Pubdate: Thurs, 3 June 1999
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: Southam Inc.
Contact:  http://www.nationalpost.com/
Forum: http://forums.canada.com/~canada
Author: Diane Francis, National Post

PABLO ESCOBAR'S FAMILY LIVING IN CANADA: BROTHER

The family of the late Pablo Escobar, the notorious South American cocaine
baron, has been allowed to relocate in Canada, according to his brother.

Relatives of the Medellin Cartel's former leader were allowed to come to
Canada in 1994, Escobar's brother Roberto said in a televised interview two
weeks ago. Pablo Escobar was murdered in a 1993 shootout with police after
he escaped from jail.

Forbes ranked him as the world's richest criminal, worth about $2-billion
(US) in the early 1990s.

Roberto Escobar gave the Spanish language television interview from his
Colombian jail cell, where he is serving a life sentence for drug
trafficking. His son was murdered last month by rival gangs, and he granted
the interview to publicly request that Venezuela grant his family "political
asylum" and new identities, just as Canada had done for his brother's
family. Those reportedly here in Canada are Escobar's widow, Victoria, their
adult son, Juan, and teenaged daughter.

Once here, they would be allowed to sponsor as immigrants dozens of other
relatives.

In response to Roberto Escobar's request, Venezuelan politicians said last
week the threat of gangland-style slayings was hardly grounds for political
asylum. But officials said they would consider a request.

An Immigration Canada spokesperson said the department could not comment on
specific cases without the permission of the family involved.

"Unless there's been a public procedure involving these people, there's no
way we can comment because of the Privacy Act," the spokesperson said in a
telephone interview from Ottawa yesterday.

If they landed as refugees, any hearings would be held behind closed doors.

Bogota sources say Canada and Colombia struck an agreement a year after
Escobar was killed. Members of his family, who were being threatened, were
given new names and a witness protection deal without being obliged to
co-operate with justice authorities.

The Immigration Canada spokesperson confirmed such deals have been struck in
the past.

The political counsellor at the Canadian embassy in Colombia said, however,
"We have never here in Bogota issued a visa to his wife or children . . . A
conscious decision was made that these people would not be granted visitor's
visas.

"Having said that, the drug lords are never short of cash and changing
identities . . . There is inevitably a risk that they crept in under
different identities."

Pablo Escobar was assassinated on Dec. 3, 1993, in a spectacular shootout in
Medellin, Colombia's second-largest city.

"I remember finding a refuge for his family was a major issue in the days
leading up to Escobar's death," recalled Associated Press reporter Steven
Gutkin in a telephone interview from Caracas.

He covered the drug wars in Colombia when Pablo Escobar was alive.

- ---
MAP posted-by: Don Beck