Behind the scenes, lawyers for both sides distilled the negotiations down to three issues: the location of the prison, the prison staff and the involvement of the police and the army. As the prison holding the Ochoas was suscep. tible to car bombing, Pablo had refused that suggestion. He had wanted to convert a convent in El Poblado into a prison, but the nuns had refused to sell it to him. A proposal to reinforce a Medellín prison had also been rejected.
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The remaining option was the Municipal Rehabilitation Centre for Drug Addicts on property called La Catedral del Valle, stationed on a mountainous slope over the Honey Valley, 7,000 feet above sea level, which would give the guards and the occupants a bird's-eye view of any threats. The area was foggy in the evening and at dawn, which made a surprise raid from the air more difficult and provided a means for the occupants to slip away unnoticed if they needed to flee. They could easily lose their pursuers in the surrounding forest, which was teeming with wildlife, such as armadillos, sloths and huge iridescent butterflies.
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The building and 30,000 square metres of land had been registered in the name of one of Pablo's friends, a trusted old ironmonger. Pablo wanted only local guards and for the police and army to have nothing to do with it. The mayor of Envigado approved the transfer of the building into a prison called the Cathedral.
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The building had cement floors, tile roofs and green metal doors. Formerly a farmhouse, the administration section included three little rooms: a kitchen, a courtyard and a punishment cell. It had a big dormitory, library, study and six cells with their own bathrooms. The large dayroom included four showers, a dressing room and six toilets. Motivated by Father Garcia's blessing of the project, seventy men had been working around the clock, remodelling it. Due to its inaccessibility, furnishings had arrived on mules: water heaters, military cots, tubular yellow armchairs, potted plants…
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Despite its secure location, Pablo wanted a standing army of bodyguards inside the prison, just in case anything unexpected happened. "I won't surrender alone." He stated that he wouldn't abandon his associates to be slaughtered by the Elite Corps, while omitting to say that by keeping his network close, he could continue to run his operation. As added insurance, Pablo and Roberto buried weapons near their designated cells. "One day we'll need them," he told Roberto.
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The night of his wife's release, Villamizar stayed up until dawn chatting with her. After an hour's sleep, he set off for Medellín. At La Loma, he met the Monkey, one of two men, including Jorge Ochoa, whom Pablo had authorised to finalise the negotiations. The Monkey was tall, blonde and had a golden moustache.
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The phone rang. "Dr Villa, are you happy?" Pablo asked Villamizar. "I thank you for coming. You're a man of your word and I knew you wouldn't fail me. Let's start to arrange how I'll turn myself in."
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The Monkey and Villamizar visited the Cathedral and discussed security concerns as they examined a double fence over nine feet high, with fifteen rows of electrified barbed wire. Out of the nine watchtowers, the two at the entrance were being reinforced. Villamizar frowned upon the Italian tiles in Pablo's bathroom, so they were changed. After the inspection, Villamizar said, "It seemed to me a very prison-like prison."
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An arrangement with Pablo had been made whereby Villamizar would receive an anonymous call: "In fifteen minutes, Doctor." Then he'd go to his upstairs neighbour, Aseneth, and take a call from Pablo. As her house was a stronghold of writers and artists, who came and went throughout the day and night, it was considered a safe place for Pablo to call.
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One evening, Villamizar didn't get to the phone on time. Aseneth answered, "He doesn't live here."
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"Don't worry about that," Pablo said. "He's on his way up."
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Villamizar tried to tell Aseneth what was going on. She covered her ears. "I don't want to know anything about anything. Do whatever you want in my house, but don't tell me about it."
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At La Loma, Villamizar's wife thanked the Ochoas for facilitating her release. Villamizar mentioned that her emerald and diamond ring, taken by her kidnappers, had not been returned as promised. The Monkey's offer to buy a new one was declined because Maruja wanted the original due to its sentimental val- ue. The Monkey said he would refer the matter to Pablo, who tracked the ring down and returned it.
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The president's fear of the priest saying a word that might threaten the negotiations at the last minute was realised during a broadcast of God's Minute. Father Garcia called Pablo an unrepentant pornographer and demanded that he return to God's path. The about-face astounded the viewers. Pablo thought that something seismic must have occurred behind the scenes. As the priest's blessing had cajoled Pablo's devout underlings into mass surrendering, Pablo was now faced with a rebellion. Pablo refused to surrender unless there was an immediate public explanation.
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In response, Villamizar hustled the priest over to La Loma to speak to Pablo on the phone. Out of the various explanations he offered, the one that satisfied Pablo was that an editing error had made him appear to say pornographer by mistake. Having recorded the conversation with the priest, Pablo played it to his underlings, which squashed the rebellion.
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Demands imposed by the government presented the next challenge. They wanted more say in the selection of the guards. They wanted army and National Guard troops to be on patrol outside the Cathedral. They wanted to cut down trees to make a firing range adjacent to the Cathedral. Citing the Law on Prisons, which prohibited military forces from going inside a jail, Pablo rejected the idea of combined patrols. Cutting down trees would permit helicopter landings and a possible assault on the prison, which Pablo found unacceptable. He changed his mind after it was explained that the removal of the trees would provide greater visibility, which would give him more time to respond to an attack. The national director of Criminal Investigation was insisting on building a fortified wall around the prison in addition to the barbed wire, the prospect of which infuriated Pablo.
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On May 30, 1991, newspapers began reporting the terms of surrender. What caught the public's attention the most was the removal of General Maza and two prominent police leaders. After meeting the president, Maza sent him a six-page letter, saying he was in favour of Pablo's surrender: "For reasons known to you, Mr President, many persons and entities are intent upon destabilising my career, perhaps with the aim of placing me in a situation of risk that will allow them to carry out their plans against me." He suspected that the government had negotiated his position away, even though there was no official evidence of them doing so.
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Pablo informed Maza that their war was over. There would be no more attacks. His men were surrendering. He was turning in his dynamite. He listed the hiding places for 700 kilos of explosives. Maza was sceptical.
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Losing patience with Pablo, the government appointed an outsider as the director of the prison, not a local person as Pablo had requested. They assigned twenty National Guards to the prison, who were also outsiders.
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"In any event," Villamizar said, "if they want to bribe someone it makes no difference if he's from Antioquia or somewhere else."
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Not wanting to make a fuss, Pablo agreed that the army could guard the entrance. The government offered assurances that precautions would be taken to ensure that his food wasn't poisoned.
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Policies and procedures for the prison were determined by the National Board of Prisons. Prisoners had to wake up at 7 am. At 8 pm, they had to be locked in their cells. Females could visit on Sundays from 8 am until 2 pm. Men could visit on Saturdays. Children could visit the first and third Sunday of each month.
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On June 9, 1991, Medellín police troops started to implement security measures, including removing people from the area who didn't live there.
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Two days later, Pablo asked for a final condition: he wanted the prosecutor general to be present at the surrender.
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