The Life Story of Pablo Escobar – Part 2
Escobar’s Meteoric Rise
By the early 1980s, Pablo Escobar had already transformed from a small-time smuggler into the most powerful drug lord on Earth. The Medellín Cartel, which he co-founded, was unlike anything Colombia—or the world—had ever seen. It wasn’t just a group of criminals; it was a parallel empire, with its own army, infrastructure, intelligence networks, and financial systems.
At its peak, the cartel was making an estimated $60 million per day in revenue from cocaine sales. Escobar personally controlled about 80% of the global cocaine market, supplying the United States, Europe, and even parts of Asia. He became so wealthy that Forbes magazine included him in its list of the world’s richest men—ranking as high as seventh richest in 1989, with an estimated fortune of $30 billion (equivalent to more than $70 billion today).
But Escobar was not content with just money. He craved something more powerful: legitimacy and political power.
Political Ambitions
Escobar understood that raw money could buy almost anything, but he wanted to be remembered as more than a criminal. He dreamed of becoming a politician, even president of Colombia. His early acts of philanthropy—building housing projects, soccer fields, clinics, and schools in Medellín’s poorest neighborhoods—were part of this plan.
To the poor of Medellín, Escobar became “El Patrón del Pueblo” (The Boss of the People). They saw him as a man who cared for them when the government ignored their needs. His generosity was strategic: by helping the poor, he built loyalty and protection. Entire neighborhoods owed him their homes, jobs, and security. If the police entered those areas looking for Escobar, the locals would warn him or even fight to protect him.
In 1982, Escobar officially entered politics. He was elected as an alternate member of the Colombian Congress, representing Medellín. His rise shocked the political elite, many of whom despised him but were also too afraid to confront him directly. Escobar dressed in fine suits, gave speeches about social justice, and presented himself as a successful businessman who wanted to help the poor.
But Escobar’s political career was short-lived. His past couldn’t stay hidden forever. Rival politicians, most notably Rodrigo Lara Bonilla, the Minister of Justice, began exposing Escobar’s ties to the drug trade. Lara Bonilla publicly denounced Escobar in Congress, accusing him of being nothing more than a narcotraficante (drug trafficker).
Humiliated, Escobar resigned from Congress in 1984. But he didn’t forget this insult. Later that year, Lara Bonilla was assassinated in Bogotá—gunned down by motorcycle hitmen. Few doubted that Escobar had ordered the killing. It was a turning point. Escobar had crossed from being a shady businessman with political ambitions into a declared enemy of the Colombian state.
Escobar’s Empire: Wealth Beyond Imagination
Even after leaving politics, Escobar’s empire only grew stronger. His Hacienda Nápoles, a vast estate about 100 kilometers east of Medellín, became a symbol of his power and extravagance. The ranch sprawled over 7,000 acres and featured a private zoo with elephants, giraffes, zebras, ostriches, hippos, and exotic birds imported from Africa. It also had an airstrip, a bullfighting ring, artificial lakes, and a collection of vintage cars and motorcycles.
Escobar’s wealth was so immense that his cartel had problems storing it. He reportedly spent $2,500 a month just on rubber bands to bundle stacks of cash. Much of the money was hidden in warehouses and buried in fields across Colombia. His brother, Roberto Escobar, once admitted that 10% of their fortune was lost to rats eating the money or water damage. Yet even with these losses, the fortune was beyond comprehension.
At the height of his power, Escobar’s cartel smuggled about 70–80 tons of cocaine per month into the United States. Nearly every ounce of cocaine consumed in Miami, New York, and Los Angeles could be traced back to Medellín.
Brutality and Terror
Escobar’s wealth allowed him to build a private army of thousands. He recruited young men from Medellín’s poorest neighborhoods, paying them handsomely to kill police officers, rivals, judges, journalists, and politicians. His philosophy of “plata o plomo” (silver or lead) spread terror across Colombia: take the bribe or face a bullet.
Escobar pioneered narco-terrorism. Unlike traditional criminals who avoided attention, Escobar used spectacular violence to send messages. He bombed airplanes, assassinated presidential candidates, and planted car bombs in cities. His most infamous act was the bombing of Avianca Flight 203 in 1989, which killed 110 people, including innocent civilians. Escobar had ordered the bombing in an attempt to assassinate presidential candidate César Gaviria, who later became president. Gaviria survived only because he changed his travel plans.
Another major act of terror was the bombing of Colombia’s DAS intelligence agency headquarters in Bogotá in 1989, which killed over 50 people and injured hundreds. Escobar wanted to demonstrate that the government could not protect itself, let alone its people.
By the late 1980s, Escobar had essentially declared war on the Colombian state. He ordered the killings of over 600 police officers in Medellín alone, offering bounties of up to $2,000 for each officer murdered. Journalists who dared to write against him were assassinated, and judges handling drug cases were systematically targeted.
International Reach
Escobar’s empire wasn’t limited to Colombia. His cartel had vast distribution networks in the United States, with Miami becoming the main hub for cocaine smuggling. Entire neighborhoods in Florida were transformed by the influx of drug money. The “Cocaine Cowboys” era of Miami in the 1980s was fueled directly by Escobar’s operations.
In addition to the U.S., Escobar expanded into Europe, particularly Spain, where demand for cocaine was exploding. His cartel even developed contacts in Asia and the Middle East. At its peak, the Medellín Cartel was supplying 90% of the world’s cocaine.
The U.S. government, alarmed by the crisis of cocaine addiction and the violence associated with it, began pressuring Colombia to act. This led to one of Escobar’s greatest fears: extradition.
The Extradition Problem
The Colombian and U.S. governments signed an extradition treaty, allowing Colombian traffickers to be tried in American courts. For Escobar, extradition was worse than death. He believed that if he were ever sent to the United States, he would lose his power, his wealth, and his control.
To prevent extradition, Escobar unleashed even greater violence. His assassins targeted anyone who supported the treaty: politicians, judges, journalists, and police officers. In 1984, he ordered the killing of Rodrigo Lara Bonilla, the Minister of Justice, partly because Lara was a strong supporter of extradition. In 1989, he orchestrated the assassination of Luis Carlos Galán, the leading presidential candidate and a fierce anti-drug crusader.
Escobar’s message was clear: anyone who supported extradition would die. Many Colombian officials lived in fear, while others accepted his bribes. He even funded a propaganda campaign called “Los Extraditables”, a group of drug traffickers who publicly declared: “We prefer a tomb in Colombia to a cell in the United States.”
Escobar at His Peak
By the late 1980s, Pablo Escobar was at the height of his power. He was simultaneously the richest man in Colombia, the most feared terrorist, and a hero to many of the poor. His image was contradictory: in the slums, he was loved for his generosity, while in government and international circles, he was seen as the embodiment of evil.
Escobar built entire neighborhoods for the poor, such as Barrio Pablo Escobar, where thousands of families lived in houses he had financed. He sponsored soccer tournaments, gave scholarships, and distributed money freely. He understood that public image was a weapon just as powerful as violence.
At the same time, Colombia was descending into chaos. The Medellín Cartel controlled not just the drug trade, but large parts of society through intimidation and corruption. The government, under enormous pressure from the United States, was determined to bring Escobar down, but Escobar was always one step ahead—protected by his network of loyalists, informants, and assassins.
To be Continued 🔥
By Around The World ( Lovematter360🔥)
0 Comments