Guns and bombs

<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">The huge estate included a zoo full of exotic animals, a collection of old and luxury cars, a private airport and a bullring.</p></div>

<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">McAleese flew over the ranch for reconnaissance and agreed that it could be done. The mission was a goer.</p></div>

<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Tomkins recruited a team of 12 mercenaries, people he had worked with before or who had been recommended.</p></div>

<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">They were helped through customs by Jorge Salcedo and the Cali cartel bankrolled their stay. Each of the men were on $5,000 a month plus expenses but Tomkins was getting a $1,000 a day.</p></div>

<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative;"><img alt="in training" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/5A79/production/_117516132_9b05d9ee-6287-473b-a777-033ee8de2700.jpg 240w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/5A79/production/_117516132_9b05d9ee-6287-473b-a777-033ee8de2700.jpg 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/5A79/production/_117516132_9b05d9ee-6287-473b-a777-033ee8de2700.jpg 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/5A79/production/_117516132_9b05d9ee-6287-473b-a777-033ee8de2700.jpg 624w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/5A79/production/_117516132_9b05d9ee-6287-473b-a777-033ee8de2700.jpg 800w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/5A79/production/_117516132_9b05d9ee-6287-473b-a777-033ee8de2700.jpg 976w" src="https://passle-net.s3.amazonaws.com/Passle/604600928cb62a0e5095c908/MediaLibrary/Images/604600ce8cb62a0e5095c93c/2021-03-12-10-54-38-356-604b486ee5416b123815502c.png" width="976" height="549" style="padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; width: 800px; height: 450px; inset: 0px; -webkit-box-pack: center; justify-content: center; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center; object-fit: cover;" class="fr-fic fr-dii">IMAGE COPYRIGHTTWO RIVERS MEDIA</div>

image captionThe mercenaries during training in Colombia for the assault

<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">The film has access to video footage shot by Tomkins which includes the men playing with great wads of cash.</p></div>

<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">At first they stayed in the city of Cali but they were in danger of bringing too much attention to themselves so they moved out to a ranch in the countryside where they were provided with a huge cache of weapons.</p></div>

<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">"It was like Christmas," McAleese says. "Everything we needed weapons-wise was there."</p></div>

<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">The mercenaries trained hard for their mission but only Tomkins and McAleese knew who the target was.</p></div>

<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Before the others were told, one of the group dropped out and was allowed to go home. He sold his story to the newspapers but did not give the names or details of the operation.</p></div>

<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">As the attack got closer the men moved their training into the jungle so they could practice with weapons and bombs without being heard.</p></div>

<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative;"><img alt="Helicopter" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/0C59/production/_117516130_3e758df8-7f35-4826-9c63-630a096e8222.jpg 240w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/0C59/production/_117516130_3e758df8-7f35-4826-9c63-630a096e8222.jpg 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/0C59/production/_117516130_3e758df8-7f35-4826-9c63-630a096e8222.jpg 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/0C59/production/_117516130_3e758df8-7f35-4826-9c63-630a096e8222.jpg 624w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/0C59/production/_117516130_3e758df8-7f35-4826-9c63-630a096e8222.jpg 800w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/0C59/production/_117516130_3e758df8-7f35-4826-9c63-630a096e8222.jpg 976w" src="https://passle-net.s3.amazonaws.com/Passle/604600928cb62a0e5095c908/MediaLibrary/Images/604600ce8cb62a0e5095c93c/2021-03-12-10-54-38-734-604b486e53548912bc251ade.png" width="976" height="549" style="padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; width: 800px; height: 450px; inset: 0px; -webkit-box-pack: center; justify-content: center; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center; object-fit: cover;" class="fr-fic fr-dii">IMAGE COPYRIGHTTWO RIVERS MEDIA</div>

image captionAn original photo of the team training for the assault

<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">The attack plan involved two helicopters flying into the compound at Hacienda Napoles as the mercenaries shot their way through Escobar's massive security operation to kill the drug lord, bringing back his head as a trophy.</p></div>

<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">When they heard from an informant that Escobar was at his ranch they set off for the target. But the attack was never to happen.</p></div>

<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">The helicopter carrying McAleese and Tomkins crashed as it flew low through the clouds over the Andes, killing the pilot.</p></div>

Promises to God

<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">The others survived but McAleese was too badly injured to get off the mountainside. He lay for three days in excruciating pain until he was rescued.</p></div>

<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Escobar heard about the attack plan and sent his men on to the mountain to find them.</p></div>

<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">"If Pablo had caught me I would have had a long, drawn out, painful death," McAleese said.</p></div>

<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Instead he escaped and tried to make good on the promises he had made to God while he was lying on the mountainside.</p></div>

<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative;"><img alt="Peter McAleese" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/A899/production/_117516134_a8966751-3eba-4ca4-a02b-5e53b29fe120.jpg 240w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/A899/production/_117516134_a8966751-3eba-4ca4-a02b-5e53b29fe120.jpg 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/A899/production/_117516134_a8966751-3eba-4ca4-a02b-5e53b29fe120.jpg 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/A899/production/_117516134_a8966751-3eba-4ca4-a02b-5e53b29fe120.jpg 624w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/A899/production/_117516134_a8966751-3eba-4ca4-a02b-5e53b29fe120.jpg 800w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/A899/production/_117516134_a8966751-3eba-4ca4-a02b-5e53b29fe120.jpg 976w" src="https://passle-net.s3.amazonaws.com/Passle/604600928cb62a0e5095c908/MediaLibrary/Images/604600ce8cb62a0e5095c93c/2021-03-12-10-54-37-990-604b486d8cb62b10683c87a8.png" width="976" height="549" style="padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; width: 800px; height: 450px; inset: 0px; -webkit-box-pack: center; justify-content: center; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center; object-fit: cover;" class="fr-fic fr-dii">IMAGE COPYRIGHTTWO RIVERS MEDIA</div>

image captionAt 78, Peter McAleese says he has many regrets but he has found peace