The killing of Pablo Escobar
Witness History
BBC
4.5 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 2 December 2019
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Colombian drug trafficker, once one of the richest men in the world, was shot dead by police on 2nd December 1993. He had been on the run from the authorities for over a year. Jordan Dunbar has been speaking to Elizabeth Zilli who worked for the US Drug Enforcement Agency in Colombia and who helped track down Pablo Escobar.
Photo: Colombian police and military forces storm the rooftop where drug lord Pablo Escobar was shot dead just moments earlier during an exchange of gunfire between security forces and Escobar and his bodyguard on 2nd December 1993. (Credit:Jesus Abad-el Colombiano/AFP/Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.7 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.5 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices. |
| 0:18.0 | What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
| 0:24.6 | poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples. |
| 0:29.7 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds. This is the Witness History Podcast from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:45.0 | I'm Jordan Dunbar. |
| 0:47.0 | In December 1993, the hunt for the world's most infamous drug trafficker, Pablo Escobarobar came to a dramatic end. I'm bringing you an interview |
| 0:57.0 | from our archives with one of the people who helped to track him down. |
| 1:01.7 | Pablo Escobar Gaviria. |
| 1:04.0 | Good heavens. |
| 1:05.0 | It seems like a long time ago. |
| 1:07.0 | Pablo Escobar had risen from poverty |
| 1:12.0 | to become one of the richest men in the world. |
| 1:15.0 | The kingpin of the world's cocaine trade, running the drug from Colombia to the US and Europe, |
| 1:20.0 | he was making billions and by 1993 was one of the most wanted men on the planet. |
| 1:26.0 | Central to the conflict is Pablo Escobar, leader of the Medi-In cartel and Colombia's most feared criminal. |
| 1:33.0 | Cocaine dealing transformed him from car thief |
| 1:36.0 | into one of the world's richest men. |
| 1:38.0 | I think for one thing, just between you and I, he was smarter. |
| 1:41.2 | And he was able to intimidate the people that worked for him. |
| 1:45.0 | You can't get to his powerful position |
... |
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