Los Pepes

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Los Pepes, a name derived from the Spanish phrase Los Perseguidos por Pablo Escobar (

death of Escobar. The group was financed by the Cali Cartel and was led by the Castaño brothers. An example of their acts could be seen on the streets of Medellín, such as hangings of Pablo's hitmen
.

History

Links to authorities

There are reports that Los Pepes had ties to some members of the

Colombian National Police, especially the Search Bloc, with whom they exchanged information in order to execute their activities against Escobar.[1] According to documents released to the public by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 2008, Colombian National Police director general Miguel Antonio Gómez Padilla said that he "had directed a senior CNP intelligence officer to maintain contact with Fidel Castaño, paramilitary leader of Los Pepes, for the purposes of intelligence collection."[2]

Operations

Given that the main objective of Los Pepes was to assassinate Escobar, they acted in the same way that the Medellín Cartel acted against their enemies: killing anyone who had any allegiance with Escobar, such as their guards, accountants or lawyers, in addition to directly threatening friends and family of Pablo Escobar. They were involved in the destruction of two

haciendas
that belonged to Hermilda Gaviria, Escobar's mother. They were characterized by the frequent use of explosives in their attacks.

Aftermath

After Escobar was shot and killed when fighting against the Search Bloc in 1993, several of their leaders eventually went on to become leaders of a national paramilitary alliance in Colombia, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a paramilitary death squad that was formed not only for the purpose of fighting the Cartel but also the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a Marxist guerrilla group. The Castaño brothers (Carlos, Vicente, and Fidel) were founders of several paramilitary groups and the driving force behind the AUC's creation.

Another member of Los Pepes,

Inspector General of the AUC, as well as an important drug trafficker with Oficina de Envigado
.

The

U.S. Coast Guard. These documents have been made public at the website Pepes Project.[3][4]

Depictions

Colombian National Police
.

Los Pepes are featured in the

second season of the Netflix television series Narcos
.

See also

References

  1. ^ "human rights watch | colombia ? guerra sin cuartel". Hrw.org. Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2011-03-15.
  2. The National Security Archive. 17 February 2008. Archived
    from the original on 2013-06-02. Retrieved 2011-03-15.
  3. ^ "Pepes Project | Pepes Project". Archived from the original on 2017-09-18. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  4. ^ "Equipo Nizkor - ¿Cuál fue la relación de la DEA y la CIA con Los Pepes?". Derechos.org. Archived from the original on 2008-07-06. Retrieved 2011-03-15.

External links

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