Those that know of my assignment by ATF to Colombia (1989 – 1995) have asked why my participation in the search for Pablo Escobar has not been mentioned in any of the documentaries, television shows, nor the books that have been written about it. The answer is very simple: I haven’t told my story.

Before I continue, I’d like it understood that I am not disputing any of the facts as depicted on the documentaries I’ve seen relating to the search for Pablo Escobar. The U.S. agents and Colombian authorities relating their experiences are speaking from their point of view. I am sure if they had been asked about ATF’s participation, they would have gladly related what they knew.

As for what has been depicted on the Netflix series “Narcos” — again I do not dispute any of it. The story is told from Agent Pena’s and Murphy’s perspective. I have heard them as much as say that a third of what has been depicted on Narcos “happened”; another third “happened, but maybe not that way”; and, the last third is “pure Hollywood”. I wholeheartedly agree. That’s what makes it a good show.

It is impossible for a show like Narcos to try to include all the players involved. The viewer would need a program like the ones sold at a football game to keep track of all the players. It would be too convoluted and confusing to try to tell the story the way it actually happened. They only have an hour per episode to tell it. For that reason, characters are blended together, and historical incidents, some happening years apart, are compressed to fit the timeline. That’s why shows like this usually begin with the words “based on” a true story, real events, etc.

As for the books written about the search for Pablo Escobar, the one time I was interviewed by a writer, the headquarters agent assigned to monitor the interview wouldn’t let me tell my story. Agent Steve Murphy set up the interview and he asked the writer to call me to confirm my participation, which was significant. Since he was unable to confirm what Murphy had related to him, the poor writer had no choice but to briefly mention that “ATF was also involved” with no details. The incident in Waco with the Branch Davidians had just occurred and understandably, headquarters had some concern of what I might say. (My brother was shot by the cult leader at the door when he tried to serve the search warrant and I expressed my displeasure about having to learn about it on the news). The end result — my story has never been told.

I’m going to try to relate my experiences in Colombia in a series of posts I will be making to clarify what happened.  Please, stay tuned.