At one point during the 1980s, Pablo Escobar was the seventh richest person on the planet, according to Fortune magazine. He owned fleets of ships, planes, mansions, cars, and property around the world. If he had been content to run a drug smuggling operation, he might still be alive. What sealed his fate was his need for renown. He wanted legitimate political power in Colombia. He gave interviews to newspapers, cultivated an image, and was elected to the Colombian senate. That set him on a collision course with the government. He had to be taken down.

As you might surmise from the title, this book is more about the manhunt for Pablo Escobar than the man himself. I enjoyed the first 80 pages or so that chronicle the rise of Escobar. The rest of the book is about the government efforts to track him down and kill him, and it gets into bogged down in minutia.

Pablo Escobar started out as a petty car theif and then muscled his way into the burgeoning cocaine trade during the '70s. As the book notes, there wasn’t a single aspect of the cocaine business that Escobar innovated, pioneered, or improved. He simply muscled his way in because it was profitable. Escobar was a gangster, not a business man.

During the ‘70s, when cocaine was at the height of fashion in America and Europe, Pablo Escobar made billions. The Colombian government at the time was willing to look the other way. Cocaine was bringing prosperity and status to an impoverished nation, and the government even passed laws allowing for the creation of new bank accounts that allowed for unlimited donations of foreign cash, no questions asked.

In addition to ruthlessly murdering his rivals, Escobar curried favor with the people of Colombia by building soccer fields and housing for the poor. His popularity peaked in the early ‘80s when he was elected to the Columbian senate, but he caused a minor riot when he tried to take his seat. At that point, some journalists and politicians began to push back against Escobar’s growing power. The result was a series of kidnappings, bombings, assassinations, and low level war. The US got involved at this point, sending military and intelligence personnel to Colombia to the assist the Colombian government in bringing Pablo down.

Pablo Escobar struck a deal with the government in the late ‘80s and for a brief period was incarcerated in a private “prison” that Escobar constructed himself, complete with hot tubs, large screen TVs, a soccer field, a movie theater, a bar, a disco, and an in-house gourmet chef. Guests came and went freely, and Pablo had young prostitutes brought in to entertain himself and his bodyguards.

When the government tried to move Escobar to a real prison, he escaped, and what followed was a 16 month manhunt that ended with him shot down, possibly by a US sniper, but probably by Colombian government forces.

The bulk of the book dealing with manhunt was a little hard for me to follow. Part of the problem is the number of US agencies involved—Centra Spike, Delta Force, the CIA, the DEA, the State Department, as well as several Colombian military and justice agencies—and keeping all the different groups and names straight in my mind was challenging. The various US agencies had ambivalent feelings towards one another. They were all eager to prove their usefulness in a post-cold war era and thus retain funding. And thus they were keen to achieve success on their own, with as little cooperation as possible.

There was also a vigilante group of Escobar’s enemies called Los Pepes that got involved, tracking down Pablo’s relatives and business associates and killing them in cold blood. These extra-judicial murders were almost certainly aided and abetted by American and Colombian intelligence, and thus raise thorny ethical questions about US involvement in the manhunt.

The series of failed raids, reprisal murders, and dead ends all blurs together after a while. It was a lot of unpleasantness. Kudos to Mark Bowden for his thorough research. I just got a bit bored with the detail.

Once again, Mark Bowden does not disappoint. This book kept me completely captivated through the twists and turns of the Medellin cartel and Pablo Escobar's reign as pseudo-royalty while the US & Colombian governments tried to take him out. Man, what a bloody, insane story. I had comparisons between his cartel and the cartels in Mexico running through my brain the entire time.

Also, I was completely fascinated/sidetracked by the story of his enormous private estate, Hacienda Los Napoles, and how he had his own private zoo with illegal exotic animals, and how after his death, the hippos got out and got to breeding and now there is a sizable feral hippo population in the rivers of Colombia. Yes, FERAL HIPPOS. And how you can totally visit Los Napoles today as some sort of weird, Jurassic Park-esque theme park of his burned down estate, exotic animals, and shreds of his former extravagant life. This entire side story has completely consumed my life over the past three weeks and I have probably read 1,436 articles about this place and the feral hippo population because I find it completely insane. Truth is always, always, always stranger than fiction.

I loved this book. If you enjoyed Netflix’s “Narcos”, then you’ll probably love it too. Not only is the true story absolutely crazy, but author does a really great job of breaking the years-long conflict up into easily digestible chapters. It’s incredibly well researched without being dry, and the author does a great job of using several different viewpoints. Overall a great read that kept me super engaged.

Excellently written, and while the life of Pablo Escobar was filled with violence, the author tries not to be dramatic regarding the way in which Escobar. killed, tortured, held a country in grips, and went down in history as one of the greatest Cocaine lords .

It took a team of many to finally hone in on Escobar's final hiding place. Using radio signals monitored by a team, in particular the son of one of the highest governmental generals, in the end, after many slick escapes, Pablo died in a hail of gunfire, and Bowden is quick to note that only one of Escobar's thugs died with him.

While filled with details, the book is never boring. The lowly street thug, Pablo Escobar, could have worked in the shadows, continued to amass his billions, instead his ego cried for recognition and fame. It was when he tried in vain to be part of the government, thereafter, the megalomaniac was know as a drug king who killed many, succeeding periodically at bribing governmental men on the take.

What a hot mess of chaos Pablo created and perpetuated in his country and for his countrymen. Fascinating how insecure he was as a man and how dysfunctional the search for him was.

I watched Narcos first and then read the book. Still, an exciting read that provides more details on some of the stories. It definitely gives the American perspective. It would be interesting to get a bit more of the Colombian perspective: how Colombians viewed Pablo, the manhunt and the Americans getting involved.

Too many characters and I only cared about one of them, and I already knew what was going to happen to him. I would encourage you to watch Narcos instead of reading this book.

A very thorough biography of Pablo Escobar, the brutal drug lord of Colombia, and the chilling violence that was his world. The story tells of his rise from a small city street thug to the most powerful and richest criminal in the world. Escobar loved his hometown and won the people over there and in all Columbia, by building soccer fields and public housing for the them. He became a local hero, he served in Congress, all the while blowing up cars and killing those that got in his way. Unfortunately many innocents were blown away too. Escobar owned the police and anyone he threatened knew better then to cross him. Columbian officials were unprepared and unable to stop him.

Then, the USA was persuaded to join the hunt and things began to change. Bush, infuriated with the contrite use of drugs in the USA, began his war on drugs. He recruited all the ABC agencies and Special Ops teams we had available. The "rule" was, none of them could take Pablo down. They could only help train and observe the Columbian forces . If this is what truly happened, I cannot tell you. It seems unlikely that the Columbian forces could have done this alone. Then again, Escobar's snitches within the system would have made it difficult for anyone to catch him. As soon as the U.S. would get a lead on him, using special spy planes, a raid on the compound would strike, and guess what? No sign of Pablo.

Escobar was finally put into a prison, by making an agreement with the Columbian government. Another unfortunate: The so called prison was built and owned by Pablo and was more a luxury resort then any type of a prison. The prison guards were under his control and Escobar continued his drug funneling and murder while supposedly locked up.

I have read Bowden before and have enjoyed his books. This fell short for me due to the extreme writing and explanation of all the forces involved in bringing Escobar down. There were chapters of explanations on every agency that became involved that I had to skim over in order to complete the book. In my opinion most of this could have been cut down, making it a more satisfying read. I will read him again, his research on his subjects is always top notch.

Contrary to what you read on the dust jacket Killing Pablo does not read like the best of novels. It reads like hastily assembled notes put together without the benefit of much reflection by either the author or an editor. The narrative sometimes contradicts itself in the same paragraph; seemingly important revelations are forgotten; timelines are jumbled. This leaves the book with two devices to help it along: the drama of its sensational story and the promise of scandalous revelations gleaned from Bowden's excellent array of sources.

Bowden is famous for Black Hawk Down, a book which did two things: it popped along like a great action story, and it revealed the tactics (and confirmed the existence) of Delta Force. Killing Pablo is marketed as a similar exposé, promising to reveal the top secret roll of Delta Force and other US military and intelligence assets in bringing down and extra-judicially killing Pablo Escobar. While Delta operators were willing to discuss with Mr Bowden the tactical play by plays of what happened on the ground in Mogadishu during the ambush made famous by Black Hawk Down, they were either unable or unwilling to shed much light on their roll in the hunt for Pablo Escobar.

Killing Pablo reveals little about US special operations in Colombia, apart from the actions of a top secret Army intelligence gathering unit. While Bowden confirms that Delta operators and SEALs were in country during the hunt for Escobar, he reveals little about what they were or weren't doing. His insinuations that Delta snipers may have been actively assassinating Escobar's minions, and that Delta operators may have participated in raids that often resulted in extra-judicial executions feel, without evidence, like marketing ploys. You will not come away from this book knowing the full extent American special operations forces played in the killing of Pablo Escobar. That that promise is used to sell the book with a wink and a nod leaves a rotten taste in the mouth.

Dramatically, the book is little better. Despite massive US military aid, and what was essentially all out war between the Medellin cartel and the Colombian government, Pablo Escobar's pursuers stumbled and erred at nearly every step. Far from the taut cat-and-mouse story of a populist and murderous kingpin from the lower classes whose cocaine assisted class climbing was thwarted by the Colombian aristocracy with US aid, Killing Pablo reads like a badly written reportage of procedural ineptitude. Had it been written by Graham Greene it might have made for a brilliant Coen brothers farce. As is, Killing Pablo is old news boringly told.

Bei 30 % abgebrochen weil ich die Beweihräucherung dieses Psychopaten nicht ertrage. Als gäbe es irgendwas gutes über diesen Killer zu sagen ... an so einem ist jede Zeile verschwendet.

3.5 rating for all my books, as a detailed description of an historic event; definitely a 5 star rating.

After watching narcos, I wanted to get a more detailed look at the life of Pablo Escobar and the coalition of men that led to finally catching him and this book provided exactly that.

There’s a quote in the book about how an outlaw gains a following, and I believe after watching and reading about Pablo, he is the greatest outlaw ever. His power and influence and ability to do so much at once without any internet / computing technology is insane to me.

The most interesting part of the book for me was learning the main Columbian general who was hunting for Escobar, his son was the one manning the radio technology that finally led to pinpointing where Pablo was. He tried to resign and give up many times but fate wouldn’t let him! He also firmly believed in this “new tech” his son was using and knew that was how they would beat Pablo.

Would recommend to anyone who enjoys history.

Pablo Escobar was the uncrowned king of the notorious Medellin cartel which dealt with cocaine in the 1980s. Escobar had become a scourge for the Americans since he was the primary source, at least initially, of all the deadly cocaine that flowed into the United States from Colombia. The 80s was the period of excesses in America and the Colombians found themselves running a lucrative trade involving the processing and illegal transportation of the narcotics into that country. There was no limit to the money that could be earned and it was just a matter of time before thugs, criminals, politicians and even the security agencies in Colombia began to vie for a part of the spoils. It was into this quagmire that Pablo Escobar was drawn in.

tMark Bowden traces the evolution of Escobar from being a small-time thug into a dreaded criminal. Escobar managed to catch the attention of the United States, so much so that the Americans were forced to commit their military intelligence gathering resources and Special Forces in trying to eliminate him. Escobar employed ruthless tactics like murder, kidnapping and extortions to maintain a stranglehold over the narcotic business that was based around the city of Medellin. It was but a matter of time before other players too came on to the scene. The most notable amongst Pablo's rivals was the dreaded Cali cartel, who later on became his nemesis.

tSensing the lucrative nature of the narcotics trade in the United States, Pablo left no stone unturned to illegally smuggle in cocaine into that country in ever-increasing quantities. He was doing it on such a large scale that at one point in time he had a fleet of Boeing passenger jets, which he modified as cargo planes to transport the contraband into the States. He was also reputed to have manufactured submarines with which he smuggled cocaine into the southern United States. Escobar had connections in the right places in the Government, the judiciary and the security apparatus in Colombia, all of whom facilitated the illegal narcotic trade for hefty financial considerations. But this cosy arrangement was not destined to last long, since the Americans began to feel the heat of the narcotic trade that was creating havoc amongst the American society. President Ronald Regan decided to tighten the screw on Colombia. The American government found a willing ally in President Gaviria of Colombia and the crackdown on the drug cartels in Colombia was initiated with active American assistance.

tWith the proceeds from the illegal drug trade, Pablo created for himself a life steeped in luxury and decadence. He was married to Maria Victoria and had two children, a boy named Juan Pablo and a girl, Manuela. He was reputed to be a devoted and caring family man. However, as with all criminals he indulged in proclivities like being addicted to sex with underage girls and being doped on marijuana most of the time. Pablo, however, made it a point to endear himself to the common people of Medellin. He has been credited with helping the needy with financial assistance as well as involving himself in improving the civic amenities like the building of football stadia in the city. Colombia was a violent society, where the government found it impossible to ensure the rule of law especially on account of the corrupt judiciary and security forces. Escobar and the other criminals of his hue used this situation to their advantage and involved in summary executions of rivals and those government officials who refused to toe their line. It was perhaps a miscalculation on Escobar's part that he began using large scale bombings at public places to get back at the government. This invariably led to the loss of many innocent civilian lives and ensured that whatever support he had amongst the common people in Colombia was eroded.

tThe Americans fully well realized that the Colombians would prove incapable of dealing with Pablo on their own. The American ambassador to Colombia, Morris Busby was a proponent of active American intervention in that country to tackle the drug menace and Pablo Escobar was the man who was on the crosshairs. Busby was able to influence President Bush and later President Clinton into committing American Military Intelligence Units, Special Forces and the DEA for assisting the Colombian Government in their hunt for Escobar. President Gaviria realized that it was foolish to depend on the regular Colombian Army and Police units to deal with Escobar since most of the Colombian security apparatus was on the payroll of the drug dealer. Colonel Hugo Martinez, an upright police officer was brought in to head the Search Bloc, which was given the onerous task of tracking down Escobar. The Americans, with the help of their advanced electronic tracking equipment, was able to provide precise locations of the drug dealer to Colonel Martinez, but Escobar was able to avoid the dragnet on multiple occasions with the help of insiders in the government and the security apparatus.

tThe American security establishment was drawn into controversy while the hunt for Escobar was drawing to its final stages. A vigilante group was formed in Colombia which consisted of the members of the Cali cartel (a rival to Escobar in the cocaine trade) and the relatives of victims of Escobar's murderous cruelty. It was rumoured that this group which called itself Los Pepos, had the tacit support of the Colombian Government too. The Los Pepos went about murdering the members of Escobar's drug empire with clinical precision. The Americans were in a dilemma because whatever intelligence that they passed onto Colombian security forces about Escobar's whereabouts seemed to end up with the vigilante group and it made the American State look complicit to the orgy of violence that was unfolding in Colombia.

tEscobar repeatedly made allegations that the Government was targeting him alone in their fight against drugs and that the rival gangs were being given a free run. There seemed to be a lot of truth in those allegations and the Americans found themselves in a delicate situation. The American intelligence community had correctly assessed that the mere elimination of Escobar alone was not going to make any appreciable difference in the influx of narcotics into the United States as long as the other cartels were still active. However, it seemed that both the Americans and the Colombians had an interest in eliminating Escobar for nothing more than scoring a moral and symbolic victory against the drug trade.

tBy late 1992, Pablo found himself at his wit's end on account of the unrelenting pressure exerted by Colonel Hugo Martinez's Search Bloc and the constant surveillance mounted by the American Intelligence Units and the Special Forces. Pablo tried his best to negotiate a safe passage for his wife and children to any other country, but it became impossible due to the pressure exerted by the Americans on all of the prospective safe havens around the world. This made Pablo all the more embittered and desperate. His empire was unable to withstand the onslaught unleashed by Los Pepos, which resulted in extrajudicial killings of scores of his deputies and his lawyers. Pablo's empire was systematically being taken down. Towards the end, Pablo could only be in radio contact with his son, Juan Pablo who was merely 20 years old. It was during one of those calls, on the third of December 1993, that the surveillance units picked up the signals and pinpointed Pablo's location to a two-story building block in Medellin. There was no attempt on part of the security forces to take Pablo alive. The fugitive came on to the tiled roof in an attempt to flee and he was gunned down. There was a talk that the killing headshot on Pablo came from an American's sniper rifle, which understandably the Americans vehemently denied.

tThere was much jubilation on the killing of Pablo. The Colombian society saw it as a closure of the country's dalliance with the reign of terror and lawlessness in their country. However, as the Americans had correctly surmised, Pablo's death was at best symbolic in the fight against narco terror, since it failed to stymie the flow of dreaded drugs into the United States.

tIt is to the credit of the author that he makes a gripping narrative of a non-fictional subject. The book is well researched. One drawback of the book is that Bowden is prejudiced and he considers the Colombians untrustworthy and incapable of managing their affairs. There might be some truth in that assumption though. The Americans, for all their assistance accorded to the Colombian Government, was not always above board, as it is amply clear that that they acted in their interests. There has been a flurry of allegations that at least a part of the American dispensation was somehow assisting other narcotic dealers in Colombia who were rivals of Escobar. All such details, unfortunately, will forever remain hidden in the murky world of international geopolitics.