77. The Hunt for Pablo Escobar: The Medellin Cartel vs Colombia (Ep 4)

The Rest Is Classified

Goalhanger

History

4.6 • 732 Ratings

🗓️ 26 August 2025

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

By the autumn of 1989, the hunt for Pablo Escobar and the Medellín cartel was intensifying. With the US military and intelligence agencies now directly involved, a new, more aggressive phase of the War on Drugs had begun. Join Gordon and David as they explore how Escobar, facing a relentless manhunt, leverages his position to strike an extraordinary deal with the Colombian state. Discover how he uses his “plata o plomo” (silver or lead) strategy - a mix of bribery, kidnapping, and murder - to bend the government to his will and secure his ultimate prize: the outlawing of extradition. This is the tale of Escobar’s political manoeuvring, a new president's desperate attempts to end the violence, and a surrender that was, in fact, a stunning victory. ------------------- Join The Declassified Club: Start your free trial at ⁠therestisclassified.com⁠ - go deeper into the world of espionage with exclusive Q&As, interviews with top intelligence insiders, quarterly livestreams, ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, and weekly deep dives into original spy stories. Members also get curated reading lists, special book discounts, prize draws, and access to our private chat community. To sign up to the free newsletter, go to: ⁠⁠https://mailchi.mp/goalhanger.com/tric-free-newsletter-sign-up⁠ ------------------- Order a signed edition of Gordon's latest book, The Spy in the Archive, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠via this link.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Order a signed edition of David's latest book, The Seventh Floor, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠via this link.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email: [email protected] Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@triclassified⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Assistant Producer: Becki Hills Producer: Callum Hill Senior Producer: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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0:00.0	For exclusive interviews, bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to series,
0:09.0	first look at live show tickets, a weekly newsletter, and discounted books, join the
0:13.4	Declassified Club at the Rest is Classified.com.
0:27.5	This episode is brought to you by Disney Plus and their earth-shattering arrival, FX's Alien Earth.
0:28.9	When a mysterious space vessel crash lands on Earth, Wendy and a rag-tag group of tactical
0:34.6	soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face to face with the planet's
0:39.6	greatest threat. This is one arrival you don't want to miss. FX's Alien Earth, an original series
0:46.5	now streaming exclusively on Disney Plus, 18 plus subscription required, TNCs apply.
0:52.2	Victory over drugs is our cause, a just cause. And with your help, we are going to win.
1:00.6	Pablo Escobar, the head of the Medellian drug cartel.
1:04.2	The world's 14th, which is man. He was, in many ways, a terrorist.
1:09.6	This is an economic power concentrated in a few hands and in criminal minds.
1:14.7	What they cannot obtain by blackmail, they get by murder.
1:18.3	And I don't think he is personally regret at all.
1:22.3	He tries to portray himself as a man of the people, this kind of like leftist revolutionary
1:27.2	outlaw.
1:28.1	Nearly everyone in Medellin supports the traffickers.
1:30.8	Those who don't are either dead or targets.
1:33.8	If you declare war, you've got to expect the state to respond.
1:37.8	This is the moment where he goes too far.
1:41.3	13 bombs have gone off in make the end since the weekend.
1:45.0	By the end of 87, Bogota is essentially a war zone.
	...

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