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Part 5: Medellin Cartel Co-Founder Carlos Lehder on Getting Kidnapped, Escobar's War on Kidnappers
Part 1: Medellin Cartel Co-Founder Carlos Lehder on Meeting Boston George in Prison
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Medellín Cartel co-founder Carlos Lehder sits down with Vlad to discuss Pablo Escobar’s controversial move into Colombian politics, his election as an alternate member of the Chamber of Representatives under the Liberal Party, and the fallout after Luis Carlos Galán pushed him out. Lehder addresses the assassination of Justice Minister Rodrigo Lara Bonilla, saying Escobar admitted he sent personal bodyguards to kill him, a crime Lehder says put many others in danger.
The conversation also explores Colombia’s extradition treaty with the United States under President Turbay, why Escobar used politics to oppose extradition, and how Lehder formed his own small political movement in Armenia City for the same cause. Lehder also responds to claims about missing cocaine shipments, explaining his role transporting cocaine through Norman’s Cay in the Bahamas to Florida amid intense law enforcement pressure. A rare firsthand account of Escobar, Colombian politics, and the cocaine trade.
