Are you guilty of binge-watching Narcos when you should’ve been calling your mum instead? Do you feel like you’re overly familiar with the mind of notorious criminal Pablo Escobar? Well, here’s your chance to get even closer to the story.
On October 5 and 6, meet the real-life US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents who helped topple the Columbian drug kingpin and his billion-dollar empire, later becoming consultants on the Netflix show Narcos. Javier Pena and Steve Murphy will hold two days of talks titled Capturing Pablo at The Auditorium in Dubai College, followed by an audience Q&A, where curious fans will have a chance to pose questions about Escobar and the series.
Pena and Murphy spent years chasing down the evasive Colombian criminal as lead investigators on his case. They eventually helped to dismantle Escobar’s drug network, known as the Medellin Cartel.
“If you have watched the Narcos series on Netflix, you needn’t hear it from me; but if not, this is just such an intriguing story about an individual who has been described as both a villain and a rebel, blamed for spreading serious drug abuse across the globe and heralded as some sort of modern day Robin Hood,” said CEO of 117Live Thomas Ovesen, organisers behind the event.
He further told Gulf News tabloid!: “And this is not a story told by a historian or journalist but by the actual undercover DEA agents who personally fought the fight, camped out in Colombia, trekking through the jungle for years trying to get Escobar and eventually succeeding.”
Escobar, known as the King of Cocaine, began his criminal career in the ‘70s and went on to kill thousands of people in pursuit of power and money. He earned the title of narco-terrorist, and eventually died in a shootout in 1993, 16 months after escaping prison, at the age of 44.
Pena and Murphy have held Capturing Pablo events all around the globe, from Ireland to New Zealand. They told Know Magazine that they decided to hold these talks to spread awareness around the dangers of drugs.
“We want everyone to know the true story of what actually took place with Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel, and who the true heroes are from that time. At every presentation, we recognise the Colombian National Police (CNP) as the real heroes of this investigation, along with the thousands of innocent people who were senselessly killed because of one man’s overwhelming greed and ego,” they said.
The thrilling saga of Escobar and the hunt for him became the centre of the 2015 Netflix series Narcos for two seasons. The show has been nominated for several Emmy and Golden Globe awards.
Tickets for Capturing Pablo are Dh275 to Dh350, available online.
