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Mourning The Loss

Pablo's death was met with mixed emotions for the Colombian community. As with most things in life, it's all about perspective. For the people terrorized by Escobar, his death came as a relief. For those that lived in Barrio Escobar or were given money by Pablo to live out their dreams, they mourned extensively. During his funeral, people surrounded his casket and took turns opening it to see the drug lord one last time. To this day, his grave is filled with flowers and people crying over him

To read a NY Times article about how Pablo was buried as a Folk Hero click here.

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Other Escobar Death Theories

We give a slight nod to Los Pepes and Don Berna as Murphy walks away from the scene of the crime. There are tons of DEA documents that show the connection between their cooperation with the U.S. intelligence agencies. Accounts from former Pepes members claim that Los Pepes got to the scene first using Israeli equipment provided by the CIA. They said it was Carlos Castaño himself who killed Escobar, but was told to flee the scene before the reporters arrived so it could appear to be a victory for the Colombian Police. Another version from Don Berna claims that it was his brother Rodolfo who shot Escobar down with an M-16, which would explain the accuracy. A 2003 confession from a former Pepes member corroborates this story claiming Hugo Aguilar arrived minutes later after the shooting and asked them to not be anywhere in sight of the media. Others claim that without the funding and help from the Cali Cartel that neither Los Pepes or the Search Bloc would have had the resources to hunt Escobar down. All version are of course denied as true by the Colombian National Police.

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The Photo Seen Round The World

A photographer was present after Escobar had been killed and members of the Search Bloc posed with Pablo's dead body as if he was a trophy. After all, it was a hunt and this was their wild animal. Steve Murphy arrived at the scene of the crime moments after Escobar's death. He wasn't involved in the raid as portrayed in this episode, but he was close to the violence. When he arrived, he took a photo holding Escobar's fatally wounded corpse up with a big smile. That photo would make headlines across Colombia because it suggested the Americans were responsible for killing Escobar and not the Colombian National Police. It blew over though. Most people were happy this nightmare was over. That picture still hangs in the office of many politicians in Washington as a symbol of an operation well executed.

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Search Bloc Celebrates

The Colombian National Police and Search Bloc celebrated in a big way after killing the man they hunted down for years. They started by shaving his moustache to look like Hitler. Then they passed around a bottle of whiskey around and started taking swigs from the bottle. Colonel Martinez however was not the type to celebrate. After all, this was a murder. He told everyone to clear out, but that night there were plenty of Cuban cigars being lit and bottles being drank.

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The Escobar Suicide Theory

Some family members refuse to believe that Pablo was killed by Search Bloc. His son, Juan Pablo Escobar Henao (who has changed his name to Sebastián Marroquín) has insisted that his father took his own life. In his book, “Pablo Escobar: My Father”, he claims his father told him numerous times that he would shoot himself in the right ear to avoid being captured alive. “My father always told us that the phone was synonymous with death because they could trace it easily and the day he died, he called us so many times it makes me think he wanted the police to come. It’s a way to commit suicide.

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Pablo Dies

Pablo was completely surrounded on that roof by Search Bloc members and was firing back with two pistols. He was shot once in the leg and another in the chest. The source of the third and final shot behind the ear is hot debated to this day. The most widely accepted is the one depicted in this scene. Search Bloc member Hugo Aguilar walked right up to Escobar and gave him the kill shot from close range. The autopsy report verifies that unless there was an incredible amount of marksmanship or luck, Pablo was indeeed shot after being down. After killing Pablo, he screamed into the radio transmitter, "Viva Colombia! We just killed Pablo Escobar!" The entire final death scene was recreated exactly how it happened on that day with painstaking detail.

To see a side-by-side picture comparison of our episode and real photos from that day click here.

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Squeeze My Lemon

When life gives you Limón, shoot him down. Search Bloc stormed in, there was no one on the first floor. The group of men went up the stairs where they saw Limón leaping out of the window onto an orange tile roof. One Search Bloc member had climbed up to the roof of another house for a better vantage point and that's when they shot Limón down. He fell instantly off the roof and onto the grass below.

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Open Up

Pablo and his bodyguard Limón were the only ones in the apartment at the time. His aunt and another cook went out to get food to make that night. Who knew a grocery run would save their life.