'Di drug trafficker no be me': Di tori of Pablo Escobar personal photographer

22 July 2022

Edgar Jiménez bin dey able to foto di most intimate moments of Pablo Escobar like dis one wey dem take on 1 December, 1980 for im room for Hacienda Napoles, wen e turn 40 and dem just anoint am as di cartel capo de capos from Medellin; next to am na Ligia Urquijo, im sister-in-law.

July 22 marks di 30th anniversary of drug trafficker Pablo Escobar escape from di Cathedral, di jail wia dem bin dey hold am wit jaguda men, afta e jejely surrender to di Colombian government. In like one year, authorities go shoot am for one rooftop for Medellin, im hometown.

Also for dis July. dem publish di book "El Chino: The life of Pablo Escobar's personal photographer", wey be totori and foto album of di life of Edgar Jiménez - wey  Alfonso Buitrago write – im meet di future capo wen e dey younger and later wit im camera, capture di most intimate moments of di powerful head of di Medellin Cartel.

Edgar Jiménez, nickname "El Chino", recently tok to BBC World Service Outlook program about di early years of friendship as teenager and how wen e be adult e reconnect wit Escobar wey hire am to photograph im spectacular ranch and zoo and im family.

Dat relationship spanned from di "golden age" of di drug trafficker (as di photographer tok) wen im bin dey share tins to di poor, to di campaign e launch to dey elected to Congress and finally di bloody wave of violence e do against di Colombian state. .

Even as e follow one di world most wanted men by justice for many years, enta im inner circle, share drinks wit im jaguda hitmen and di knowledge of all di kain bad-bad tins dem do, Jiménez no get issue about im closeness to Escobar . "Di drug dealer no be me," na so e tell BBC. "I bin dey do legal activity wey be photography."

Dis na di tori of dat photographer wey bin get access to one of di most famous and infamous characters of di late 20th century, for dramatic time for di history of Colombia and di world.

One of di bunch

Edgar Jiménez and Pablo Escobar meet for 1963, wen dem bin dey di first year of high school for di Liceo Antioqueño, wey be public institution wey dem consider dem dey teach wella.

Dem be 13 years old and form friendship for classmates wey dey di same room ; dem dey do like comrades, play sports togeda and chat during breaks. "We bin be very good friends," na so Jiménez tok.

At first, Escobar no be pesin wey you go notice. "Pablo na ordinary student. Not good nor lousy," na so Jiménez remeba. "E no mean say e no sabi book, e sabi, but wetin demi m head dey different."

More or less age 16, both im and im cousin Gustavo Gaviria – wey dey follow study for di high school - "dey hungry to get money" and dem come start to negotiate contraband cigarettes.

"We students bin come from low to medium economic resources, Escobar and Gaviria follow join, but na dem come get cash for hand sake of activities of dis nature wey dem dey do."

Sake of say e no too dey concentrate for book, Pablo Escobar fail di fourth year of high school and go repeat for parallel institution. As dem no come dey di same school, and different years, di friends come dey distant and dem lose contact .

Edgar Jiménez come dey get interest photography sake of very well set up laboratory and photography club for high school. Wen e graduate and enta university to study engineering, e dedicate imsef sak e go photograph social events to pay for studies.

For im own side, Escobar graduate from high school di next year, but e be like say e dey frustrated say e no fit find job, e come tell im mama say e no go stress imsef agaun, but e swear say before e turn 30 e go get im first million.

"Na dat time e make di decision to become bandit and criminal... like around 19, 20 years old," Jiménez explain.

Na until 1980 di two former classmates jam demsef. Jiménez, don already be professional photographer, bin dey cover one event for di municipality of Puerto Triunfo, wey be three hours from Medellín, wen one of padi wey be public official invite am to come see one ogbonge farm for dat domot .

Na di Hacienda Napoles, wey dey internationally famous as Pablo Escobar extravagant country compound, wey get small plane for di front door wey dem believe e "crown" im first shipment of cocaine to di United States.

"E be like African Safari"

Jiménez say e just dey open mouth sake of how big di farm be -about three thousand hectares- wit jungle area wey important tributary of di Magdalena River dey pass, di biggest for Colombia. E get like 30 lakes, bullring, big landing strip, heliport and a hangar.

But di tin wey e rememba di most na di spectacular zoo wit "the most representative fauna (animals) of all the continents" . From Australia, for example, e get cassowaries, emus and kangaroos; from Africa, zebras, rhinos, antelopes, hippos, elephants and giraffes.

E bin get aviary wit plenty wonderful birds. In addition to parrots, peacocks and pheasants e get "macaws of all colors, some black parrots wey dey very very expensive, one blue macaw wit yellow eyes wey e pasy US $100,000".

Di lakes full wit all kinds of swans, geese, ducks, pelicans, even pink Amazon river dolphins.

"For pesin wey no dey used to am, e be like African safari, because di animals just dey waka freely and dem dey take care of dem wella," na so e fit rememba.

Pablo Escobar sharpaly recognize im old schoolmate and greet am warmly wit hug. Wen e find out say di guy dey do photography, e hire am to take pictures of all di animals bicos e bin wan get inventory wit image of all of them, wey like about 1,500.

"Na hia my new relationship wit Pablo start. From 1980 until e die," Jiménez tok.

Na long work, wit plenti visits to di farm, since e take fotos of between 50 and one hundred animals and den return afta 15 or 20 days to kotinu to take foto.

E dey very proud of di fotos e take, especially of di first hippos wey arrive di hacienda and wey now be "di parents, grandparents and great-great-grandparents of di hippos wey don scata thruout large areas of ​​Colombia" sotay dem don consider dem invasive species.

E rememba some funny moments, like di time ostrich peck out cigarette from im assistant and come denge pose like say di bird dey smoke.

But e also get dangerous time . Jiménez take foto of cassowary, wey be one of di most dangerous birds for di world and dem get hooves wey sharp like knives; dem fit cut open human being. "I no know, and I just take di picture from far. E (di bird) just dey look me like lookman. If e attack, e go kill me."

Di same thing happened wit some ostriches wey chase am and gats escape by moving in zig zag, until one worker intercept dem.

Between 1980 and 1984, as e dey do foto catalog of di animals, Jiménez record di social and family events of Pablo Escobar and im relatives. E enta di innermost circle and rub shoulders wit im lieutenants and henchmen .

E also follow am for im civic activities, sharing of money to di poor and construction of houses, actions wey make dem like di capo so much, sotey dem no send say e dey do illegal tins.

Dem pay di photographer "very well" for im work and even as im sabi wia di money dem come from, Jiménez tok say e no get any regret about dia relationship doz years, wey im refer to as "di good side, di noble and kind side of Pablo Escobar".

Around di late 1970s and early 1980s, "mafiosi" get plenty money, but dem dey twale dem beta salute for Colombian society, not just di low part of society, but also di upper class of business and politics.

"Secret collabo dey wit drug traffickers. Dem create jobs, businesses, help plenty pipo," na wetin e tok. "And di politicians wey Pablo finance campaign neva wonda wia di money come from. "

Outside dis one, e tok say: "Di drug trafficker no be me, I dey do legal activity na photography."

Opposing loyalty

For 1982 Escobar enta politics, as e dey seek House of Representatives. Dat time, even as totori dey say e be mobster, "dem no question am and dem no prove anytin about am," na wetin Jiménez explain, so e gree to follow am and coordinate im campaign.

"I consida say Colombian politics dey full bandits for 200 years, why one more bandit no fit reach di Chamber, in addition to bandit who do social work?"

Sergio Jiménez experience for politics come from im career wit ANAPO (Popular National Alliance), wey be leftist party wey scata afta dem lose di disputed presidential elections of 1970 and some of dia members come be part of di M-19 guerrilla movement and responsible for some of di most spectacular coups against di Colombian government.

Sergio Jiménez was a member of the M-19 since its inception. A delicate situation for the photographer since simultaneously the M-19 was in a violent conflict with the Medellín Cartel.

Some months before, one cell of di guerrilla group bin kidnap Martha Nieves Ochoa -from di Ochoa Clan, partners of Pablo Escobar for di drug trafficking business. Sake of dat kidnap, di Medellín Cartel sponsor di armed group MAS (Death to Kidnappers) -wey be part of di beginning of paramilitarism for Colombia- and start one bloody war.

"I dey between two facing and opposing sides. Two very tough sides," Jiménez sabi.

E dey able to comot for dat crossroads because, as e tok, Escobar sabi of im militancy for di guerrilla group , but "e dey very fond of am" and sabi say M-19 na compartmentalized guerrilla group and na independent cell do di kidnap of Martha Nieves Ochoa witout authorization.

On di oda hand, Edgar Jiménez tell di guerrilla leadership about im work for Escobar campaign, wey work for dia interests.

"Both sides sabi wia I dey, wetin I dey do and wia my loyalty dey. Na why sam-sam notin happen to me," e tok, as e follow tok say, na di decisive way of di M-19 and tdi Medellín Cartel to stop dat war wey cost so many lives.

Before and afta

But dat one no mean di end of bloodshed because, for 1984, war break out between di Medellín Cartel and di Colombian state and di kontri enta one of di jaga-jaga periods for im history.

Wetin trigger am na di assassination Pablo Escobar order of den Minister of Justice, Rodrigo Lara Bonilla , wey bin dey lead crusade against drug cartels.

Edgar Jiménez say dis event na di "break in Escobar life, di before and afta." Di before na wetin e call di "golden age" of di drug trafficker, around im activities wey no dey associated wit violence but "social benefit."

Wetin follow na years of bomb attacks, assassination of journalists, magistrates, soldiers and policemen. "Wit dat excess violence, wit doz murders and crimes, I no fit gree. Neva," e tok. "But I no fit do anytin, because I no be part of di Medellin Cartel, I no belong to dat structure."

After the murder of Lara Bonilla, Jiménez go di Hacienda Napoles, some more times. Di visit e rememba pass na for 1989 - di most violent year for Colombia recent history – wen e go photograph di 13th birthday of Escobar son, Juan Pablo. Na dia e take foto of di capo wey e say dey most significant because it reveals so much about wetin e dey go thru.

Escobar leave di party and just dey lost in thot, e just dey look floor till Jiménez press di shutter. "I tink dat time e just dey tink about all doz violent events wey dey come up. I fit relate that photo to wetin follow."

Next tin na di assassination of presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán, the blowing up of one passenger plane, and di bomb attacks against di facilities of di Administrative Department of Security and di newspaper, El Espectador.

Unda pressure from di Prosecutor's Office, di goment orda Escobar and im fellow inmates to dey transferred to "real jail," but dem easily escape thru a purpose-built plaster wall on 22 July, 1992.

From dia, na so dem just dey hunt for di head of di Medellín Cartel till e end wit di shooting wey kill am for di rooftop for di city of Medellín on 2 December, 1993.

Sadness

Dat time, Edgar Jiménez bin dey im photography laboratory for di center of Medellín, wen he hear di news for radio.

E confess say e get mixed feelings about di mata.

"Pablo always behavd very well with me, personally and as friend," e tok. "He pain me say pesin like am wit im ability and intelligence, wey for dey useful to society, come take different road."

But on di oda hand, e say e get relief "for Colombian society, because di kontri dey state of anxiety" sake of constant bomb attacks wey police officers and many innocent people, including women and children, die.

"Im na di most famous bandit for history, im life make am legend and im death make am myth. I, dey in some way, part of dat myth."

"El Chino: The life of Pablo Escobar's personal photographer" , from di Editorial Universo Centro, go dey released dis July . All photos dey copyrighted.

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