Search Bloc
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The Search Bloc (Template:Lang-es) was the name of three different Special Operations units of the National Police of Colombia (Policía Nacional de Colombia). They were originally focused on capturing (or killing) a particular individual or group of individuals.
First Search Bloc
The original Search Bloc was created in 1992 by the President, Cesar Gaviria. Search Bloc officers were assembled with the sole objective of the apprehension of drug lord Pablo Escobar and his associates. Its original commander was Colonel Hugo Martinez.
The members of Search Bloc received training from the Colombian army and were specially selected for being impervious to police corruption from the drug cartels. Throughout its mission, Search Bloc faced many obstacles such as a spy within the group, allegations of collaboration with the anti-Escobar vigilante groups such as Los Pepes, which would have included vigilantism within Search Bloc pertaining to suspicious deaths of Escobar's subordinates.
Escobar was killed on December 2, 1993, in a shootout with members of Search Bloc.
After dismantling Escobar's Medellin Cartel, the Search Bloc was transferred to Cali to find and shut down the structure of the Cali Cartel.
Second Search Bloc
Search Bloc was revived in 2004 to root out cocaine and heroin traffickers in the southwest of Colombia. The mission of the new Search Bloc was to take apart the Norte del Valle cartel and arrest its leader, Diego León Montoya Sánchez.
Third Search Bloc
In 2007 the Colombian government again ordered the creation of a new Search Bloc against the Águilas Negras and classified this organization as a gang of former paramilitaries.[1]
Popular Culture
Narcos
The Search Bloc has featured prominently in Netflix 2015 Narcos series. In the series it was headed by a fictional Horacio Carrillo who was loosely based on Colonel Hugo Martinez[2]
See also
References
- ^ Captured nine presumed members of the Águilas Negras Colombian Army Accessed 20 August 2007.
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/11776380/The-terrible-reign-of-cocaine-king-Pablo-Escobar.html Accessed 15 October 2015.
External links
- Mark Bowden, Killing Pablo (a copy of Bowden's serial articles in The Philadelphia Inquirer is available here : [1]) [dead link]
- Jane's Jane's Terrorism & Security Monitor Mar 01, 2004
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