A Colombian necktie is a method of execution wherein the victim's throat is slashed (with a knife

Knife

A knife is a cutting tool with an exposed cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools...

 or other sharp object) and his or her tongue

Tongue

The tongue is a muscular hydrostat on the floors of the mouths of most vertebrates which manipulates food for mastication. It is the primary organ of taste , as much of the upper surface of the tongue is covered in papillae and taste buds. It is sensitive and kept moist by saliva, and is richly...

 is pulled out through the open wound. Its origin coincides with the outbreak of La Violencia

La Violencia

La Violencia is a period of civil conflict in the Colombian countryside between supporters of the Colombian Liberal Party and the Colombian Conservative Party, a conflict which took place roughly from 1948 to 1958 ....

, the Colombian civil war which began in 1948 with the murder of leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitan.

The Colombian necktie is sometimes erroneously credited to drug kingpin Pablo Escobar

Pablo Escobar

Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was a Colombian drug lord. He was an elusive cocaine trafficker and rich and successful criminal. He owned numerous luxury residences, automobiles, and even airplanes...

, who was known more for his preference for burning victims while they hung upside-down, but this infamous method of assassination was documented as early as 1950. It was intended as a method of psychological warfare, meant to scare and intimidate.