Customer Reviews

Killing Pablo [VHS]

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Killing Pablo, Book and Viedo show the truth behind the most dangerous criminal ever. The weakness of the Colombian goverment and military institutions that during the early 90's surrendered to the lord of drugs, Pablo Escobar, in an easy, hypocritical, and profitable way that the common people in Colombia had to pay with their own innocent blod. This is a very important historical document that shows the Americans why the United States gets involved in this kind of overseas conflicts, how this problem not just affected a huge portion of the American society but also it's national economy. After your see this video or read the book you will understand that there are good people in Colombia; not every Colombian is a drug dealer or a rebel.

I'm surprised that Mark Bowden's "Killing Pablo" hasn't received that same level of acclaim as his master work, "Black Hawk Down." "Pablo" is a superb piece of investigative reporting, more so (in my mind) for its revelations about the extent of overt *and* covert US involvement in the hunt than for internal Colombian issues. [It will surprise no one to read about the sway that Escobar held on the public, the military, and the top levels of the Colombian government.]

This video is a good companion piece to Bowden's exemplary book.

But, check this out: Hollywood is currently making its version of the book. Spanish star Javier Bardem (outstanding as Reinaldo Arenas, his Oscar-nominated role in Julian Schnabel's "Before Night Falls") has signed on to play Escobar. Shooting starts in summer 2003 with a planned 2004 release.

Now, that's something worth waiting for.

I bought "Killing Pablo," the video, to show to my world geography class as we studied South America. It was a good video, and it facilitated a fantastic discussion about how far the United States should go to protect its interests. (i.e. Should we off Osama bin Laden? What about Saddam Hussein? In a "war on terrorism," what is acceptable?)

There were two big problems with it, though. First, it focused very heavily on how Pablo was actually captured, as opposed to the evils that he committed before his capture. By the end of the 40-minute video, he seems a little bit more like a victim than a mass-murdering drug trafficker. I had to spend some time in class prior to the video outlining and emphasizing what a bad guy Pablo was. Second, and of equal importance in a classroom, the sound was very bad. It was often difficult to understand what was being said by the people in the video, outside of the main speaker.

I liked the book and the video very much. They both do an excellent job in narrating how this colombian criminal was taken down by colombian authorities, with the help of the U.S. But I think that it is very unfortunate that some reviewers such as John W Mueller, are using this website to demonstrate their racism and ignorance:

"I personally have met some scary Colombians."

Apparently some people out there don't seem to realize that this is not just a Colombian problem, but an international problem. If there were no demand for drugs then there would be no supply, and the United states is the world's leading drug consumer. Remember that the overwhelming majority of the victims of Escobar's carnage were colombian citizens, not (north) americans.

To the teacher who showed his class this video to teach them about South America, I think that this is a rather poor way to introduce them to that beautiful continent. That would be the equivalent of showing colombian students videos about Al Capone or John Gotti to teach them about North America. Now that wouldn't really be a fair depiction of that continent, would it?

For all the people out there who wish to learn more about the beautiful country of Colombia, I highly recommend the following websites: www.theotherlookofcolombia.com, www.yocreoencolombia.com, and www.poorbuthappy.com.

See the video, but... read this first. If all colombians are drug dealers, why is it that this is one of the countries with the higher rates of poverty. Why is it that the majority of the population lives with $200 a month, and despite that fact they don't want to dirt their hands with drugs? Because most colombians are Good people, with principles and values, they prefer to live with the $200 a month, than going to hell with the pockets full of money. Yes, there are good and bad people, there are evil people, but there's no statistic in the world that can prove that Colombia is the Country where more people is involved in drug traficking or consuming. That statistic exist in the mind of the world, because media and the government have made you believe that the few criminals who send tons and tons of drugs to USA and who make millions of dollars, paving their way to hell, are the rule for all colombians. That is not true. Media made us believe in the past that Russians were evil people, Japanese were evil and less intelligent, all germans were Nazi, Native Americans were soul-less under-human beings. There are people in this Country who don't even know where Colombia, Peru, or Ecuador are located, they don't know if Colombia is in Europe, South America or Africa. They think people still live in the jungle, with no streets, no cars, no TV, no nothing. USA is the country that leads great developments in the world, but a lot of people in the rest of the world think Americans are dumb. Why?, because they have met the few dumb americans, a tiny percentage of the population who is dumb. The world think arabs are all terrorist, because a few of them are criminals disguised as followers. In the same way, we don't know what kind of colombians have you met. I invite you to come to Miami and see for yourself what kind of Colombians live here. No, they are not the ones portrayed in the Miami Vice series of the 80's, no, this are the real colombians, the ones that make for 99 % of the population, the ones who work hard, the ones who hate to be discriminated by the fame earned due to those few criminals.

If most Colombians really thought that drug use is OK, then why did they fight a war against the Medellin cartel for 10 years? Some people are so dumb to understand that it's thanks to drug users in countries like the U.S. that criminals like Pablo Escobar held a whole country like Colombia under their control, and why many Colombians them gave their lives to stop him.
John K Muller's comments are about as ignorant as those who think that all Germans are Nazis, or those who think that all Muslims support terrorism.
Seems to me like Muller didn't understand that one of the points of view on Bowden's book is that despite the fact that most Colombians feared Escobar, there were those who stood up to him and knew that they were already his target, yet they didn't care if it meant to give their lives to defend their country.

Anyone who reads "Killing Pablo" should also read "Blow" by Bruce Porter. And rent the "Blow" video. I personally have met some scary Colombians. Some seem to see drugs as a natural product of their country; they are amazed at the riches they can amass from such an ancient, simple plant. Statistics can be misleading, but the U.S. Government has one very good point: reducing demand will probably have the desired effect of reducing drug-related violence. On the other hand, look at David Koresh or Ruby Ridge or Columbine. Those weren't drug related as far as I know. Blow is a better book than Killing Pablo. Bowden doesn't even mention George Jung in the book, and Jung met Pablo Escobar and was a close associate of Carlos Lehder. Cocaine is connected with big money. Why is this ? Maybe because it induces a sense of power and control ? I don't know, but I think Escobar was a fool in the sense that he could have gotten out early with a billion dollars and become legitimate. But, as they say, fear and excitement are addicting. From my observations, drug interdiction has been quite effective. What is to be done when the fear and excitement are gone out of life ? Can the thrill of cocaine be replaced by motors, guns, and sports ? It certainly appears that it must be that way. I think that the process of cocaine refinement would probably have not been discovered by native Colombians. Who first refined the ancient plant ? Answer that question, and you will see how this monstrous industry started.