The International Response

Abstract

The news of Giovanni Falcone’s murder made headlines across the world. Foreign heads of state and government leaders paid fulsome tribute to his courage and dedication, and sent messages of condolence befitting the death of a statesman. Falcone had travelled widely in the course of his investigations throughout Europe and to North and South America, and had developed many personal contacts with attorneys and police officers. Former US attorneys Louis Freeh, Richard Martin and Rudolph Giuliani, who had worked closely with Falcone since 1984, expressed their grief at the loss of a close friend. The US government made an immediate offer to assist the Italian investigation, and within 48 hours of Falcone’s death at Capaci, forensic scientists and explosives experts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation were on their way to Palermo. British law-enforcement officers were horrified by the ruthlessness and audacity of the attacks, and by the level at which the Mafia was prepared to strike. Their fears were aggravated by the implications for a post-1992, barrier-free Europe of an internationalized Italian Mafia with the capacity to challenge the sovereignty of an EU member state.