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Article: Will Colombia succeed in climbing out of its violence-ridden past?
- Article from:
- Contemporary Review
- Article date:
- June 1, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Contemporary Review Company Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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I could not believe my eyes as I watched on Colombian television the funeral of Pablo Escobar -- one of the most ruthless and feared of the drug lords in the world. Thousands upon thousands of mourners waved hundreds of banners carrying messages in huge letters: 'We are always with you Pablo', 'You will never die Pablo' and many others in the same vein. A drug baron who had become an international outlaw, apparently was a hero to masses of his own people.
Notorious for his killing of politicians, journalists, judges and members of the police force, he, nevertheless, was loved by a great many Colombian poor due to the distribution among them of his ill-gotten wealth. ...