COLOMBIA: Medellin drug lord Pablo Escobar gives himself up to authorities after seven years on the run

Record ID: 317587

  • Title: COLOMBIA: Medellin drug lord Pablo Escobar gives himself up to authorities after seven years on the run
  • Date: 20th June 1991
  • Summary: BOGOTA (JUNE 19, 1991) (REUTERS) PARLIAMENTARIANS VOTING ON EXTRADITION LAW (SPANISH)
  • Embargoed: 5th July 1991 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, COLOMBIA
  • Country: Colombia
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA8NA8D1PFKOP3PAYUTI5WZDW85
  • Story Text: Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, head of the Medellin cocaine cartel and Colombia's most wanted man, on Wednesday (June 19) gave himself up to authorities after seven years on the run.
    His surrender was announced hours after the country's Constitutional Assembly voted to ban extradition of citizens born in Colombia for trial. Escobar could have faced life in prison in the United States (US), where he had been charged with murder and drug trafficking.
    The South American country had extradited at least 49 Colombians suspected of drug trafficking to the United States since 1984 as the two countries tried to fight a long-running battle against drugs.
    Hours after ending the biggest manhunt in Colombian history, Escobar, aged 41, was taken by helicopter to a luxurious jail prepared for him in his hometown of Envigado, a Medellin suburb. His surrender was first announced two weeks ago by a Roman Catholic priest Rafael Garcia who served as mediator.
    Three of his lieutenants, brothers Jorge Luis, Juan David and Fabio Ochoa, also gave themselves up.
    Escobar is accused of ordering the murders of a presidential candidate, a justice minister and a news paper publisher. He is also accused of involvement in about 300 bombings in the past two years, including the downing in November 1989 of a Colombian jetliner that killed all 107 people aboard.
    Carlos Lemus, former Interior Minister, said the surrender was making the statement that criminals can win and crime pays. But President Cesar Gaviria insisted his government's leniency toward Escobar did not mean it had abandoned the war on drugs.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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