Drugs Death of a Drug Prince

By Jill Smolowe

With its crusade against the Medellin cocaine cartel coming up short, the Colombian government decided to raise the ante. Two months ago, officials offered $625,000 for information leading to the capture of either of the country's two most infamous traffickers: Pablo Escobar Gaviria, 39, and Jose Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha, 42. Late last week police scored their greatest single victory in their four-month-old war on drugs by trapping and killing one of the two: the notoriously brutish billionaire Rodriguez Gacha. And it didn't cost a cent in reward money.

In a wild chase, Rodriguez Gacha's son Fredy, 17, ultimately -- and unwittingly -- led more than 1,000 police and marines to his father. Fredy was arrested last August when the Colombian army raided Rodriguez Gacha's ranch north of Bogota. His alleged crime, possession of illegal weapons, was relatively minor, but police held Fredy longer than most unindicted prisoners, hoping to put pressure on Rodriguez Gacha.

When no signs of fatherly concern emerged, the police concocted another scheme. Four weeks ago they released Fredy and then waited. Just as they anticipated, Fredy eventually headed for his father -- not knowing that the police were tailing him. The confrontation finally came last Friday southwest of Cartagena. Fredy and two bodyguards were killed by .50-cal. machine-gun fire. Rodriguez Gacha and three others died as they attempted to escape into the jungle. Whether the drug lord blew himself up with a grenade or died in a hail of bullets was unclear.

In either case, Rodriguez Gacha's much told tale of rags to riches ended in gore. Born in Pacho, in central Colombia, the future kingpin ran away from home at ten to embark on a life of street crime. Eventually he was tapped by the then reigning force in Colombia's underworld, the Emerald mob, to serve as bodyguard to its godfather, Gilberto Molina. Recently Rodriguez Gacha tried to elbow Molina out of the profession; that failed, and Rodriguez Gacha had his former employer killed last February.

In 1976 Rodriguez Gacha hooked up with Pablo Escobar and the then fledgling Medellin cartel. Gradually he worked his way up to midlevel cocaine dealer, pioneering new routes through Mexico and into the U.S. This, coupled with his fascination for bandito folklore, earned him the nickname El Mexicano. Through the years he financed the import of expensive foreign technology to serve the cartel's needs, and he has been linked to paramilitary death squads.

Colombians greeted the news of Rodriguez Gacha's death by rejoicing in the streets. As for the government, the hit on Rodriguez Gacha was a significant victory, but the war continues, especially with Escobar still at large. Warns General Miguel Gomez Padilla, the national police director: "Remember, these people are even more dangerous when cornered."

With reporting by John Moody/San Jose