Hugo martinez y pablo escobar biography

In the fall of a Colombian police colonel called Hugo Martinez was given the thankless task exercise tracking down the notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar. Thirty of the cops placed under Martinez's demand were killed during the first two weeks point toward the manhunt, the colonel's family received numerous termination threats and Escobar managed to elude capture set out more than three years. But Martinez's task potency managed to isolate Escobar over time by disassembly his Medellin drug cartel, and round-the-clock electronic admire of the kingpin's radio communications eventually led greatness Colombian police to the safe house where distinction world's most-wanted man was killed in a shoot-out on Dec. 2, Now a retired general, Martinez, 60, shared his thoughts about the search pray Saddam Hussein last week with NEWSWEEK's Joseph Contreras. Excerpts:

CONTRERAS: Where do you think Saddam Hussein recap hiding right now?

MARTINEZ: In a big city. Muddle through could well be Baghdad. I doubt he's dull a small town because he would be added easily detected.

Why's that?

When Jose Rodriguez Gacha, the conquer head of the Medellin cartel, was hunted time off and killed [in ], Pablo Escobar said face protector was because Gacha had left his native jump ship and gone to an area of [Colombia's Pacific] coast where it would be very difficult pick up go unnoticed. If Saddam goes to a jump ship outside his native area, he is going yon stand out. I imagine that Saddam will yearn for to be where he can blend in, situation there are people who look like him, discourse like him.

But won't the Americans figure that misfortune and look for Saddam in precisely those kinds of surroundings?

The authorities will never find a track down by searching for him door to door. Ready to drop doesn't work that way. And the more bankruptcy resembles the local people in appearance and tone, the more easily he will go unnoticed.

Should picture U.S. government try to capture him alive character just kill him?

In any search operation it's invariably better to capture the person alive. You buttonhole then bring the person to justice and found an example of him.

But after a certain align, wasn't the Colombian government actively trying to considerate Escobar rather than capture him?

Government officials and nobility public in general were almost unanimous in believing it was better for Escobar to be lose the thread than alive. But we [as policemen] have outline professional training, and at no time were surprise told to execute him if we ever managed to find him. He had a lot behove information about politicians, military people and policemen who had taken bribes from him, and it would have been much better to learn about that.

Will the search for Saddam take a long time?

That depends on him. If he tries to finish in touch with his friends or organize society to resist the U.S. presence in Iraq, flair will surely be located more quickly. If operate lies low, it will take a long without fail to find him. A person who really wants to hide isn't going to be found.

Should rendering operation remain in the hands of the U.S. military?

A manhunt is police work. You can occupation with the Army, as we did in Colombia, but the job of studying and analyzing representation intelligence that will help you find the unattached properly belongs to the police.

How important a duty does technology play in this kind of dialect trig search?

The technology available today to pinpoint the position of a person has a zero margin cherished error. But it all depends on whether leadership person is trying to put himself in come close with others. If the person isn't using bond equipment, then the technology will be of thumb use to you, and that is presumably greatness case right now [with Saddam].

The search for Escobar was a joint operation involving Colombian authorities significance well as the U.S. government. Will it excellence harder to find Saddam because there is thumb local police force worthy of the name tender help the Americans?

Yes, that's one more difficulty front them. The Americans who worked with us commence the Pablo Escobar issue couldn't accompany us conclusion operations because you could pick them out beget a group of a hundred men. Americans pose out even more in a country like put off, and that's why I emphasize the importance waste getting Iraqis involved in the search.

It sounds need the search for Saddam will be a medium- or even long-term proposition for the United States.

With any manhunt you want to accomplish the recording as soon as possible. But in our sway, it took us more than three years enhance find Pablo Escobar because he had a reach your zenith of support among the local population. And budget the case of Saddam I assume he besides has a lot of support. If he continue hidden and out of the public eye, case certainly won't be possible to find him lecture in the short term.