On May 14 at 5 am, Villamizar showed up at the priest's study where he was hard at work. "Come, Father, we're going tO Medellín."
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Fabio Sr was away, so the Ochoa sisters welcomed the priest. After breakfast, Martha Ochoa said that Pablo would be seeing the priest soon. He was delighted until Villamizar clarified what that meant.
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"It's better for you to know from the very beginning, Father. You may have to go alone with the driver and nobody knows where he'll take you or for how long."
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The prospect of danger upset the priest. Pacing, he prayed and fumbled with his rosary beads. Occasionally, he glanced out of the window in case Pablo had sent a car for him. Resisting the urge to make a call, he said, "Fortunately, there's no need for telephones when you talk to God." He refused a sumptuous lunch. Resting on a canopy bed, he couldn't sleep.
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At 4 pm, he appeared in Villamizar's room.
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"Alberto, we'd better go back to Bogotá."
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With difficulty, the Ochoa sisters convinced him to stay. As the sun set, he insisted on leaving but was rebuffed by the majority.
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Although Father Garcia was adept at many things, he was useless at removing his contact lenses. That job was entrusted to his faithful secretary, Paulina, who'd been working for him since she was a teenager and even after marrying and having a son, had continued to attend to his daily needs. She usually travelled everywhere with him and handled the delicate matter of his lenses. On this occasion, the Ochoa sisters helped the troubled priest extract his lenses.
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Expecting Pablo to send a car in the dead of night, Father Garcia and Villamizar couldn't sleep. In the morning, despite many attempts, nobody was able to put the priest's contact lenses in, which upset him so much that he didn't sit for breakfast. Finally, a woman in charge of the ranch managed to get them in.
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After gazing out of the window in a bad mood, Father Garcia sprang from his chair. "I'm leaving! This whole thing is as phoney as a rooster laying eggs." Persuaded to stay until lunch, he regained his composure and resumed eating and talking in a friendly way. He announced that he was going to take a nap. "But I'm warning you, as soon as I wake up, I'm leaving." Hoping to come up with a strategy to retain the priest beyond his nap, Martha Ochoa made some calls, but none were productive.
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Around 3 pm, a car arrived.
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Villamizar went to the priest's room. "Father, they've come for you."
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The half-awake priest shook his terror off and made the sign of the cross. "Kneel down, my boy. We'll pray together." After praying, he stood. "Let's see what's going on with Pablo."
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Outside, Villamizar told the driver, "I'm holding you accountable for the father. He's too important a person. Be careful what you people do with him. Be aware of the responsibility you have."
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The driver's face pinched with disdain. "Do you think that if I get in a car with a saint anything can happen to us?" The driver had the priest don a baseball cap to disguise his snowy hair.
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In the passenger seat, the priest removed his baseball cap, tossed it out of the window and yelled at Villamizar, whose face was crinkled with concern, "Don't worry about me, my boy. I control the waters."
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It rained so much on the journey that they breezed through all of the police checkpoints not under Pablo's control. After being on the road for over three hours and changing cars three times, they arrived at a house with a massive swimming pool and sports facilities. In a garden, Father Garcia was approached by twenty armed men, whom he berated for not surrendering and for living sinful lives. On a terrace, Pablo was sporting a long beard and casual clothes.
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"Pablo, I've come so we can straighten this Out"
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In the living room, they sat opposite each other in armchairs. A drop of whiskey stead- led the priest's nerves, whereas Pablo drank fruit juice. Due to his age and bad memory, Father Garcia asked Pablo to jot down his conditions. When Pablo was finished, the priest examined the list and crossed some conditions out, stating that they were impossible. With a stroke of a pen, the priest had eliminated things Pablo had been stuck on for months, such as his grievances with the police accused of killing slum kids. The document ended up a combination of Pablo's conditions modified by the priest's scrawl, with the addition of further clarifications by Pablo.
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"Are you responsible for killing four presidential candidates?" Father Garcia said.
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"I've not committed all of the crimes attributed to me..." Pablo said. "The Extraditables have Maruja [Villamizar's wife] in normal conditions and good health. The hostages will be released as soon as the terms for surrender are arranged… I acknowledge the president's good faith and willingness to reach an agreement."
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When the priest stood to leave, a contact lens fell out. He struggled, but couldn't put it in. Pablo tried and failed. As did the staff. "It's no use. The only one who can do it is Paulina."
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"I know who Paulina is and exactly where she is," Pablo said, taking the priest by surprise. "Don't worry, Father. If you like, we can bring her here."
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Eager to go home, Father Garcia opted to depart with one eye minus a lens.
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"Will you bless this little gold medal?"
Pablo pointed at it around his neck.
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In the garden, surrounded by bodyguards, the priest blessed Pablo's medal.
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"Father," a bodyguard said, "you can't leave without giving us your blessing."
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Around the priest, they all kneeled, including Pablo. After blessing them, he urged them to renounce crime and help to bring peace.
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At 8:30 pm, the priest arrived at La Loma on a tranquil night with the stars shining bright. After the car parked, he sprang out with athletic dexterity into the hands of Villamizar. "Take it easy, my boy. No problems here. I had them all on their knees."
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For the rest of the evening, Father Garcia remained in a sprightly mood. He wanted to jump on a plane and meet the president, but the Ochoa sisters convinced him to rest. In the middle of the night, he paced around the house conversing with himself and God.
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On Thursday May 16 at 11 am, Father Garcia and Villamizar landed in Bogotá, where Villamizar told his son that his mother would be released in three days.
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The priest was besieged by journalists. "If we don't defraud him [Pablo], he'll become the great architect of peace. Deep down, all men are good, although some circumstances can make them evil." Contradicting the media's portrayal of Pablo for the previous two years, Father Garcia said, "Escobar is a good man."
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The Extraditables issued a statement the day before the presidential meeting: "We have ordered the release of Francisco Santos and Maruja Pachón." Journalists descended on Villamizar's house.
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Pablo sent a message to Villamizar, confirming that his wife would be released on Monday at 7 pm. On May 21 at 9 am, Villamizar would have to return to Medellín as part of Pablo's surrender.
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On Monday, the 6 am news announced that Father Garcia would be hosting a press conference at noon after meeting the president.
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Up early, the president had adjusted his schedule to meet his advisers, whom he told, "OK, let's finish this assignment."
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One adviser conveyed General Maza's belief that Pablo would not surrender without a pardon from the Constituent Assembly, but added that such a pardon would be useless to Pablo, whose enemies such as the Cali Cartel had condemned him to death. "It might help him, but it's not exactly a complete solution." Pablo's main concern was being housed in a prison that would protect him and his people.
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Worried that the priest might convey an impossible demand from Pablo that would sabotage the negotiations, the advisers recommended that the president not attend the meeting on his own, and that he issue a statement immediately after the meeting to quell speculation.
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The special meeting commenced at noon. Father Garcia was accompanied by two clerics and Villamizar, who brought his son. With the president were his private secretary and a senior politician.
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While the meeting was photographed and videoed, Father Garcia detailed his discussion with Pablo, and expressed a belief that Pablo would surrender and free the hostages. He produced the notes from the meeting rumours of which had achieved great heights in the media. Pablo's main condition was that the prison be the one he'd selected in Envigado.
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Studying the notes, the president expressed dismay over Pablo not promising to release the hostages but only agreeing to bring the matter up with the Extraditables. Villamizar smoothed things over by pointing out that it was Pablo's strategy to not provide any written evidence that could be used against him.
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The priest wanted to know what he should do if Pablo requested his presence at the official surrender.
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"You should go, Father," the president said.
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"Who would guarantee my safety?"
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"No one can provide better guarantees than Escobar for the safety of his own operation."
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The president asked Father Garcia to tread lightly with the media to prevent them from quoting anything that might upset Pablo.
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The priest agreed. "I've wanted to be of service in this, and I am at your disposal if you need me for anything else..."
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The meeting lasted for twenty minutes and there was no press release.
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Anticipating his wife's return, Villamizar took a shower.
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At 6 pm, his phone rang. "She'll arrive a few minutes after seven." a stranger said. "They're leaving now."
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In the living room, he waited with family members and journalists.
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After 7 pm, Maruja called from a house near to where she'd been dropped off by the kidnappers. Villamizar sped over there. He sprinted into the house and embraced his malnourished wife, whose large brown eyes gleamed with love and relief.
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