Killing
Pablo: A Comparison to White Collar Crime
Leslie
K. Penny
Chancellor
University
Module
8 Course Final Project
Abstract
The depiction of
organized crime in novels can provide an in-depth look into the lives of those
involved, the dealings of organized crime, how it pertains to our society, and
the efforts law enforcement has taken to overcome that threat. The following essay will provide summary of
the above referenced book as well as an explanation of organized crime, an
understanding of the evolution of organized crime, the various types of
organized crime, how transitional organized crime networks are involved in this
story, possible references to the influence of corrupt politicians on the
activities of the book's focus and if the book provides some insight as to how
organized crime can be controlled in the future.
Killing
Pablo: A Comparison to White Collar Crime
The depiction of organized crime in novels can provide an
in-depth look into the lives of those involved, the dealings of organized
crime, how it pertains to our society, and the efforts law enforcement has
taken to overcome the threat. Those are
just a few pieces of information one can expect to glean from a novel such as
the one I read called Killing Pablo: The
Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw by Mark Bowden and produced in 2001 (Bowden, 2001). The following essay will provide summary of
the above referenced book as well as an explanation of organized crime, an
understanding of the evolution of organized crime, the various types of
organized crime, how transitional organized crime networks are involved in this
story, possible references to the influence of corrupt politicians on the
activities of the book's focus and if the book provides some insight as to how
organized crime can be controlled in the future.
The main theme of this book portrays the power Pablo Escobar
had over the cocaine industry in Columbia, the power he had over the economy,
the political power he possessed over the region, and the ultimate manhunt that
culminated in his death in 1993 (Bowden, 2001,
p. 239). Interestingly enough, his personal drug of
choice was marijuana yet he became the leader of the Colombian Medellin Cocaine
Cartel, the largest distributor of cocaine from South American to the United
States bringing him "a return flow measured in not millions but billions
of dollars" (Bowden, 2001,
p. 22). During this time, the 1970's and 1980's,
Colombia was ripe with corruption and death.
The Colombian government had no control whatsoever .
If anyone stood in his way or refused his bribes, he had
them murdered. No one was safe from his
murderous plots. Not police, not judges,
not even politicians. Even with all of
that death on his hands by the end of 1980's, "the people's don was not
just the richest and most powerful man in Antioquia; he was also its most
popular citizen" (Bowden, 2001,
p. 29). Mark Bowden goes on to say that "on an
international scale, he was taking from the rich and giving to the poor" (Bowden, 2001,
p. 28). Tons of money was flowing back into
Medellin. Enough to rebuild the city as
well as those around it. So much money
was flowing in that the government and the country's elite wanted a piece. So a practice called "opening a side
window" was permitted which allowed an undesignated amount of dollars to
be converted into Colombian pesos (Bowden, 2001,
p. 25). The government of Colombia turned a blind eye
as long as they were getting a piece of the cocaine profit pie.
In 1989, Pablo Escobar had his men plant a bomb in an airline
that was intended to kill presidential candidate, Cesar Gaviria (Bowden, 2001,
p. 59). However, he was not onboard that flight but
110 others were who died in that bombing, including two Americans (Bowden, 2001,
p. 59). By this point American government was already
well involved with Columbia in their effort to stop the drug cartel. But this was the last straw and he had now
become a "clear and present danger" for the US (Bowden, 2001, p. 59). President Bush and his administration made
the argument for legal military action against traffickers in other countries,
including their number one threat, Pablo Escobar (Bowden, 2001,
p. 64).
From then on out it was an all out search party for Pablo
that lasted five years and cost the US more than $700 million dollars by 1991 (Bowden, 2001,
p. 65). Even though Pablo had many officials and
police in his country in his pocket, and had the means to off anyone he wanted
no matter what part of the world they were in, he was no match for the United
States of America. The CIA (Central
Intelligence Agency) and the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) both worked
together with the government of Columbia because, even though Columbia was
making a pretty good profit behaving illegally, there was too much at risk by
going against big bad America. With all
of their efforts combined, "Colombian intelligence and Colombian police
finally caught him where he took three bullets, one in the leg, one in the
abdomen and the other in one ear and out the other ear making that shot the
killing blow (Killing Pablo: Summary and
Review, 2011).
Mike Bowden's book, Killing
Pablo, went into great detail about the politics of organized crime and
explained exactly what organized crime is in reference to Colombia's cocaine
drug trafficking market. His book took
us through the death of one kingpin which led the way for a new younger kingpin
to step up to the plate. Escobar had
established his gangster name by committing petty crimes in his early years
such as stealing cars and kidnapping (Killing Pablo: Summary and
Review, 2011). It did not take long for Escobar to have
bigger dreams.
As long as individuals Escobar chose stayed loyal to him
and excepted his bribes then they became part of his organized crime
cartel. No one wanted to defy this
particular organized crime of drug trafficking.
More specifically, no one wanted to defy Escobar. He did not hesitate to have others murdered
for going against him. Even those that
wrote articles not in his favor in news papers.
He had them killed too. He could
not be extradited from Colombia because his organized crime cartel had the fear
and terror to prevent anyone from trying.
Pablo Escobar's drug cartel was a prime example of transnational
organized crime. According to chapter
13, written by William F. Wechsler and Gary Barnabo, in the publication Convergence: Illicit Networks and National
Security in the Age of Globalization, the 1970's and 80's brought forth a
"flow of illicit narcotics into the United States" that "was
deemed a major risk to the health and safety of Americans, and the government
expended massive resources to curtail both the supply of and the demand for
illegal drugs" (Barnabo, 2013). The chapter goes on to point out that Pablo
Escobar and the Medellin cartel "were emblematic of the type of threat
facing the United States" (Barnabo, 2013). Other areas of organized crime in Columbia
was "slaving, tobacco, and quinine smuggling, land seizures during the
civil wars, gold and emerald smuggling" (Bowden, 2001,
p. 31).
This book has clearly pointed out the corruption in
Colombia's government. Mark Bowden said,
"morality is one thing ... but it is another thing when somebody runs a
campaign exclusively with these funds" meaning drug funds (Killing
Pablo: Summary and Review, 2011). With that being said, I am inclined to believe that most took the
corrupted route out of fear for their lives.
Even Escobar himself was elected into Colombia's Congress in 1982 and
even helped to underwrite the presidential campaign of Belisario Betancur while
providing his planes and helicopters to assist (Bowden, 2001,
p. 30). On the sly, he contributed funds generously
to Betancur's rival, Julio Turbay, who eventually won the election (Bowden, 2001,
p. 30). I assume this was his way of having both
candidates in his pocket so either one could win and he would own them.
Escobar's rise to congressman was exactly what his self
righteous character craved. He believed
this move would put all the drug dealing business as far away from him as possible...more
like as far from his name as possible but he would never get out of the
business. He also believed he was now a
respectable citizen and representative of the people (Bowden, 2001, p. 31). But the most important feature of this new
position is that it granted automatic judicial immunity where Escobar could
breathe a sigh a relief because he could no longer be prosecuted for crimes
under Colombian law and was also awarded a diplomatic visa (Bowden, 2001, p. 31).
To conclude, you can take the crime out of Escobar but
you could not take Escobar out of crime.
He could not have the lime light and still be the don of Columbia all at
the same time. It all came crashing down
when polite Colombian society began rebelling against him. They began treating him as the criminal he
was and he lost his seat in Congress and therefore lost all of his political
power (Bowden, 2001,
p. 35). The rest is history. This book definitely proves that organized
crime can be controlled and even stopped as in Escobar's case. However, there is generally someone eager to
take that persons place. Then the cycle
starts all over.
Works Cited
Barnabo, W. F. (2013, 04). Convergence: Illicit
Networks and National Security in the Age of Globalization. Retrieved 08
23, 2013, from National Defense University:
http://www.ndu.edu/press/lib/pdf/books/convergence/convergence.pdf
Bowden, M. (2001). Killing
Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw. New York: Atlantic Montly
Press.
Killing Pablo:
Summary and Review. (2011, 11 09).
Retrieved 08 23, 2013, from EXPAT Chronicles:
http://www.expat-chronicles.com/2011/11/killing-pablo-summary-and-review/
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