Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was a Colombian drug lord.
Place of Birth, Education
He was born on December 1, 1949, in Rionegro, Colombia. He was the third child of Jesús Darío Escobar, a farmer, and Hemilda Gaviria, a schoolteacher.
He spent most of his childhood and youth in Medellín.
For a while, Escobar studied at the Autonomous University of Medellín, but not for long.
Career
In his youth, Escobar initially engaged in petty crimes: he stole gravestones from cemeteries and sold them to dealers, sold cigarettes and marijuana, and forged lottery tickets. Eventually, he formed a small gang that stole luxury cars and stripped them for parts. Later, he turned to racketeering.
In 1971, his men kidnapped businessman Diego Echevarría. The kidnappers demanded a ransom but did not receive any money. After torturing the hostage, they killed him and dumped his body. Escobar, for his part, openly admitted his involvement in the crime. However, in the poor neighborhoods of Medellín , the businessman’s death was met with approval, and local residents began calling Escobar “El Doctor.”
During that period, his organization was growing rapidly. In the 1970s, he decided to get into the drug trade, as demand for cocaine was skyrocketing in the United States (U.S.). At first, his people acted as middlemen—they bought cocaine from producers and passed it on to dealers who transported the drugs to the U.S.
Escobar’s drug empire was rapidly expanding throughout South America. In particular, he began personally organizing the smuggling of cocaine into the United States. His associate Carlos Leder was in charge of drug shipments and set up a transshipment hub in the Bahamas. It included a dock, fueling stations, and a hotel for members of the operation.
In fact, no drug trafficker could ship cocaine out of Colombia without Escobar’s permission. In particular, he imposed a 35% levy on every shipment of drugs and controlled their delivery. Cocaine production labs were set up in the jungle and operated under his control.
The Formation of the Cartel
In the summer of 1977, Escobar, along with three other major drug traffickers, founded the Medellín Cartel. The organization quickly became one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the world. To transport cocaine, the cartel had its own supply network, airplanes, and even submarines.
Escobar was the leader of the cartel. He bribed police officers, judges, and politicians. If bribes didn’t work, he resorted to blackmail or violence.
By 1979, the Medellín Cartel controlled more than 80% of the U.S. cocaine market. At age 30, Escobar was among the richest people in the world.
To win the support of local residents, he funded construction projects in Medellín: he built roads, stadiums, and free housing for the poor. Locals referred to these areas as the “Pablo Escobar neighborhoods.”
Political Activities
In the early 1980s, Escobar decided to legitimize his influence through politics. In 1982, he ran for office and, at the age of 32, became a deputy congressman in the Colombian Congress.
Escobar dreamed of becoming president, but his popularity was largely limited to Medellín.
Soon after, Justice Minister Rodrigo Lara Bonía launched a campaign against the use of drug cartel money in politics. As a result, in January 1984, Escobar was expelled from Congress, and his political career effectively came to an end.
A few months later, on April 30, 1984, Bonía was assassinated in Bogotá. An unidentified man on a motorcycle opened fire on the minister’s car at a traffic light. This was the first assassination of such a high-ranking official in Colombia.
After the launch of a large-scale crackdown on drug cartels in Colombia, raids were carried out across the country. During these raids, drug laboratories and coca plantations were destroyed, and dozens of cartel members were arrested.
In response, Escobar organized two assassination attempts on General Miguel Masu Márquez, the head of the Colombian secret police . During the second attempt, on December 6, 1989, a bomb explosion killed 62 people and injured about 100 others.
Also, a few weeks earlier, on November 27, 1989, the drug lord’s men planted explosives on an Avianca Boeing 727 passenger plane. Five minutes after takeoff, a massive explosion occurred, causing the plane to break apart in midair and crash into the hills. All 107 people on board were killed. In addition, debris from the plane killed three more people on the ground.
In the early 1990s, Escobar topped the U.S. list of most-wanted drug traffickers, and a special task force was constantly on the hunt for him.
In June 1991, the drug lord voluntarily surrendered to Colombian authorities to avoid extradition to the United States.
Prosecution and Arrest
After escaping from prison, Escobar’s situation deteriorated sharply. Many of his allies abandoned him, and his actual power began to wane, although his financial resources remained substantial. Escobar attempted to renew agreements with the authorities, but Colombian President César Gaviria, along with the U.S. government, refused to negotiate. It was decided to continue the manhunt and, if possible, eliminate the drug lord during his arrest.
On January 30, 1993, Escobar’s men planted a bomb in a car near a bookstore on a busy street in Bogotá. The explosion occurred while dozens of people were there, including parents with children. The terrorist attack killed 21 people and left more than 70 seriously injured.
It wasn’t just government forces that opposed the Medellín Cartel. Its main rival was the Cali Cartel. In addition, an organization called “Los Pepes” emerged —a group of people whose relatives had been harmed or killed as a result of Escobar’s actions. The latter planted bombs near the drug lord’s house, and the estate that belonged to his mother was completely destroyed by fire.
Eventually, “Los Pepes” began targeting anyone with ties to Escobar or his drug empire. In a short time, they dealt a serious blow to the Medellín Cartel: they killed many people in his inner circle, burned down estates, and began putting pressure on his family.
Because of this, Escobar began to worry about the safety of his loved ones. He planned to take his family to Germany, but following negotiations between the governments of Colombia, the United States, and Germany, they were denied entry. The plane carrying his family was turned back to Colombia, where they were put up in a hotel.
The End of His Career and His Death
In the fall of 1993, the Medellín Cartel began to fall apart. At that time, Escobar was most concerned about his family—he hadn’t seen his wife and children for over a year.
On December 1, he turned 44. Realizing that the intelligence services were tracking him, Escobar tried to keep his phone calls very brief to avoid being traced. The next day, he called his family. The conversation with his son Juan lasted about 5 minutes, and that was enough time for the agents to pinpoint his location—in the Los Olivos neighborhood of Medellín.
Soon, the house where the drug lord was hiding was surrounded by special forces. During the raid, Escobar also opened fire and tried to escape across the roof. A sniper wounded him in the leg, then fired additional shots at his back and head.
On December 2, 1993, Escobar was killed.
Marital Status
In March 1976, the drug lord married his 15-year-old girlfriend, María Victoria Enao Vallejo. A year later, the couple had a son, Juan, and later a daughter, Manuela.
