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The Search Bloc (Spanish: Bloque de Búsqueda) is the name of three different ad hoc special operations units of the National Police of Colombia (Policía Nacional de Colombia). They were originally organized with a focus on capturing or killing highly dangerous individuals or groups of individuals.^[1]

First Search Bloc

The original Search Block was created in 1986 by President Virgilio Barco with the sole objective of apprehending drug lord Pablo Escobar and his associates. Its original commander was Colonel Hugo Martinez.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Over 600 Search Block members received training from the Colombian army and were specially selected to be impervious to police corruption from the drug cartels. Throughout its mission, Search Block faced many obstacles, including a spy within the group. There were claims that the Search Block collaborated with anti-Escobar vigilante groups such as Los Pepes, including vigilantism in the suspicious deaths of Escobar's subordinates.

Escobar was killed on December 2, 1993, in a shootout with members of the Search Block.^[5]

After dismantling the Medellín Cartel, the Search Block was transferred to Cali to locate and shut down the Cali Cartel.

Second Search Bloc

The Search Bloc was revived in 2004 to root out cocaine and heroin traffickers in southwest Colombia. The new Search Bloc was tasked with taking apart the Norte del Valle cartel and arresting its leader, Diego León Montoya Sánchez, which it did successfully in 2007.

Third Search Bloc

In 2007, the Colombian government again ordered the creation of a new Search Bloc against the Águilas Negras, or Black Eagles, classified as a gang of former paramilitaries.^[6]

In popular culture

The original Search Bloc was featured prominently in the Netflix original series Narcos, which portrays the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar. In the series, the Search Bloc is headed by a character named Colonel Horacio Carrillo, who critics have claimed is loosely based on Colonel Hugo Martinez; however, Martinez is introduced as a separate character in Season 2.

The Search Bloc was also the subject of a Colombian miniseries named Bloque de Busqueda, the Spanish translation of Search Bloc. The show was broadcast in the United States by Univision's sister network, UniMás.

References

^ Killing Pablo, Mark Bowden, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2001, ISBN 978-1-84354-651-1
^ Killing Pablo, Mark Bowden, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2009, ISBN 978-1-84354-651-1
^ Cran, William; Tepper, Stephanie (March 25, 1997). "The Godfather of Cocaine". Frontline (#1309). PBS.
^ "Carlos Castaño Gil – TRIAL International". trialinternational.org. Archived from the original on 2016-07-08. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
^ Killing Pablo, Mark Bowden, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2009, ISBN 978-1-84354-651-1
^ Captured nine presumed members of the Águilas Negras Colombian Army Accessed 20 August 2007.

External links

Mark Bowden, Killing Pablo (a copy of Bowden's serial articles in The Philadelphia Inquirer is available here: [1])
Jane's Jane's Terrorism & Security Monitor March 01, 2004

[1] Killing Pablo, Mark Bowden, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2001, ISBN 978-1-84354-651-1

[2] Killing Pablo, Mark Bowden, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2009, ISBN 978-1-84354-651-1

[PBS1-3] Cran, William; Tepper, Stephanie (March 25, 1997). "The Godfather of Cocaine". Frontline (#1309). PBS.

[4] "Carlos Castaño Gil – TRIAL International". trialinternational.org. Archived from the original on 2016-07-08. Retrieved 2020-09-27.

[5] Killing Pablo, Mark Bowden, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2009, ISBN 978-1-84354-651-1

[COLARMY-6] Captured nine presumed members of the Águilas Negras Colombian Army Accessed 20 August 2007.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

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[6]

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 {{redirect|Bloque de búsqueda|the TV series|Bloque de búsqueda (TV series)}}
 {{more citations needed|date=March 2013}}
-[[File:Death_of_Pablo_Escobar.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Members of Colonel Martinez's Search Bloc celebrate over [[Pablo Escobar]]'s body on December 2, 1993. Pablo's death ended a sixteen-month effort that cost hundreds of millions of dollars.]]
+[[File:Death_of_Pablo_Escobar.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Members of Colonel Martinez's Search Bloc celebrate over [[Pablo Escobar]]'s body on December 2, 1993. Escobar's death ended a sixteen-month effort that cost hundreds of millions of dollars.]]
 {{Colombian National Police}}
 The '''Search Bloc''' ({{lang-es|Bloque de Búsqueda}}) is the name of three different [[ad hoc]] [[special operations]] units of the [[National Police of Colombia]] (Policía Nacional de Colombia). They were originally organized with a focus on capturing or killing highly dangerous individuals or groups of individuals.<ref>Killing Pablo, Mark Bowden, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2001, {{ISBN|978-1-84354-651-1}}</ref>
 ==First Search Bloc==
-The original Search Bloc was created in 1986 by [[President of Colombia|President]] [[Virgilio Barco]] with the sole objective of [[arrest|apprehending]] drug lord [[Pablo Escobar]] and his associates. Its original commander was Colonel [[Hugo Martínez (police officer)|Hugo Martinez]].<ref>Killing Pablo, Mark Bowden, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2009, {{ISBN|978-1-84354-651-1}}</ref><ref name="PBS1">{{cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/archive/godfathercocaine.html |date=March 25, 1997 |title=The Godfather of Cocaine |work=Frontline (#1309)|publisher=PBS |author=Cran, William |author2=Tepper, Stephanie}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Carlos Castaño Gil – TRIAL International|url=https://trialinternational.org/fr/latest-post/carlos-castano-gil/|website=trialinternational.org|publication-date=|access-date=2020-09-27|archive-date=2016-07-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160708235551/https://trialinternational.org/fr/latest-post/carlos-castano-gil/}}</ref>
+The original Search Block was created in 1986 by [[President of Colombia|President]] [[Virgilio Barco]] with the sole objective of [[arrest|apprehending]] drug lord [[Pablo Escobar]] and his associates. Its original commander was Colonel [[Hugo Martínez (police officer)|Hugo Martinez]].<ref>Killing Pablo, Mark Bowden, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2009, {{ISBN|978-1-84354-651-1}}</ref><ref name="PBS1">{{cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/archive/godfathercocaine.html |date=March 25, 1997 |title=The Godfather of Cocaine |work=Frontline (#1309)|publisher=PBS |author=Cran, William |author2=Tepper, Stephanie}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Carlos Castaño Gil – TRIAL International|url=https://trialinternational.org/fr/latest-post/carlos-castano-gil/|website=trialinternational.org|publication-date=|access-date=2020-09-27|archive-date=2016-07-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160708235551/https://trialinternational.org/fr/latest-post/carlos-castano-gil/}}</ref>
-Over 600 Search Bloc members received [[training]] from the Colombian army and were specially selected to be impervious to [[police corruption]] from the [[Drug cartel#Colombia|drug cartel]]s. Throughout its mission, Search Bloc faced many obstacles, including a [[spy]] within the group. There were claims that the Search Bloc collaborated with anti-Escobar [[vigilante]] groups such as [[Los Pepes]], including vigilantism in the suspicious deaths of Escobar's subordinates.
+Over 600 Search Block members received [[training]] from the Colombian army and were specially selected to be impervious to [[police corruption]] from the [[Drug cartel#Colombia|drug cartel]]s. Throughout its mission, Search Block faced many obstacles, including a [[spy]] within the group. There were claims that the Search Block collaborated with anti-Escobar [[vigilante]] groups such as [[Los Pepes]], including vigilantism in the suspicious deaths of Escobar's subordinates.
-Escobar was killed on December 2, 1993, in a shootout with members of the Search Bloc.<ref>Killing Pablo, Mark Bowden, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2009, {{ISBN|978-1-84354-651-1}}</ref>
+Escobar was killed on December 2, 1993, in a shootout with members of the Search Block.<ref>Killing Pablo, Mark Bowden, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2009, {{ISBN|978-1-84354-651-1}}</ref>
-After dismantling the [[Medellin Cartel|Medellín Cartel]], the Search Bloc was transferred to [[Cali]] to locate and shut down the [[Cali Cartel]].
+After dismantling the [[Medellin Cartel|Medellín Cartel]], the Search Block was transferred to [[Cali]] to locate and shut down the [[Cali Cartel]].
 ==Second Search Bloc==

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