Los Pepes (derived from Perseguidos por Pablo Escobar, Persecuted by Pablo Escobar) was a Colombian paramilitary vigilante group formed in 1992 by enemies of drug lord Pablo Escobar.
The group was founded by Escobar's former associates Judy Moncada and Diego Murillo Bejarano and AUC paramilitary leaders Carlos and Fidel Castaño Gil; who received weaponry from the CIA. They convinced Escobar's rivals, the Cali Cartel, to finance their endeavor. Over time, they recruited the Gallon gang into their ranks after they defected from the Medellín cartel. Los Pepes received intelligence from high-ranking members of the Search Bloc, including DEA agent Javier Peña and Colombian police officer Trujillo.
Los Pepes hunted down and killed several individuals working for Pablo Escobar, everyone from accountants and drivers to top sicarios. However, they were also notorious for the high numbers of innocent civilians killed. Despite this, they were never condemned by the government of Colombia till a month after Escobar went into hiding.
The group formally laid down their arms and disbanded after Escobar went into hiding in the middle of 1993. Members of the group returned to drug trafficking and had a brief fight over the control of Medellín after the fall of Escobar. After the Castaño brothers forced Moncada to leave Colombia, she was forced by the CIA to blame the rise of Los Pepes on DEA agent Javier Peña and the Columbian government declared him Persona Non Grata.
Members[]
Associates[]
Targets[]
- Velasco
- Jairo
- Carlos Henao
- Fernando Duque, his wife Juliana, son and his mother
- Carmelita
- Valeria Velez
- Ricardo Prisco (escaped)
- Pablo Escobar (escaped)