Nazi War Criminal Who Escaped To South America Worked With Pablo Escobar: Report

Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie escaped to South America after World War 2, living Bolivia for decades before being tracked down and captured. He was then extradited to France and sentenced to life in prison on charges against humanity. He died in 1991.

However, before being caught, Barbie became a security advisor to drug lord Roberto Suarez in the 1970s. In an interview with German outlet Der Spiegel, Suarez's son said Barbie, who was living under the alias Klaus Altmann was "an important person to my father." "He knew something about security, military strategy and secret service work," Gary Suarez said.

The outlet also noted that Barbie advised Bolivian security services and helped them set up a death squad for dictator Luis Garcia Meza, who ruled the country in the 1980s. Suarez said the man was "deeply involved in the military regimes going back decades."

Among the squads he helped create was one called the "Bridegrooms of Death," who had a swastika-themed headquarters in Santa Cruz.

The new information about Barbie's activities with cartels came from a CIA dispatch from 1974, showing that officers suspected he was involved in drug trafficking. Gerardo Caballero, son-in-law of Roberto Suarez, also told the outlet that Barbie helped them "a lot," including "in working together with Pablo Escobar."

Barbie was recruited to work as an agent by American Secret Services, helping him evade justice. The country later apologized to France for its actions.