Los Pepes , a name derived from the Spanish expression “Los Perseguidos por Pablo Escobar ” (“The Persecuted by Pablo Escobar”), was a paramilitary group composed of enemies of Pablo Escobar. They waged a small-scale war against the Medellín Cartel in 1993 , which ended the same year after Escobar’s death. The group was financed by the Cali Cartel and led by the Castaño brothers. An example of their actions could be seen in the streets of Medellín, such as the hangings of Pablo’s assassins.
Links to Authorities
There are reports that Los Pepes had ties to some members of the Colombian National Police, especially the Search Bloc (Bloque de Búsqueda), with whom they exchanged information to carry out their activities against Escobar. According to documents released to the public by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 2008, Miguel Antonio Gómez Padilla, director general of the Colombian National Police, “said he had instructed a senior CNP intelligence officer to liaise with Fidel Castaño, the paramilitary leader of Los Pepes, for the purpose of gathering intelligence’.”
Activities
Since Los Pepes’ main goal was to kill Escobar, they acted the same way the Medellín Cartel acted against their enemies: killing anyone who had any connection to Escobar, such as their guards, accountants or lawyers, in addition to directly killing people who had any connection to Escobar. threatening friends and family of Pablo Escobar. They were involved in the destruction of two haciendas belonging 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 fighting the Search Bloc in 1993, several of their leaders eventually became leaders of a national paramilitary alliance in Colombia, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a paramilitary death squad that was not only founded with the aim of fighting the cartel, but also the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a Marxist guerrilla group. The Castaño Brothers (Carlos 1965-2004, Vicente and Fidel, who went missing in 1994) were founders of several paramilitary groups and the driving force behind the creation of the AUC.
Another member of Los Pepes, Diego Murillo Bejarano, also known as “Don Berna,” eventually became Inspector General of the AUC and a major drug trafficker at The Office of Envigado.
The Institute for Policy Studies is seeking details about the connections the CIA and DEA had with Los Pepes. They have filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act against the CIA. That lawsuit resulted in the release of thousands of documents from the CIA and other U.S. agencies, including the State Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard. These documents have been made public on the Pepes Project website.