Item # 727287
February 06, 1987
LOS ANGELES TIMES, Feb. 6, 1987
* Carlos Lehder Rivas captured
* Medellin Cartel co-founder
* Cocaine drug czar - smuggler
* 1st Colombian kingpin extradited
The bottom of the front page has a three column heading: "Drug Lord Flouted Law, Courted Violence" with subheads and photo of drug czar Carlos Lehder Rivas. (see images)
Complete with all major sections (60+ pages), nice condition.
Background: This February 6, 1987 edition of the Los Angeles Times is a highly compelling historical artifact, anchoring its significance in the dramatic capture and immediate U.S. extradition of Carlos Lehder Rivas just one day prior. As a co-founder of the brutal Medellín Cartel alongside Pablo Escobar, Lehder was a pioneer of large-scale cocaine smuggling, famously transforming the Bahamian island of Norman's Cay into a high-tech transit hub. This front-page coverage captures a monumental turning point in the global war on drugs: Lehder was the very first major Colombian kingpin to be extradited to face American justice, a watershed moment that shattered the cartel's perceived immunity and incited a wave of retaliatory violence across Colombia. While daily newspapers from metropolitan giants like the LA Times were printed in massive quantities—meaning the publication itself is not exceedingly rare—finding a complete, 60+ page issue in "nice condition" is uncommon. Because high-acid newsprint degrades, yellows, and becomes brittle rapidly over decades, an intact, fully preserved edition with its original photos and subheads intact is a rare survivor, making it a highly desirable piece for true crime historians and collectors of 20th-century history.
* Carlos Lehder Rivas captured
* Medellin Cartel co-founder
* Cocaine drug czar - smuggler
* 1st Colombian kingpin extradited
The bottom of the front page has a three column heading: "Drug Lord Flouted Law, Courted Violence" with subheads and photo of drug czar Carlos Lehder Rivas. (see images)
Complete with all major sections (60+ pages), nice condition.
Background: This February 6, 1987 edition of the Los Angeles Times is a highly compelling historical artifact, anchoring its significance in the dramatic capture and immediate U.S. extradition of Carlos Lehder Rivas just one day prior. As a co-founder of the brutal Medellín Cartel alongside Pablo Escobar, Lehder was a pioneer of large-scale cocaine smuggling, famously transforming the Bahamian island of Norman's Cay into a high-tech transit hub. This front-page coverage captures a monumental turning point in the global war on drugs: Lehder was the very first major Colombian kingpin to be extradited to face American justice, a watershed moment that shattered the cartel's perceived immunity and incited a wave of retaliatory violence across Colombia. While daily newspapers from metropolitan giants like the LA Times were printed in massive quantities—meaning the publication itself is not exceedingly rare—finding a complete, 60+ page issue in "nice condition" is uncommon. Because high-acid newsprint degrades, yellows, and becomes brittle rapidly over decades, an intact, fully preserved edition with its original photos and subheads intact is a rare survivor, making it a highly desirable piece for true crime historians and collectors of 20th-century history.
Category: The 20th Century
