Maruja Pachon de Villamizar and her husband Alberto approached their friend Gabriel Garcia Marquez to write about Maruja’s abduction. However, after realizing that he could combine the episodes and encounters of the nine other hostages that were held alongside Maruja, Gabriel decided to take more time on the project and write a comprehensive book on the kidnapping that took about six Months. The News of a kidnapping reveals the recurrent drug problems of the United States and Columbia that have existed to date (Neuman, 2012). In this book, the head of the Medellin cartel Pablo Escobar ordered for the Kidnappings in order to engage in negotiations with the government.
According to the quote from chapter four of this book, which indicates that power-like love is a double-edged sword (Marque, p. 75), it implies that even the people who possess the authority and power can also suffer from their power. For instance, a prominent politician’s wife is kidnapped despite of the power that he holds in the government and the influence in the society. Additionally, the book gives accounts of the way the drug cartels in Columbia has proved problematic to both governments. Even to the kidnappers, they did not have an easy time holding the hostages. The most important thing that I understand from this quote; “search for an idealized love that one longs for but fears, pursues but never attains” (Marque, p. 75), which implies that there is no winner or loser in the political battles. Everyone seeks a solution that he would not achieve, but would not give up the chase even with the reality. An example of this quote in the Columbia is the Liberals and Conservatives differences in political ideology that has always brought about unresolved conflicts.
Works Cited:
Gabriel García Márquez. News of a Kidnapping: reprint edition. New York: Vintage International, 2008
William Neuman. Colombia Tries Again to End Drug-Fed War. The New York Times. Web October 17, 2012
