Capturing Carlos The Jackal

A decades-long manhunt closed in on international terrorist Illich Ramirez Sanchez, aka Carlos the Jackal, on 14th August, 1994 - when he was sedated and kidnapped by French intelligence agents in Khartoum, Sudan, following a tip-off by the CIA. Affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Organization for Armed Arab Struggle, and the Japanese Red Army, the Venezuelan militant had been responsible for a slew of major terrorist attacks in the 1970s and 80s, notably the storming of an OPEC meeting in 1975, during which he took hostages and demanded ransoms, and was widely considered the world’s most-wanted man.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how ‘Carlos’ came to acquire not just one, but two nicknames; consider how the politics of the day enabled both his terrorism and his womanising; and reveal why his sperm count ultimately cost him his freedom… Further Reading: • ‘SUDAN SEIZES TERRORIST 'CARLOS THE JACKAL'’ (The Washington Post, 1994): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/08/16/sudan-seizes-terrorist-carlos-the-jackal/4e8d3daa-b064-4ca7-ba16-e6f0d68744aa/?itid=sr_2 • ‘Carlos the Jackal: The Extraordinary Life of the Most Notorious Terrorist Before Bin Laden’ (Vice, 2022): https://www.vice.com/en/article/4awdbq/carlos-the-jackal-communist-terrorist • ‘'Carlos the Jackal' convicted in France’ (AlJazeera English, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2sUuxYcdro This episode first aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY…  … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content.  Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices