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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How do the guards discover that it is Maruja's birthday?

2. When are Maruja and Beatriz kidnapped?

3. Who is the first family member to arrive at the scene of Maruja's and Beatriz's abduction?

4. What does the Extraditables' lawyer want for his clients in terms of treatment?

5. What is most surprising about Santos' kidnapping?

Short Essay Questions

1. Months have passed for the hostages, and it is already a new year for Marina, Maruja, and Beatriz. What consequences are seen from a long hostage stay?

2. Diana compares the negotiations of their lives to a game of chess. How do the Extraditables and the government play a form of chess involving the hostages?

3. Why do the kidnappers abduct family members rather than the actual politicians or other influential people?

4. Pacho has ideas of escaping when he feels there is no other alternative. How is this option possible? What makes Pacho believe he can escape all the guards?

5. Escobar threatens to dynamite Cartagena but decides to cancel it. How is this catastrophe avoided?

6. More is revealed about Alberto Villamizar as the book progresses. Write about Alberto's honor and how he follows his word.

7. Maruja and Pacho, the last of the hostages, are released. Describe the public's reaction to their release.

8. The large group of six hostages is the media group from Crìpton. At first, they are separated into groups of three, then two. What is the purpose of the separation if they remain in the same area?

9. Father García Herreros is able to utilize his popularity to speak with Escobar and negotiate with him. Who exactly is Father Herreros and why is he so popular?

10. Describe Maruja's and Beatriz's initial reaction to their kidnapping.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of the biggest issues of compromising with narcoterrorists when they take hostages is the long term effect. President Gaviria works hard to fight narcoterrorism without having to negotiate with hostage abductors. Nonetheless, he is pressured to pass Decree 303. Escobar turns himself in, but there are many other drug cartels in Colombia. Research narcoterrorism in Colombia from the 1980s to late 1990s. Consider President Gaviria's term and write about whether he succeeds in bringing down narcoterrorism. If he is successful, how does he do it? If he is not, who is?

Essay Topic 2

The guards are there to keep the hostages from escaping. However, sometimes the guards show sympathy such as the day they find out about Maruja's birthday or the guard who is moved by Pacho's letter to his wife. Consider these guards and why they are there. What position are the guards in? Why do they do this job when it seems to conflict with their personal feelings?

Essay Topic 3

Describe Colombian government as it was in the late 1980s/early 1990s. What type of government was it? How was it enacted? Write about how the government plays into the lives of drug traffickers and narcoterrorism.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,416 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample