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Article: The mob fights back: kidnapping and murder are the drug-dealers' weapons. (drug cartels in Mexico and Colombia use terrorism to discourage governments from reinstating extradition of drug criminals to the US)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- December 13, 1997
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Economist Newspaper 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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"BETTER a grave in Colombia than a jail in the United States." That was the motto of Pablo Escobar, head of the Medellin drugs mob, as it fought back against an American-inspired crackdown. Calling themselves "the extraditables", the mobsters waged a campaign of car bombs and murders in the 1980s to avoid extradition to the United States. Escobar got what he was after: Colombia's 1991 constitution banned extradition for citizens. Two years later, he was shot dead by anti-drugs forces.
The Medellin mob has been replaced by rivals from Cali, who in turn are being shoved aside by Mexicans. But the fight is still on: the Americans want real action-including ...