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94 Ibid., 3. 40 States at this time. In addition to this staggering statistic, Colombia also experienced very high homicide rates, seventy percent of which were concentrated around Bogotá, Medellín, and Calí.95 The most common hypothesis as to the cause of this spike in violence pointed to the narcotics industry. As the narcotics industry grew, the violence attributed to guerrilla insurgencies dropped to a level of social violence and nearly fell off the charts. Narco-traffickers took center stage, and although allied with the insurgents against law enforcement and government, the Calí and Medellín cartels were perceived internationally as the principal threat to the region. US spending for international anti-drug efforts grew from $300 million in 1989 to more than $700 million in 1991.96 The combined authority of NSDD 221 and President Bush s National Security Directive Number 18 called for approximately $250 million from 1989 to 1994 to be used in pursuit of the Andean drug cartels wherever and however they choose to operate with all means available to our government consistent with applicable law. 97 This directive authorized the Secretary of Defense to deploy military forces to conduct training and provide operational support activities for host nation government personnel anywhere in the Andean region, but focusing on Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru. The Bush administration established the link between drug traffickers and insurgents in the Andean countries. The guerrillas found it more profitable to join the narcos than to fight them. The violence and corruption they brought effectively destabilized their respective governments and societies. Colombia saw some of the worst of this environment with the super powered Calí and Medellín drug cartels making arrangements with the FARC, ELN and M19 (Fuerzas Armadas Revoluciónarias de Colombia, Ejército de Liberación Nacional, and April 19th Movement). The king of the Medellín narco-traffickers, Pablo Escobar, reached the pinnacle of infamy by being named the most wanted man in the world for his horrific acts of terrorism and brutality. With 95 Frank Safford and Marco Palacios, Colombia Fragmented Land, Divided Society, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 360. 96 Mark Bowden, Killing Pablo, (New York: Penguin Group, 2001), 65. 97 US President, National Security Directive 18, International Counternarcotics Strategy, The White House Washington, 21 August 1989. NSC Declassification Review {E.O. 12958}. 41 cocaine use shifting from recreation to devastation, and with the narcos publicized links to terroristic insurgencies, the men behind the monstrous Colombian cartels were transformed in the public mind from gangsters to enemies of the state. This transformation increased the acceptability of American intervention in counternarcotics, as well as allowing military forces to assist the already operating law enforcement elements. As the known leader of one of these newly targeted cartels, Pablo Escobar became the focus of an international manhunt that cost billions of dollars, hundreds of lives, and several years. Due to the inherently dangerous and duplicitous nature of the drug business, Escobar trusted no one. He built, operated, and managed the Medellín cocaine cartel almost single- handedly, ruthlessly dealing with those that opposed him or challenged his authority. This system set Escobar as the organization s nucleus of power and, without a doubt, the Medellín cartel s strategic individual. Pablo s list of atrocities could fill pages. The assassination of a justice minister named Rodrigo Lara elevated Escobar from a tolerated criminal to a military target. In a congressional hearing, Lara openly denounced Escobar, then a sitting member of the Colombian congress. The following day, Lara had stories published in a Colombian newspaper of Pablo s ties to drug trafficking. The articles showed mug shots from previous arrests and blew any personal opinion of the drug lord s innocence out of the water. Escobar attempted to buy out every copy of the newspaper, especially in his hometown Medellín, but this only increased the perception of his guilt. In retaliation for the damage to his character, Pablo had the Justice Minister Lara murdered [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ] |