What did Pablo Escobar do?
The drug problem in Colombia is still prevalent in 2023 and the pioneer of this illegal business was a man called Pablo Escobar. He was a drug lord who founded the Medellin Cartel in Colombia and was one of the richest criminals of all time, with a net worth of over $30 billion.
When Escobar was rising to prominence in the 1970s, the demand for cocaine was at an all-time high, and this led to the drug kingpin setting up smuggling shipments all over the world, with the United States being a major source of his income. His co-founder was Carlos Lehder, and they built the illegal business from the ground up. Escobar was a philanthropist as a cover for his illegal business ventures, and he spent millions supporting Medellín’s poorest neighbourhoods. He built everything from housing complexes to parks, hospitals and schools.
In 1982, he entered the Colombian Congress and was granted parliamentary immunity and a diplomatic passport under Colombian law. At the same time, Escobar’s charitable work cemented his reputation as a Robin Hood-like figure in Colombia.
What led to Escobar’s downfall?
Escobar was eventually kicked out of politics by Luis Carlos Galan, and he proceeded to order his assassination in August 1989. In a shocking move, he followed this up by planting a bomb on a plane carrying his successor, Cesar Gaviria Trujillo. However, Trujillo missed the flight and was spared his life while 107 people were killed in the explosion. Two Americans were killed in the incident, which led the U.S. government to get involved.
After Galán’s death, the government had to do something about Escobar and the drug cartels in general. In a strange move, they negotiated with Escobar and he surrendered and agreed to stop his criminal activity in exchange for a reduced sentence and preferential treatment. He surrendered in 1991 and was ‘imprisoned’ in what turned out to be a rather luxurious private prison. Escobar and his cronies had access to a football pitch, a jacuzzi, and a bar. Escobar didn’t stop his criminal activities like he promised, and this led the government to try and move him to a proper prison in July 1992. However, he got wind of the plan in advance, escaped and went on the run.
Where is Pablo Escobar now?
On the 2nd December 1993, Escobar was tracked down to a house in a nice area of Medellin by the Colombian special forces. They tried to arrest Escobar peacefully but a gun battle ensued between him and the authorities. Escobar was shot and killed while trying to escape from the roof of the house.
Escobar’s crazy story was the focus of Netflix’s 2015 crime drama, Narcos starring Wagner Moura as the famous drug kingpin, with Pedro Pascal and Boyd Holbrook as the FBI agents trying to bring him to justice.
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