« Do As I Say | Main | Saddam's Secrets »
March 02, 2006
Killing Pablo
Killing Pablo by Mark Bowden ended up being a fairly good read, although it was frustrating to see that level of corruption described so clearly. It is one thing to hear about the level of corruption in many third world countries, it is another to see it described in such painstaking detail that it is obvious that the legal system no longer works. The killing of Pablo Escobar occurred in large part do to Los Pepes, a group of vigilantes likely led by frustrated military and police officers and funded by Escobar's enemies. Los Pepes did not kill Pablo himself, but targeted his business partners, lawyers, and criminal associates who were protecting him. This in turn made it easier for the police to later find and kill him. Normally I would not think that such extra legal actions would be a good thing, but in this case they were probably a necessary evil to stop a criminal who refused to allow the legal justice system to work by killing and bribing the judges, lawyers, and police who make it happen. I was actually surprised that it took so long for a vigilante group to rise up like it did, since Escobar had gotten away with killing hundreds of people with rich, violent, and/or influential relatives.
Posted by Pete at March 2, 2006 08:56 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.petetheelder.com/mt-tb.cgi/751