How the CIA caught 'Carlos the Jackal'
Witness History
BBC
4.5 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 15 August 2024
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, known as ‘Carlos the Jackal’, carried out bombings, killings and kidnappings.
Born in Venezuela, he was considered one of the most notorious political militants of the 1970s and 80s.
After years on the run, he was captured in the Sudanese capital Khartoum in 1994.
Former CIA operative Billy Waugh tracked him down.
He spoke to Alex Last in 2014, before his death in 2023.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.
(Photo: Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, aka "Carlos". Credit: Thomas Coex / AFP via Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:46.3 | Hello and welcome to the witness history podcast from the BBC World Service. It's 30 years since the man nicknamed Carlos the Jackal, then seen as one of the world's most wanted fugitives, |
| 0:53.3 | was arrested in Sudan after decades on the run. |
| 0:57.1 | In 2014, Alex Last spoke to the intelligence operative who tracked him down. |
| 1:06.0 | Terrorists weren't even known of in those days. |
| 1:09.1 | Carlos was the man. |
| 1:10.6 | Carlos, whose real name is Illichramirez Sanchez days. Carlos was the man. |
| 1:16.5 | Carlos, whose real name is Illichramirez Sanchez, and he was born in Venezuela, has been linked with almost every major international terrorist attack since the early 70s. |
| 1:21.3 | He was sent to Moscow for training after joining the Communist Party. |
| 1:24.9 | It was the Palestinian cause which the young revolutionary |
| 1:27.7 | principally espoused. |
| 1:29.7 | This is where he was last seen in Paris |
| 1:31.5 | and where he shot and killed |
| 1:32.9 | two security men |
| 1:33.9 | and their liberties informer a week ago. |
| 1:36.4 | Afterwards, Carlos just vanished |
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