Pubdate: Fri, 20 Oct 2000
Source: Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright: 2000 The Miami Herald
Contact:  One Herald Plaza, Miami FL 33132-1693
Fax: (305) 376-8950
Website: http://www.herald.com/
Forum: http://krwebx.infi.net/webxmulti/cgi-bin/WebX?mherald
Author: Gerardo Reyes, El Nuevo Herald
Note: Part 3 of 3

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."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D