Narcos on the front line: Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar’s brutal reign

Colombian builder Abel Zapata bravely refused to work for Pablo Escobar – a man who struck fear into the heart of most locals.

A Colombian builder has revealed the moment he risked his life to save it by standing up to one of the world’s most notorious drug lords.

Abel Zapata bravely refused to work for Pablo Escobar – a man who murdered politicians, blew up police stations and struck fear into the heart of most Colombians.

Speaking from Comuna 13, a hillside suburb on the outskirts of Medellin, Zapata told of his moment of truth.

Escobar was looking for builders to create his own private prison as he tried to evade extradition to the United States.

Abel Zapata, 63. Picture: Jason Edwards

Pablo Escobar in his mug shot.

Watch episode 7 of the Narcos on the front line series above.

He called on Zapata’s boss to help construct the palatial buildings where he continued to run his drug empire.

“My boss was one of the right hand men of Pablo, he was like someone very important for him,” Zapata said in a translated interview.

“Pablo, when he was building the jail, he gave the order to all his friends to give him a lend of all their workers.

“But I didn’t want to because work for Pablo was dangerous. Pablo could have killed me, I didn’t want to because I have a family.”

Escobar did get his jail built, which was such a palace it became known as “The Cathedral”.

He spared no expense, adding a soccer pitch, spa and waterfall on a hillside in Medellin.

His prison sentence was part of a deal with the Colombian government in 1991.

Escobar agreed to a maximum five year jail term in exchange for a guarantee that he would not be handed over to United States authorities.

The “king of coke” was unable to last the distance even on such a relatively short stint, going on the run after 13 months.

The prison where Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was under arrest and guarded by his own keepers in luxurious view of his hometown. Picture: Timothy Ross//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

He was eventually gunned down on a terracotta roof in Medellin in 1993 by Colombian police, with the backing of America’s Central Intelligence Agency and the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Zapata, 63, said he stood by his decision to reject Escobar’s job.

He survived another three decades in Comuna 13, once known as the murder capital of the world.

Abel Zapata has survived in the murder capital of the world. Picture: Jason Edwards

“When Pablo died people didn’t know if that was good or bad because different cartels came to the city,” he said.

The new breed of criminals were more dangerous.

“Pablo’s time was really hard but Comuna 13 was worse when guerillas came,” Zapata said.

“You could be dead if you get involved with the cartels.

“But if you get involved with the guerillas or (even if you did) not, you could be dead.”

Originally published as Narcos on the front line: Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar’s brutal reign