders took refuge at Pablo Escobar’s infrastructure in Antioquia after the authorities’ persecution.
Iván Marino Ospina moved in Medellín like any person.29 At that time, a fake ID was enough to get through the scarce National Police controls on the streets and roads of the country. He was a simple, common man and a warrior like none other; Pablo always backed him up because they were good friends. In Medellín Iván felt very safe because Pablo had control over the police authorities by means of his hefty bribes, and because nobody would dream that there the leader of the M-19 would be home alone. He used normal cars, all belonging to Pablo Escobar. Most of the time he moved around in a Renault 4.
The two million dollars was, as promised, paid to the M-19, received by Iván Marino Ospina.30 It was delivered in a car that had a secret compartment, where the money was hidden. The forty million received previously for maintenance and other expenses during preparation for the palace operation was delivered in the same fashion.
Journalist Jorge Enrique Pulido attacked Escobar and declared that El Patrón was connected to the palace operation. And once more Pablo delivered his sentence: “We have to kill Jorge Enrique Pulido.”
Society had a predator, and he lived in Medellín.
Chapter VIII
Messages in Fire
Before the government’s ruling and the pressure of Antioquian society to expropriate the drug traffickers’ assets, Pablo Escobar decided to personally attack Medellín’s wealthy. First he attacked Fabio Echeverry Correa, president of one of the most important guilds in the country, the National Industrial Association of Colombia. Pablo went to Correa’s farm; Pinina, Chopo, Tato, Mamey, Paskin, El Trompón, Carlos, and I accompanied him. The farm was located in Antioquia’s east region in one of the most expensive and exclusive areas. The house was surrounded by gardens and stables, which housed fine horses, all a display of the strength and money of the Antioquian businessman. Correa’s home was a model of beautiful construction and architectural design. He had good taste.
Escobar ordered us to surround the house with the three cars we were driving, leaving a cautious distance one from the other. Pablo went ahead and entered the farm. We entered the mansion with our weapons ready. We all had R-15 rifles, and El Patrón had his MP-5 machine gun. There were no surveillance or security cameras in the home. Room by room we searched every corner of the house, but a woman and two servants were the only people home. The woman, after being questioned by Pablo, revealed that she was the wife of one of the owner’s sons. Pablo told her, “We are the Extraditables. Tell your father-in-law that the business class will suffer the attacks of our organization due to their support of the government and the property expropriation law.” The woman conceded, nodding her head in the affirmative with her hands crossed over her mouth. Afraid for her life, she didn’t say a word.
Pablo ordered the men to open the stable gates so the six beautiful horses could safely escape the fire we were about to light. Tato took a lazy Saint Bernard out of the house, almost dragging him from the master bedroom.
The Chief then ordered the men to take the women from the house, while Trompón, Mamey, and Paskin appeared with gasoline cans. At Escobar’s side, I watched the whole operation. Carlos, Chopo, and Pinina watched the three women, who were already suspicious of the gangster’s intentions. Pablo ordered the men to spray the gasoline all over the place, especially over the furniture, paintings, walls, and clothes inside the closets. The three men obeyed, and they doused the house in fuel