There are some names we hear constantly that ring many bells and have a sense of familiarity, but their reason for becoming famous is not widely known, or if they are, specific accounts can barely be recalled.
Paul
Pablo Escobar
Don Pablo (Sir Pablo)
El Padrino (The Godfather)
El Patrón (The Boss)
Matar Pablo (Killing Pablo)
The King of Cocaine
The King of Crack
Probably all sound familiar. But who is this infamous Don Pablo?
Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was a Columbian drug lord and narcoterrorist who was born in 1949 and died in 1993. He was the founder and sole leader of the Medellin Cartel. Pablo, dubbed “The King of Cocaine”, is the wealthiest criminal in history. His net worth is up in the hills with many celebrities of today at an estimated US$30 billion by the time of his death. That is the equivalent of US$64 billion in 2021. If he had been alive today, there is no estimation of the amount of wealth he would have accumulated over those 28 years. His drug cartel monopolized the cocaine trade into the United States in the 1980s and early 1990s.
He was born in Rionegro and raised in Medellin. He studied at Unive Universidad Autónoma Latinoamericana of Medellín, but did not graduate. He had other plans; as he instead engaged in criminal activity, selling cigarettes and fake lottery tickets, and participating in motor vehicle theft. He began working for drug smugglers in the 1990’s, where he would engage in kidnapping and holding people for ransom.
He climbed his way up to the top fairly quickly, as he founded the Medellín Cartel in 1976 which distributed powder cocaine. He established the first smuggling routes from Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador through Colombia and eventually into the United States (all places we hear associated with the drug trade even now in 2022).
His infiltration into the US heightened the cocaine demand by the 1980’s. It is estimated that he led monthly shipments of 70 to 80 tonnes of coke into the country from Colombia. He became one of the richest people in the world. He constantly battled with rival cartels domestically and abroad which led to massacres and the murders of police, judges, locals, and politicians. Colombia consequently became the murder capital of the world.
Escobar was elected as an alternate member of the Chamber of Representatives in the 1982 Colombian parliamentary election, as part of the Liberal Alternative movement. This made him responsible for community projects such as the construction of houses and football fields, making him popular among locals of the towns he frequented. His political ambitions were however impeded by the Colombian and U.S. governments, who routinely pushed for his arrest, with Escobar widely believed to have orchestrated the DAS Building and Avianca Flight 203 bombings in retaliation.
Esobar was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment after surrendering to authorities in 1991. He, however, struck a deal of no extradition with Colombian President Cesar Gaviria, with the luxury of being housed in his own self-built prison, La Catedral. He escaped in 1992 and went into hiding when authorities attempted to move him to a more standard holding facility. This led to a nationwide hunt.
As a result, the Medellín Cartel crumbled, and in 1993, Escobar was killed in his hometown by Colombian National Police, a day after his 44th birthday.
While many denounce the heinous nature of his crimes, he was seen as a “Robin Hood-like” figure for many in Colombia, as he provided many amenities to the poor. His killing was mourned and his funeral attended by over 25,000 people. Additionally, his private estate, Hacienda Nápoles, has been transformed into a theme park. His life has also served as inspiration for or has been dramatized widely in film, television, and in music.
Read more: McKoy’s Crime News