Javier Pena

Former DEA Agent

Bio

Javier Peña retired in 2014 as the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the DEA Houston Field Division after 30 years of service with DEA.

In 1988, Peña volunteered for an assignment at the DEA office in Bogota, Colombia. Shortly thereafter, he was joined by partner Steve Murphy, and together they pursued the world's first narco-terrorist, Pablo Escobar. SAC Peña spent six years hunting Pablo, resulting in the final chase and shooting of Escobar in 1993.

During his DEA career, Peña was stationed all over the world, including in San Francisco, the Caribbean and elsewhere. Using his leadership and expertise in dismantling highly sophisticated criminal networks and organizations, Peña led and contributed to a large number of successful investigations in the war on drugs and narco-terrorism.

Peña is a subject matter expert on the Medellin Cartel and has delivered more than 100 presentations on the subject and related areas, including sharing rare photos of original events that were captured during the rise and fall of the Cartel. Along with Steve Murphy, he serves as a subject matter expert and senior consultant for the hit Netflix series Narcos.

SPEECH TOPICS

CHASING PABLO: WORLD TOUR

The True Story of Pablo Escobar

You may have seen TV shows and documentaries, or read books about the world’s wealthiest, and most violent drug trafficker, but now you have the opportunity to hear the real story of what happened in the investigation of Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel. DEA special agents Javier Pena and Steve Murphy were assigned as the lead investigators targeting Escobar and his organization. These true American heroes provide a lesson in history as they discuss their efforts bringing down the world’s first narco-terrorist, the challenges they faced in oftentimes hostile and life-threatening environments, and the innovative strategies they employed to successfully end the reign of terror of the world’s most wanted criminal. Their presentation is followed by a Q&A opportunity during which Javier and Steve will entertain questions related to their investigation, the making of Narcos and more.