CARLOS THE KILLER! - JOHN F. GROOM

December 14, 1997

CARLOS THE KILLER!

Image of today's outrage What is the fate of a man who terrorizes the world?

Let us look at the career of infamous international terrorist Illich Ramirez Sanchez, better known as Carlos the Jackal.

Carlos is the son of a Venezuelan lawyer who named his three boys Vladimir, Illich, and Lenin, after the late great Soviet leader. With such a father, it’s no surprise that Carlos was formally educated in terrorism, attending Moscow’s Patrice Lumumba University for aspiring third world revolutionaries.

Carlos’ entry-level job was with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. One of his first assignments was to attempt to kill Marks and Spencer department store chief Edward Sieff while the British Zionist was taking a bath.

Climbing the career ladder of death and destruction, Carlos organized the Japanese Red Army occupation of the French Embassy in the Hague, the bombing of a Paris drugstore in 1974, and two failed rocket attacks on Israeli airliners at Orly Airport in Paris.

He is probably responsible for bomb attacks on French trains and at a French cultural center. However, his most famous attack took place in 1975 when he led a group of terrorists that kidnapped 11 oil ministers at an OPEC meeting in Vienna.

All in all, Carlos is probably responsible for the murder of at least 80 people around the world. While killing on behalf of the proletariat, Carlos was known for his fondness for the high life. Third World governments, in addition to financing his mayhem, treated Carlos like a VIP, and indulged his taste for women, wine, and song.

Carlos is now in a French jail, awaiting retrial on murder charges for which he was convicted in absentia.

So how does this man, who has murdered so often, who has ruined the lives of countless families, who has caused disruption and terror around the world, live?

Not too badly, thank you. He does complain that his favorite Havana cigars are hard to come by in jail, but we have the same problem here at the DO. Carlos keeps up on news about his manly hobby with a subscription to L’Amateur de Cigare, delivered to his jail cell.

He has, of course, numerous lawyers, all of whom appear to be women. One of these disciples of justice was reprimanded when she was found sitting in Carlos’ lap in his jail cell. Another of his lady lawyers, Isabelle Coutant-Peyre, says Carlos is lonely: “Every time I visit him, I can feel he is embittered by isolation,” she says. Poor guy.

We’re certainly glad the French don’t have the death penalty — executing someone like Carlos would be cruel. After all, he has the classic French appreciation of the good things in life: pretty women, fine food, and good wine, and what could be more important than that?

(Source: Reuters.)