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By Newsweek Editors
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In Colombia's penitentiary system, there are three things that matter: location, location and location. When he surrendered to authorities last week, drug kingpin Pablo Escobar flew by private helicopter to a mountaintop prison complex some 8,000 feet above his hometown of Envigado. Assuming he actually does time, Escobar will set up in a 10-acre spread with a soccer field, recreation center and a sweeping view of the Medellin valley. "It is a prison that is no better than any for a similar criminal in the United States," said Colombia's President Cesar Gaviria. "I do not think that any of us would like to spend much time there."
In fact, Escobar's cell will be bigger than his warden's room. It covers 1,000 square feet, enough for a king-size bed, private bath and furnishings handpicked by the chubby, 41-year-old multibillionaire himself. He also selected his jail mates - six of his top lieutenants, including his older brother, Roberto. They are expected to provide security for Escobar on the inside. On the outside, 40 guards, half of them picked from Envigado, will keep at bay aggrieved local police who would like to avenge the Medellin-cartel-sponsored deaths of some 250 of their peers. The prison "is not designed to keep Escobar in," says a lawyer who is close to the drug lord, "but to keep his enemies out."
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If convicted, Escobar will also have a hand in his own sentencing. A fugitive for more than seven years, "El Padrino" (The Godfather) turned himself in only hours after the country's Constitutional Assembly voted to ban the extradition of Colombians. That ensured he would never stand trial in the United States, where he faces 10 indictments for drug trafficking and murder. Odds are he won't face much punishment at home, either. In Colombia, the maximum sentence for any crime is 30 years - 12 for drug offenses. Thanks to President Gaviria's leniency, Escobar gets an automatic one third off his sentence just for surrendering, and is eligible for further reductions if he cooperates with the government or participates in one of the prison's work-study programs. He may not even have to face murder charges. Escobar's lawyers say they hope to dissociate their client from all "terrorism" cases - including the assassination of three presidential candidates and a minister of justice - by blaming the killings on Jose Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha, who was gunned down by police in December 1989. With luck the lawyers say, Escobar will be out in three years or less the government says it hopes for an eight-year sentence.
It will be a busy few years. Escobar is likely to continue running his drug syndicate from jail, law-enforcement officials claim. Their suspicions are well founded: the government hasn't made him turn over a single laboratory or airplane. Like the Ochoa brothers, top Medellin cartel leaders who surrendered in January, Escobar may transfer much of his operations to neighboring Venezuela. The government "gave away everything," says one disgusted official. Not everyone is troubled by the kid-glove treatment. The people of Envigado, who owe their prosperity to the cocaine baron, placed Escobar's picture next to an icon of the Virgin Mary and prayed for his safe return. The way things are going, he won't need much help from above.
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