Astrid María Legarda Martínez - The true life of Pablo Escobar: Blood, betrayal and death

N arrating all of these actions has given me the sensation of being hit by my own memories, many of which had been forgotten, perhaps because I cannot be proud of them.

The years in prison have allowed me to distance myself from these events and thus place them in the time and order in which they belong. Back when I faithfully accompanied El Patrn, day and night, we lived in a constant twister. He was the only one who ever had time to think, and the rest of us could only follow his orders. With the peace I have found over time, and with the maturity I have today, I can so clearly see what a brutal waste Pablo Emilio Escobar Gavirias life had become. His keen intuitive intelligence, amazing talent for strategy, political sense, and his ability to command and win loyalty could have made him an important political figure in the life of our beloved Colombia. He could have used his talents for the benefit of our country, if only he had not chosen, voluntarily or not, the path of blood, betrayal, and death.

When I started this book I wanted my testimony of violence, mistakes, disloyalties, and cowardice to remain in history. But then I realized that a society that doesnt decipher its criminals cannot advanceI know that one day this country will be great, and I know that the only thing I can give to the society that I have injured so much, along with fourteen years of prison, is my testimony, especially the clarification of the assassination of the liberal leader Luis Carlos Galn Sarmiento. This murder was the absolute worst thing that the Medelln Cartel did to Colombian society.

Galns death was followed by a good government under Csar Gaviria, but Gavirias was followed by that of President Uribe Vlez and two other menacing presidencies.

This book also hopes to show that we were not only ruthless criminals, but men. I was once a normal young man looking for his place in the world; because I did not know how to find it, I became a delinquent big time. Why my confession? I offer it without expecting anything in return. For one, I wanted to accuse Santofimio for his involvement in Galns death, so the country will open its eyes and know the quality of its political leadership.

Jos Ever Rueda Silva, the so-called Man of the Poster, who was involved in The Mexicans assassination attempt on Luis Carlos Galn, can back my testimony in these matters. He was tortured, he confessed, and then he became a witness of justice. He accused the material perpetrators, like Jaime Eduardo Rueda Rocha, who shot the Mini Atlanta 380, and also the intellectual masterminds, mainly Pablo Escobar, The Mexican, Santofimio, and the others.

This book has forced me to confront the events of my life from a different point of view. Publishing it could make me the target of a dangerous man who some have called the best spokesman of my country.

But my testimony is already written and no one can erase it.

I am determined, I am cold, and I do not fear, because I cannot be killedfor I am already dead . . .