Cocaina: A Book on Those Who Make It by Magnus Linton, John Eason Read Free Book Online Page A

reduced prison sentence for the mass murders he had committed. Most of the prisoners, including Berna, were able to continue their illegal business activities from prison — as Escobar had once done — so in May 2008 the government extradited 13 paramilitary leaders to the United States. One year later, a US court condemned Don Berna, the anti-communist who had brought peace to Medellín, to 31 years in prison, on a conviction for major drug offences.
    When Don Berna was sentenced in the United States, his mafia network, La Oficina de Envigado, began to crack. Mass confusion ensued, and new positions soon became available. No one was sure from whom to take orders, so paranoia and murder spread throughout the ranks of the drug industry. It became clear that one of the most lucrative cocaine infrastructures in the world, the portal to the Caribbean, was no longer the tight operation it had once been. No one was at the helm; everything was free for the taking. War became a fact, gang fights broke out, murder rates soared, and it was soon obvious that the ultimate guarantor of Medellín’s newfound security had not been the police or the military, but Don Berna himself. In 2009 alone there were a total of 2185 murders in Medellín, more than twice as many as in 2008, and in just about every case the killing could be traced back to drugs.
    Lina’s brother Diego was far down the ladder in terms of rank and suffered a fate similar to that of many others. His job, which he did on motorcycle, had simply been to collect the daily take at various sales points and deliver it to a certain man at a certain time — a task completely cut and dried. But when the gang’s leader was killed, fighting broke out among the middle ranks and the group Diego was working for split up, causing chaos. Which gang, which leader, was strongest? Who would come out on top? These are the issues most in the bottom ranks have to address; they have to quickly choose a new leader to support and work for, and then pray that they have made the right decision and that the group they abandoned does not have time to seek revenge before the new organisation has assured them of protection. And it was in this respect that Diego made a fatal error.
    Lina looks down. Her brother was not the only one she knew to pay with his life; two of her closest friends were also recently shot and killed. Though these two deaths were unrelated, both occurred on the same day. And six months earlier, just before her brother was killed, her boyfriend had been murdered. Before that, it was her uncle. ‘This sort of violence is completely new. I’d never been afraid prior to this. My daughter is seven years old, and in the days before all this happened I used to let her play outside. I would never let her do that today. Mama hasn’t left the house since Diego was killed. We’ll have to move. The fact that he was murdered right outside our front door isn’t just something you can shake off. You’re never able to forget what happened. As soon as you open the door, there it is again.’
    IN THE PLACE HÅKAN calls ‘the shopping centre’ — Barrio Antioquia, Medellín’s premier drug district — some 50,000-peso bills change eager hands in what looks like an ordinary office supplies store while people enjoy themselves outside. The area is aflutter with all sorts of activity. A happy mother stumbles while pushing her prattling daughter along in a pram. An old man cruises down the street on a bicycle, a box of popcorn balanced precariously on the handlebars. Small glasses of brandy pass from hand to hand between men sitting in plastic chairs that flank the sidewalk. Salsa music blasts from loudspeakers, and the smell of marijuana fills the air. It is Friday. People are laughing and having a good time. The most recent body has been removed and the sidewalk has been cleaned.
    Alonso, Javier, and Deyner have been saving up their money for a Llama Martial .38 Special revolver, though it