Hoping to achieve his childhood dream of becoming the president, Pablo ran for political office. While vowing to help the poor, he aimed to gain exemption from laws that would have allowed him to be extradited to America.
.
.
With so many of them on his payroll, Pablo was no stranger to politicians. Cartel members competed to own the most powerful ones, just like they outdid each other with luxury cars, homes and zoos. Politicians were approached by cartel lawyers with brown envelopes full of cash. If they declined the bribe, they'd receive a call asking if they'd prefer to be killed. With so many of their colleagues taking money, and the cocaine business bringing SO much prosperity tO Colombia, it was easy to say yes. Many of them felt that cocaine was America's problem because that was where it was mostly consumed. If they didn't want it, Colombia wouldn't produce it. Due to America's history in Central and South America - supporting right-wing death squads, assassinating democratically elected left-wing leaders, a blood-lust for foreign resources - the US was viewed dimly by many Colombians. Some saw cocaine as the lesser developed world's atomic bomb against the US, and believed that imperialism would be destroyed from within by its own excesses.
.
.
Having created a power base for himself in the barrios of Medellín, Pablo was elected as an alternate to Congress in March 1982, which rendered him immune from prosecution under Colombian law.
.
.
Giving speeches as a politician, Pablo wore chino trousers, polo shirts and a gold Rolex. He spoke politely and softly at the openings of soccer pitches, roller-skating rinks, hospitals and schools he had invested in. He started a radio show, Civics on the March, and a program called Medellín Without Slums. One project, Barrio Pablo Escobar, consisted of five hundred two-bedroomed houses built over a garbage dump, complete with truckloads of free food. It was in north Medellín, a tough area where Pablo was extremely popular - a recruiting ground for young hit men and enforcers. While Pablo did the rounds, he was accompanied by two Catholic priests who were board members of Medellín Without Slums. The priests introduced him at public events, accompanied him in the slums and blessed a charity art auction he hosted at the Intercontinental Hotel, which was called Paintbrush of Stars.
.
.
Pablo hired publicists and journalists to boost his man-of-the-poor image. A column in his own newspaper, Medellín Cívico, lavished him with praise: "Yes, I remember him…. his hands, almost priest-like, growing parabolas of friendship and generosity in the air. Yes, I know him, his eyes weeping because there is not enough bread for all of the nation's dinner tables. I have watched his tortured feelings when he sees street children - angels without toys, without a present, without a future."
.
.
In April 1983, a popular magazine, Semana, branded Pablo as "A Paisa Robin Hood." Pablo told Semana, "When I was sixteen, I owned a bicycle rental business… then I started buying and selling automobiles, and finally I got involved in real estate.. I didn't have any money, but as a community action member in my barrio, I promoted the construction of a school and the creation of a fund for indigent students."
.
.
The same month that Pablo was elected, March 1982, a new president came to power. His main goals included making peace with the guerrillas and improving housing and education. Drugs seemed to be off his agenda. With the majority of politicians taking donations from the traffickers, why ruffle any feathers? Besides, many previous presidents had taken drug money. Those who hadn't didn't stay in office for long. When the president announced that he was philosophically opposed to the extradition of Colombian nationals, the traffickers were delighted as they all dreaded the prospect of serving life sentences in America.
.
.
But the Reagan-Bush administration had other ideas. In 1982, Reagan announced, "My very reason for being here this afternoon is not to announce another short-term government offensive, but to call instead for a national crusade against drugs, a sustained relentless effort to rid America of this scourge by mobilizing every segment of our society against drug abuse."
.
.
Ramping up the War on Drugs, the Reagan-Bush administration tried to link the FARC guerrillas with marijuana trafficking, hoping to stir up war by labelling the 5,000-strong pro-Communist army as narco-guerrillas. The Colombians saw through the propaganda. The new Colombian president was upset because the outside interference had disturbed the peace negotiations with the guerrillas. The Americans changed their strategy. The Reagan-Bush administration had their emissaries search for a Colombian politician amenable to their goals. They settled on Rodrigo Lara Bonilla.
.
.
After studying law at the Externado University of Colombia, Lara was elected as the mayor of his hometown at age twenty-three. In August 1983, Lara - a member of the New Liberalism Party that he'd helped to create became the minister of justice. His campaign against corruption upset his bribe-dependent contemporaries and attracted the interest of the DEA in Colombia, who egged him on to go after the traffickers by offering help and support.
.
.
On August 16, 1983, Pablo and his body-guards arrived for the first time at Congress, which was packed with spectators, reporters and photographers. Even the hallways were crowded with people abuzz about a confrontation brewing between Lara and the traffickers. Dressed in a cream suit, Pablo was stopped at the door for not wearing a tie. Someone handed him one with a floral design, and he was allowed inside. People watched closely as he sat near the back. The house president requested the removal of his bodyguards.
.
.
Pablo gave a nod and they left.
.
.
Pablo's ally, Jairo Ortega, started to address allegations of taking hot money from the traffickers. He asked Lara if he knew Evaristo Porras Ardila.
.
.
"No," Lara said, shaking his head.
.
.
Ortega said that Evaristo Porras - a resident of the Amazon border town of Leticia had been incarcerated in Peru for trafficking drugs. In April, Porras had written a cheque for one million pesos to Lara as a campaign contribution. Holding up the cheque, he showed it to the ministers present for the debate. Copies of the cheque had been circulated. He added that Lara had thanked Porras for the cheque in a phone call. Ortega produced a tape recorder and played an unintelligible conversation.
.
.
"Let the Congress analyse the minister's conduct with this person who offered him a million pesos. Mr Porras is a recognised international drug trafficker, according to Peruvian police. But far be it from me to try to detain the minister of justice's brilliant political career. I only want him to tell us what kind of morality he is going to require of the rest of us. Relax, Minister. Just let the country know that your morality can't be any different from that of Jairo Ortega and the rest of us."
.
.
Cheering erupted in the gallery from Carlos Lehder, which others tried to hush. Sat quietly in a swivel leather chair, Pablo watched, while occasionally picking his teeth or forcing an uncomfortable smile.
.
.
.