The United States said Friday it would pay a reward of up to $2 million for information leading to the arrest of Pablo Escobar, bringing the total price on the Colombian drug lord's head to $3.4 million.
Colombian security forces, with U.S. support, have launched a big manhunt to arrest the feared Medellin cocaine cartel boss who escaped from a luxury jail last month with nine of his trusted lieutenants.Escobar is one of the world's most dangerous criminals, accused of leading a bloody war on the Colombian state in 1989 and 1990.
"The U.S. State Department, with the support and cooperation of the U.S. Justice Department, announced that people who supply information leading to the arrest of Pablo Escobar can receive rewards of up to $2 million," a statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Bogota said.
The U.S. offer is additional to a Colombian offer to pay a reward of $1.4 million for information leading to Escobar's arrest - the biggest reward ever offered in Colombia.