Narcotrafico colombiano pablo escobar biography

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By the age of 21, Escobar had built a significant following and started committing more heinous crimes, including kidnapping and murder.

Escobar's criminal empire expanded rapidly, and he became the mastermind behind the booming cocaine industry in Colombia.

This formative period was crucial, as it set the stage for his later dominance in the cocaine trade, establishing the foundation for the Medellín cartel that would make him infamous. They were married until Escobar’s death.

Escobar's reign ended in 1993 when he was killed in a shootout with Colombian authorities. Managing to influence the legal process, he was released; the following year the agent who had arrested him was assassinated.

Escobar’s infiltration of the drug market created unprecedented demand for cocaine in America.

“He showed us the path we must never take as a society because it’s the path to self-destruction, the loss of values, and a place where life ceases to have importance.”

Pop Culture Portrayals

Escobar has been the subject of several books, films, and television programs. He is the author of two true crime books: Love Me or Else and Fatal Jealousy.

(Today, the hippo population—which traces back to Escobar’s original transplants—has swelled in the country, causing environmental destruction and providing tourism opportunities.)

As the demand for cocaine grew in the United States, Escobar established additional smuggling shipments and distribution networks in various locations.

His ability to navigate the criminal underworld, combined with his ruthless tactics, allowed him to dominate over 80 percent of the cocaine smuggled into the United States, marking the beginning of his reign as “The King of Cocaine.”

As Escobar's empire grew, so did his wealth and influence. That included establishing a shipment base on a private island in the Bahamas with the help of cartel cofounder Carlos Lehder.

American and Colombian authorities cooperated extensively in an unprecedented manhunt, spanning years and involving multiple countries. Colombian officials agreed to the terms, and Escobar was housed in his own, luxurious, self-built private prison, La Catedral. He quickly expanded his operations after the murder of rival drug trafficker Fabio Restrepo in 1975, positioning himself at the helm of what would become the infamous Medellín cartel.

Escobar’s early prominence came during the “Marlboro Wars,” in which he played a high-profile role in the control of Colombia’s smuggled cigarette market. His end was celebrated by the country’s government and other parts of the world, and his family was placed under police protection. This rapid rise to power marked Escobar as a formidable figure in the drug trade, setting the stage for a reign characterized by both opulence and violence.

This operation involved various means, from submarines to small aircraft landing in remote fields.

Escobar’s meteoric rise caught the attention of the Colombian Security Service, leading to his arrest in May 1976 when a significant amount of cocaine was discovered in his car. His early life was marked by ambition and criminal activities, including theft and smuggling.

Pablo Escobar, already involved in organized crime, seized this opportunity to dominate the cocaine market.

When this was denied, Escobar founded the Los ExtraditableOrganisation to fight extradition policies. Yet, his meteoric rise was matched only by his cataclysmic fall.

Here we delve into the life and death of the infamous Pablo Escobar.

Escobar worked with a small group to form the infamous Medellín cartel.

Also around this time, Escobar started a family with his marriage to Maria Victoria Henao, who was 11 years his junior and still a teenager at the time of their 1976 wedding. Marroquín’s efforts to distance himself from his father’s legacy demonstrate a desire to break the cycle of violence and crime that defined Escobar's life.

In this episode, Dan is joined by the men portrayed in the critically acclaimed series Narcos, ex-DEA agents Javier Peña and Steve Murphy, who tell the true story behind the rise and fall of the infamous Pablo Escobar.

Legacy

Pablo Escobar’s legacy continues to loom large – not only as a notorious criminal but as a cultural phenomenon.

While many decried the heinous nature of his crimes, in Colombia, he was perceived by some as a Robin Hood-like figure, particularly in Medellín, where he was credited with providing amenities to the city’s poor that the government had not.