Pablo Emilio Escobar. Biography. 50 photos
Twenty-two years ago, in Colombia, the authorities, together with national special agents, neutralized the king of the drug business, Pablo Escobar.
Pablo Emilio Escobar became famous in the criminal world as an influential authority, went down in history as the most unprincipled and merciless criminal of that period. Cold-bloodedly cracking down on representatives of the law (prosecutors, journalists), destroying police departments, he arbitrarily tormented and tortured his victims.
Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was born on December 1, 1949. In the town of Rionegro, in the family of an ordinary farm owner. He was the 3rd child of Hasus Dari Escobar and Hemilda Gaviria. The boy's mother was a simple school teacher.
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Escobar's "feats" in the 20th century covered almost all the territorial possessions of Colombia, and the whole world.
Despite all the cruelty and composure, for most Colombians, Pablo was a kind of Robin Hood. He became the epitome of Latin American dreams. Hispanics who fought him consider him a "great man"
All free hours, young Pablo was on the streets of the city. The poor quarters of Melellín were a natural hotbed of crime and vice.
Already at that time, young Escobar began to steal tombstones from the local cemetery. Erasing epitaphs from monuments, he sold them to speculators. The track record of acts replenished, drug trafficking, theft and fake lotteries
In the future, Pablo organized a gang that steals prestigious and expensive cars. For the purpose of reselling them for parts.
By his 21st birthday, Pablo already had many associates. The deeds of the criminal group became more and more sophisticated, boundless and cruel. Car theft changed to kidnapping (kidnapping for ransom).
History has preserved information that Pablo Escobar and his people kidnapped Diego Echevario in 1971, who at that time was a major industrialist from Colombia. After much torture and attempts to squeeze money out of the rich man, he was simply killed.
At the same time, Pablo Escobar did not hide his involvement in this in any way. high-profile case and even declared it openly. Thus, he earned even more prestige among the poor population of Medellin, who even arranged a holiday in honor of this event. And Pablo Escobar received the respectful nickname "El Doctor". So another Robin Hood was born.
With the funds stolen from the rich, Pablo Emilio built houses for the poor, thereby winning their gratitude.
Pablo performed all these “feats” at the age of 21. A year later, Medellin no longer knew a cooler and more famous crime boss than Pablo Escobar. Escobar's criminal business expanded, as did the size of his gang. He was no longer satisfied only with kidnapping people and extorting money from them. From now on, Escobar began to be interested in drugs and devoted himself to the cocaine trade until the end of his life.
His activity in the cocaine trade began with buying the drug from manufacturers and reselling it to smugglers. And they were already throwing powder into America. Possessing determination and willingness to take any measures to achieve his goals, Pablo Escobar did not leave competitors. Any profitable criminal business did not go unnoticed by Escobar. Pablo has no competitors left. He became the sole owner of all cocaine in the country. And no one dared to stand in his way.
All this allowed Pablo to organize the delivery of cocaine to the United States himself, and his assistant Carlos Leider equipped a point in the Bahamas, which was a transshipment point for all drug trafficking.
The case was well organized. Absolutely everything related to cocaine was under control. Everyone who wanted to engage in drug trafficking, one way or another, was forced to unfasten the cocaine king 35% of the cost of the exported drug lot. And Pablo, in turn, guaranteed the delivery of the powder safe and sound. Under Pablo Escobar, the Colombian jungle was a kind of hideout for cocaine laboratories.
At crime bosses different countries the old formation has a rule "Do not have a family." The reason is that the family, as it were, fetters and makes vulnerable. This is exactly what happened to Escobaro when he was 27 years old. Having succumbed to the charm, or whatever, of his girlfriend Maria Victoria Eneo Viejo, Pablo married her. Most likely this happened due to Maria's pregnancy, since a month after the wedding she gave birth to a son, who was named Juan Pablo. Let's say right away that after 3 years, Pablo Escobar also had a daughter. They named her Manuella. All this made the gangster very vulnerable.
However, he was still very strong. And in 1977, Pablo teams up with three major drug dealers. A kind of organization is being created, later called the Medellin Cocaine Cartel.
Escobar, Brothers Ochoa Vazquez Jorge Luis (right with hat), Juan David and Fabio
By the summer of 1977, there was no one more powerful than Pablo left in Colombia. His cartel had everything at its disposal: money, planes to transport cocaine to the states, chemical laboratories for the production of the drug. They even had submarines with which they transported cocaine. The cartel has spread its nets all over the world. For 17 years, Escobar's cocaine could be bought in Colombia, Peru, USA, Europe, Peru, Bolivia, Honduras and Canada.
If we take into account that during these years there was no cocaine in the USSR, and if there was, then in a very modest amount, it turns out that only Pablo Escobar dealt with all the cocaine in the world. Escobar bought everyone. Judges, policemen, politicians. They all received money from the cocaine king. Those who could not be bought were intimidated, killed, blackmailed. But the organization continued to function without interruption. Money flowed like a river. rock stars and Hollywood actors thrown out of windows, shot, hanged themselves. And Forbs magazine for 1989 calculated that Pakblo Escobar's net worth was $47,000,000,000.
But Pablo didn't sit on his money. Part of the funds he still spent on arranging life for the poor population of Medellin. It was thanks to him that stadiums were built in the city, free houses(quarters of Pablo Escobar), as well as new roads. It is not known what prompted him to such generous gestures. Maybe it was a desire to make amends for their sins? Vryatli. Pablo grew up in poor family. Most likely it was a kind of revenge on the rich and the desire to turn over all the foundations of that time. This pushed him to war with the entire rich world.
The wealth of Pablo Escobar
Let's take a closer look at the personal wealth of the cocaine king. Maybe this is of interest to someone. Pablo Escobar owned 500,000 hectares of land and 34 estates. 40 rare cars. We have already talked about submarines and aircraft above.
main estate
Escobar's favorite estate had 20 lakes. 6 pools were not enough for him. And in the "backyard" a small airport comfortably settled down. There was also a zoo in the estate, in which animals from all over the world were brought. This zoo still exists today. You can visit it for a small fee of 20,000 pesos.
Entrance to the zoo
Maybe gossips and they say, but there is a legend that the far corners of the estate witnessed the owner's sexual orgies, which were attended by all his friends and young Colombian girls. By the way, the girls lived there and formed a kind of harem. For his harem, Pablo ordered the best hairdressers and cosmetologists in Europe and Italy. Not life but a fairy tale. All you have to do is keep killing someone.
Pablo Escobar in politics
As you probably already know from the movies, all criminals sooner or later want to legalize their wealth and "tie up with the past." So it was with the Escobars. In 1982, he puts forward his candidacy for elections and at the age of 32 he becomes a deputy congressman of the Colombian Congress. But that's too small for a man like Pablo. His goal is to become President of Colombia. Moreover, the support of the poor population is provided to him.
Who knows, maybe this was the first step that Pablo took in the wrong place ... Maybe he still sold his cocaine all over the world if he hadn’t gotten into politics.
Rodrigo Lara Bonia was the first to stand on Pablo's path to the presidency. The then Minister of Justice. He launched a campaign against Pablo, relying on the fact that he was putting dirty cocaine money into his election campaign. This has brought results. The cocaine king was expelled from the Colombian Congress. This put a heavy cross on his political career. We all already understand what Pablo Escobar did in connection with this. It was 1984.
On April 30, the Mercedes in which the Minister of Justice was traveling was shot point-blank. The Minister could not be saved. Never before had an official of this stature been killed in Colombia.
Brief war in Colombia
As a result of Escobar's assassination of the prime minister, the drug lord became interested in the United States. The initiator of the war on drugs was the Administration of the President of the United States of America. With the consent of then President Ronald Reagan, the war on drugs was not limited to the United States. Drug dealers began to drive around the world. For the sake of capturing Pablo Escobar, an agreement was concluded with Colombia, which pledged to extradite all drug dealers to US justice. As a result, this served as a pretext for a small war.
Since Pablo did not want to simply surrender to justice, and his influence was very large, a group of people who were ready to stand for him to death led fighting against Colombian policemen and officials.
In an effort to change the laws of the country and avoid extradition to the United States, Pablo Escobar and other major drug dealers armed their army with machine guns, portable rocket launchers, and grenades. As a result of their actions, the Palace of Justice in the capital of the country, Bogota, was captured and all documents that in one way or another related to the extradition of criminals were destroyed.
In response, the state attracted a significant part of the army units that surrounded the Palace. For 27 hours, during which the siege and storming of the palace lasted, 97 people died, including 11 judges. The assault was carried out using special forces groups, helicopters and tanks.
Something that Pablo Escobar still achieved. The Supreme Court was forced to cancel the extradition of drug lords to America. But this did little to help Pablo, as the decision of the supreme court was vetoed by the president of Colombia. I had to keep hiding.
The war is gaining momentum
In 1987, Pablo Escobar had to part with his closest assistant, Carlos Leider. Despite everything, he was extradited to the United States.
Life has ceased to be so comfortable and stable. In 1989, realizing that justice is no longer so easy to buy, Pablo undertakes another deal with him. His main condition is not to extradite him to the United States. But the Colombian government refuses and the war continues.
On August 16 of the same year, Judge Carlos Valencia dies, and a day later, Police Colonel Waldemar Franklin Conter is killed. Events begin to unfold very rapidly. On August 18, Luis Carlos Galán, who was a well-known politician in Colombia, follows the judge of the Supreme Court of Colombia and the police colonel. They remove him for promising to rid Colombia of drug dealers if he becomes president.
The presidential election was approaching. The wave of murders was gaining momentum. In the capital of Bogota, explosions thundered almost every day. Only in two weeks they counted 7. They claimed the lives of 37 people. Along the way, another 400 were wounded. They cut down the forest - chips fly.
The culmination of this whole epic was the explosion of a Boeing 727. The plane was blown up on November 27, 1989. There were 107 people on board, including the crew. But these people died in vain, since Cesar Gaviria Trujillo, the future president of Colombia, who was going to fly this flight, canceled the flight.
It could not be tolerated any longer, and the drug dealers were taken seriously. The government organized raids throughout the country. The hunt was on all drug dealers. These raids helped destroy a large part of the drug laboratories. All the cocaine plantations that could be found were burned. But Pablo nevertheless made 2 attempts to kill Miguel Mas Marquez, who was the chief of the Colombian police and part-time general. December 6, 1989, as a result of the second attempt on his life, 62 people were killed. About a hundred were injured. By the new year 1990, Pablo could be proud of the status of the most wanted drug trafficker in the United States.
The government of Colombia created a special "Special Search Group", the main purpose of which was to search for and capture Pablo Escobar. This group included the most experienced specialists from the best police units, professionals from the military, special agents and employees of the prosecutor's office. The high professionalism and well-coordinated activities of all members of this organization, led by Colonel Martinez, made it possible to capture the closest associates of Pablo Escobar during a successful operation.
In the late 80s, during a police raid, a ranch was surrounded, where, according to agents at that time, there were drug cartel bosses Gilberto Rendon and Jose Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha. During the shootout, the first of them and Rodriguez's son Freddy were shot dead, and his father, Rodriguez Gacha, committed suicide by shooting himself.
Immediately after this unprecedented action, Escobar's people organized the kidnapping of several of the richest and most influential people Colombia. The drug lord assumed that through influential relatives of the hostages it would be possible to influence officials in the government in order to cancel the agreement regarding the extradition of criminals. And this plan was a success of the mafiosi with brilliance, the officials made concessions and the extradition of the cocaine king was canceled.
In the summer of 1991, when Escobar no longer feared extradition to the United States of America, he agreed to plead guilty to some minor scams, on the condition that he not be charged with his other more serious crimes. Conclusion Escobar served in a prison called "La Catedral", which was built at his expense.
During his so-called "time out", Escobar did not cease to be the main head of the cocaine business, which brought in billions of dollars in income. There was a case when the drug lord found out that his partners in the cocaine business dared to pocket part of the proceeds while the boss was absent for a so-called "good reason". Escobar could not forgive this, it was ordered to deliver the violators to his residence, namely to the La Catedral prison. There, the guilty companions were subjected to severe torture, Escobar himself personally drilled into his victims' kneecaps and pulled out nails, then an order was received to kill negligent partners and get rid of the corpses. As you know, Escobar personally carried out one murder of a person himself.
Such an act was a clear overkill; in the middle of the summer of 1992, Colombian President Cesar Gaviria signed a decree transferring Escobar to a regular prison. However, Escobar was aware of the government's plans in advance and escaped. In the photo - an image of the prison "La Catedral".
And now the drug lord was on the other side of the bars, but enemies lurked around and there were less and less shelters where you could feel safe. The American and Colombian governments were determined to put an end to one of the biggest bosses of the Colombian mafia and his famous Medellin cocaine cartel forever. The decision was made to pursue Escobar to the end and, if possible, not to take him alive when captured.
In order to destroy the Medellin cocaine cartel in Colombia, a special organization "Los Pepes" functioned, the name of which consisted of initial letters the phrase "Perseguidos por Pablo Escobar", which means "Pursued by Pablo Escobar". The members of this organization were residents of Colombia, whose loved ones were killed by Escobar's people. In a short period of time, as a result of the activities of this organization, Escobar's criminal empire suffered significant losses, many of Escobar's people were killed by members of the organization, the drug lord's family was persecuted and attacked, his estates were burned as a result of arson.
In the photo, the prison "La Catedral"
In October 2009, Escobar's son Sebastian Marrokamn told a story that somehow hiding from the police, Escobar and his children ended up high in the mountains, they were caught by a very cold night. Then, in order to warm his children at least a little and cook food on a fire, the famous cocaine king threw about two million paper dollars into the fire. In the photo - an image of Pablo Escobar with his daughter Manuella.
In October 1993, Escobar's cocaine business began to fall apart. However, this was not at all the most worried about the drug lord, who was constantly thinking about his loved ones, whom he had not seen for about a year.
In December 1993, when Escobar reached the age of 44, he broke down and made one single call to his family. He was well aware that he was being followed, which is why the call was very short so that he did not have time to get into the field of view of his pursuers. The photo shows an image of Escobar with his family.
So he contacted his family on December 2nd and stayed in touch with his son Juan for about 5 minutes. Special services agents who hunted for a long time on Escobar, of course, they expected that someday the drug lord would contact his loved ones. After this call, Escobar's stay in the Medellin quarter of Los Olibos was established. The building where he was located was surrounded by police within minutes.
The door was smashed in, and special forces rushed inside the building, where they were met with heavy fire from firearms, which was led by Escobar's personal bodyguard El Limon. Soon he was wounded, and he could no longer continue the fight, then the drug lord himself appeared near the window instead of him. Shooting on the move, Escobar climbed onto the roof and tried to escape from the chase, but he was “taken off” from the roof by a sniper, whose bullet hit him exactly in the head, Escobar died immediately.
Now, the participants of the raid began to climb onto the roof to verify the death of the drug lord and began to photograph his corpse in order to capture this valuable “trophy”. Later, these photographs were seen by the whole world. This is how the “Robin Hood of Colombia” left this mortal world, who was sentenced to death and carried out by the simple people, whom he allegedly cared for throughout his career as a cocaine king.
Thousands of Colombians filled the Medellin streets on December 3, 1993 to see the famous drug lord, some to say goodbye and mourn, and some to gloat. At the funeral of the odious leader of the cocaine cartel, about 20 thousand Colombian citizens came.
At the moment when the coffin with the body of Escobar began to be carried through the streets of Medellin for further burial, such unrest began in the crowd that they can be safely called Khodynka in Colombian. The coffin-bearing people of the late drug lord were simply swept away and pushed aside. The lid of the coffin was torn off and a thousand human hands reached out to the body of the already deceased cocaine king in order to touch the legend that once lived at least once.
According to the evil irony of people's rumors, which came up with the version that Escobar kept his cash and precious items within the walls of the estate, the villa of the famous cocaine billionaire suffered a sad fate. After his death, the godfather's estate was dismantled brick by brick by Colombian peasants and taken away in an unknown direction.
The famous prison "La Catedral" is also destroyed at the present time, Escobar's vast estates are overgrown with weeds, once luxurious cars are completely rusted. The widow of a drug lord and his heirs live in Argentina, his brother almost lost his sight as a result of a bomb that exploded, which was sent to him in prison by letter.
But even today, if you ask people's opinion about Pablo Escobar on the streets of Medellin in the heart of the slums, believe me, you will not hear anything bad about him.
Images of Pablo Escobar are sold on the Colombian streets along with portraits of Che Guevara. In some parts of Colombia, he is revered as a saint, pilgrimages are made to his grave. IN tourism business In Colombian Medellin, the legend of the “cocaine king” is widely popular, the museum of which is visited by tens of thousands of tourists every year.
For three years, British photographer James Mollison has been documenting the legacy of cocaine king Pablo Escobar, who left thousands of victims and admirers in Colombia.
Most Colombians consider Pablo Escobar a criminal who plunged the country into chaos for a whole decade, but in the poor neighborhoods of his native Medellin, he is called Robin Hood. The drug lord donated millions of dollars earned from the supply of cocaine in the United States to social housing, churches and football fields.
Many Colombians remember the free tours at the zoo at Escobar's Hacienda Napoles estate, which kept elephants, giraffes, kangaroos, rhinos, hippos and exotic birds. The area rebuilt in Medellin with the money of the cocaine king is still called the Pablo Escobar quarter: the walls of the houses here are decorated with portraits of the drug lord and the inscriptions “Saint Pablo”, and thousands of people visit his grave, despite the struggle of the authorities with the cult of the former “owner” of the city.
1. In the image of the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa (left). wax figure from the collection of the Police Museum (right)
2. Pablo on the day of the first communion, 1956
drug business
Escobar, the son of a farmer and a school teacher, began his criminal career by stealing tombstones from the Medellin cemetery. At the age of twenty, he was already at the head of a gang that traded in car thefts. When cocaine began to replace marijuana in the global market in the 1970s, Escobar took up drugs: he started as a supplier, reselling Colombian cocaine to dealers in the United States, but soon controlled the entire chain. He opened the first laboratory in Medellin, and then a whole network of factories appeared in tropical forests throughout the country.
In 1977, Escobar founded the Medellin cocaine cartel, and a year later, his partner Carlos Leder bought one of the Bahamas - passenger flights from Colombia landed there, loaded with cocaine, which was then transported by private jet to Georgia and Florida. Two submarines were also used for smuggling.
3. The structure of the Medellin cartel, 1989
Behind a short time the cartel managed to capture about 80% of the cocaine market in the United States and practically monopolized drug trafficking to Mexico, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Spain. In its heyday, Escobar's cartel earned about $60 million a day, and Forbes magazine estimated the drug lord's personal fortune at three billion dollars in 1989.
4. Arrested cargo of drugs (left). Jungle airstrip (right)
5. Fake numbers and masks of the kidnappers (left). Florida homes bought by Escobar in 1981 (right)
6. Cartel money seized during a search, 1989
Policy
In 1982, Escobar was elected as a substitute member of the Congress of Colombia, received parliamentary immunity and represented the country at the inauguration ceremony of Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez. But the very next year, Minister of Justice Rodrigo Lara Bonia publicly accused Escobar of drug trafficking and organizing criminal group: based on the data he collected, the cocaine king was expelled from Congress in January 1984. A few months later, the ministerial Mercedes was shot at point-blank range with a machine gun, Lara Bonia died on the spot.
In the same year, the Colombian authorities ratified an agreement with the United States on the extradition of drug cartel leaders. In response, the leaders of the Medellin cartel created the Los Extraditables group, which began to carry out acts of intimidation: attacks on officials, policemen and politicians.
7. Wall in one of the houses of the Escobar quarter (left). Meeting with voters, 1982 (right)
8. Debate in Congress after the accusation of Escobar in drug trafficking
9. Escobar at the inauguration of the Prime Minister of Spain, Madrid, 1982
Family
In 1976, Escobar married his girlfriend Maria Victoria Eneo Viejo, soon they had a son, Juan Pablo, and three years later, a daughter, Manuela. Since 1979, they have lived in the 3,000-hectare Hacienda Napoles estate bought for $63 million.
It is known that, even being wanted, the drug lord tried to spend all family holidays and birthdays with his children. In 1993, when members of a rival group announced a hunt for relatives of the cocaine king, he hid with his family in the mountains and one evening burned two million dollars in a fire so that Manuela would not freeze.
After Escobar's assassination, his family fled to Mozambique and then to Argentina, where Juan Pablo took the name Sebastian Marroquin. In 2009, he publicly apologized to the children of politicians killed on the order of the leader of the Medellin cartel, and in 2014 he published a book of memoirs and launched a line of T-shirts with the image of his father. Two books about Escobar were also written by his brother Roberto and one each by both sisters.
10. Photos in the house of Escobar's mother Ermilda Gaviria, 2005
11. With wife Maria Victoria, early 1980s
12. In prison cell with wife and daughter, 1992 (left). With sister on her 31st birthday, 1980 (right)
13. Son's birthday, Hacienda Napoles estate, 1989
Terror
After the adoption of the law on the extradition to the United States of the leaders of the drug cartels, Escobar began to sponsor the militant group MAS ("Death to the Kidnappers"). In addition to an impressive arsenal of weapons, she had her own planes with 30 pilots at her disposal, and the militants were trained by American, Israeli and British instructors. In 1989, the leader of the Medellin Cartel offered the Colombian government a deal: he would turn himself in to the police if the extradition law was repealed.
Having been refused, Escobar launched terror: in a year in Bogota, the headquarters of the Administrative Department of Security, the main intelligence service of the country, as well as the editorial offices of the newspapers El Espectador and Vanguardia Liberal, were blown up, a judge of the Supreme Court, a police colonel and presidential candidate Luis Carlos were killed by killers Galan.
14. In addition, the militants blew up a Boeing 727 plane - as a result of the terrorist attack, 110 people were killed.
15. Exploded building of the security department
16. Attack victim
17. The mother of the murdered police officer with photos of her son
18. Miguel Masa, director of the Administrative Department of Security from 1982-1991, survived seven attempts on his life organized by Escobar
Charity
In 1979, Escobar established the Civil Responsibility in Action social assistance system, under the auspices of which medical centers for low-income families were established in Medellin, green spaces were created and sports facilities were built. The most famous charitable program of the drug lord was the project "Medellin without slums", which involved the construction of thousands of houses in the poorest region of Moravia.
The quarter of Pablo Escobar was rebuilt in the city, which is now inhabited by almost 13 thousand inhabitants. The program has been blessed catholic church, and in the slums of Medellin, the drug lord was often seen distributing money to the poor in the company of two priests.
In 1989, the local football club Atlético Nacional, sponsored by Escobar, won the Copa Libertadores, becoming the best team South America.
19. Celebration in honor of the first anniversary of the construction of the Escobar quarter, 1985
20. At the opening football field, 1982
21. Fundraising for the program "Medellin without the slums", 1983
22. Eight hippos from the Escobar Zoo, 2004
23. At the Hacienda Napoles Zoo, 1980s
Death
In 1991, by agreement with the government, Escobar surrendered to justice; shortly before this, Colombia adopted a new constitution prohibiting the extradition of its citizens.
The drug lord was placed in the La Catedral prison built with his own money, which had a bar, a football field and a jacuzzi. It was completely controlled by the Medellin cartel.
26. Left: Escobar's call interception map, 1993, right: Escobar's personal phone
27. La Catedral Prison, 1992
28. Security room
In response, the head of state established a special search group under the leadership of Colonel Hugo Martinez, who coordinated efforts with US intelligence agencies. Los Pepes, a group of his competitors in the drug business, ultra-right guerrillas and victims of terror launched by the Medellin cartel, also joined the search for Escobar. During the year, Los Pepes killed more than 300 members of the cartel and destroyed a significant part of its property.
After fifteen months of searching, on December 2, 1993, a special group intercepted Escobar's call to his son and located him. On the same day, he was shot dead on the roof of a house in Medellin.
29. Soldiers of the special search group with the body of Escobar
Escobar became a real legend, he turned out to be one of the most prominent drug lords in history. How rich was he?
Escobar's income
In the mid-eighties, Escobar's cartel was generating $420 million a week, which adds up to about $22 billion a year.
One of the richest people in the world
80 percent
By the end of the eighties, it supplied 80 percent of the world's cocaine.
He smuggled about 15 tons of cocaine daily into the United States of America.
According to journalist Ioan Grillo, the Medellin cartel transported most drugs right across the coast of Florida. “Between the northern coast of Colombia and the coast of Florida as much as one and a half thousand kilometers, and all this time the one who moved along this route was in full view of everyone. The Colombians and their American partners dumped bundles of goods directly into the sea, and speedboats awaiting delivery immediately set off from the coast to them. Sometimes the goods were dumped right on the coast of Florida, ”said Grillo.
King of America
In other words, four out of five Americans who used cocaine used the product supplied by El Patron.
Every month, the King of Cocaine made a $2.1 billion loss, but it didn't matter.
Escobar's incredible wealth became a problem when he couldn't launder money fast enough. According to Roberto Escobar, the cartel's chief accountant and brother of a well-known drug lord, he began burying huge sums of money in Colombian fields, hiding them in dilapidated warehouses and the walls of cartel members' houses. “Pablo made so much that every year we wrote off ten percent of our earnings because the money was eaten by rats in warehouses, water damaged or lost,” he said. Based on how much Escobar earned, ten percent represents $2.1 billion. Escobar just had more money than he could use, so accidental losses due to rodents or mold were not a problem for him.
Every month he spent two and a half thousand dollars on rubber bands.
While the constant need to hide, as well as losing money, was one problem, the brothers faced another, more basic problem - how to organize banknotes neatly? According to Roberto Escobar, the Medellin cartel spent about $2,500 on rubber bands that were used to form bundles of banknotes.
He once lit a two million dollar fire because his daughter was cold.
In 2009, Pablo Escobar's son Juan Pablo, now known as Sebastian Marroquin, described what life on the run was like with the King of Cocaine. According to Marroquin, the family was living in a mountainside shelter in Medellin when Pablo Manuela's daughter suffered an attack of hypothermia. Escobar decided to burn two million dollar bills to keep his daughter warm.
Local Robin Hood
He was nicknamed "Robin Hood" when he gave money to the poor on the streets, built houses for the homeless, created seventy public football fields, and established a zoo.
He made a deal with the Colombian government and agreed to go to prison, but on the condition that he build it himself. This is how Escobar's luxurious prison "La Catedral" appeared.
In 1991, Pablo Escobar was imprisoned in a prison called "La Catedral", which he himself designed. Under the terms of the agreement concluded with the government of Colombia, Escobar could choose who would be imprisoned with him. He was also free to continue his cartel business and receive visitors. The grounds of La Catedral included a soccer field, a barbecue lawn and a patio, and it was also close to another apartment complex he had built for his family. Also, representatives of the Colombian authorities could not drive closer than five kilometers to the prison.
I PERFECTLY UNDERSTAND that you will print all this.
I HAVE ALWAYS SAID: My wealth has nothing to do with drugs. I humble person I am exporting flowers.
ONE WHO HAS SOMETHING TO SAY is always silent.
I KNOW some people find my lifestyle too over the top, but what else am I supposed to do with my money?
I LOVE BULLS, but most of all I like cars. In my family, they are generally addicted to speed. For example, my brother (Roberto Escobar. - Esquire) is very fond of bicycles, so at some point I decided to give him this bicycle factory (Bicicletas Ositto. - Esquire) in Manizales.
In THIS LIFE, I can find a replacement for any thing, but I will never find a replacement for my wife and children.
EVERY PERSON is a saint for someone.
I have ALWAYS acted like a man of duty, even though some say I am a terrorist. But I believe that a person is obliged to fight for his family and his property, and if for this he needs a weapon, then so be it. Am I supposed to act like a complete fagot and let someone take my dignity and honor from me?
SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE I've gone too far with all these kidnappings and bombings.
CONSIDER ME GOD. Because if it seems to me that someone is destined to die, he dies on the same day.
NOT ALL ERRORS can be forgiven.
EVEN THE GODS make mistakes sometimes.
There can be only one KING.
I DO NOT UNDERSTAND why everyone forgets how much I have done for the poor. Remember, they called me the Robin Hood of all paisas (inhabitants of the northwestern part of Colombia. - Esquire)? Now, I'm very proud of this. Even government people can't deny that I've done more for the poor than all of them put together in all their worthless lives.
I PREFER TO rot in Colombian soil than to live in an American prison.
AMERICA is two hundred million idiots led by one million special agents.
ALL EMPIRES are built on blood and fire.
There is NOTHING more terrible than putting a person with personal problems in power.
EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD HAS A PRICE, and the most important thing is the ability to correctly determine it.
I KNOW VERY WELL how math works, but still, in my world, it's impossible to subtract ten from nine.
MONEY is never clean.
I didn't make my fortune and achieve power to live like a damn rat.
EVERY YEAR it gets harder and harder to foresee the future.
I'm DEADLY TIRED of hiding and fighting.
DON'T TRUST ANYONE, especially yourself.
THERE IS NOTHING MORE VALUABLE than a promise made, and nothing more shameful than breaking it.
THE BEST WAY to deal with enemies is to stop noticing them.
NO CREATURE will ever be able to catch me. From here, from the jungle, I am able to kill them all. Therefore, all they can count on is a miserable loss.
DEATH cannot be fooled, but it can be befriended.
WHEN YOU ARE DEAD, you have nothing to fear.
YOU WILL NEVER KNOW which bullet will kill you. After all, names are not written on bullets.
I AM NOT VERY GOOD TO WRITE LETTER. So tired of this fucking typewriter! She drives me crazy. I should probably call my family - they just got back from Germany. So I say to you: forgive and take care of yourself.
ALL I WANTED was to make Colombia better.
AS long as PARADISE EXISTS, I can count on it.
Quotes from public statements and suicide letter. Based on materials
drug lord Pablo Escobar built while still alive Hacienda Napoles estate as a monument to his greatness. Even 22 years after his death, this gigantic estate is as alive as ever. Several people take care of it. And he also talks about this and about the life of a drug lord crime drama"Narcos" (Narcos, from Spanish - Drug Dealers), which has become so popular lately.
Colombian police pose in front of the entrance to former place residence of the drug lord Pablo Escobar
Speaks Robin Hartmann
We are writing about 1978, when the then 30-year-old man began his incredible career death, and during which thousands of innocent people passed away. And thanks to this, he became one of the richest and most powerful people in the world: Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria at that time, he stood only at the beginning of his career as the future terrible drug lord of all times and peoples. He was also responsible for numerous illegal shops and murders. It was already clear earlier that El Patron de Mal(in German: Mister Evil) or El Capo, as he was already called, is a man in whose hands is all the power that he needs. Namely, when and where he needs it.
Shot from the series "Narco"
Was filmed film about life Pablo Escobar , in particular, the series "Narco" with Wagner Moura V leading role.
Naturally, such a man needed hearth. His flamboyant and unambiguous manner and image represent his dominance and everyone else should understand this: he is the Boss! At Escobaro there was a small private property in Puerto Triunfo. The land plot is surrounded by a fence and its area is almost 3000 hectares. Immediately after purchase "Hacienda Napolis" construction work started there. Then already Escobar owned immense financial condition and could afford to build there: an airplane runway, an unimaginable number of luxury apartments for famous guests, more than 20 artificially created lakes, a heliport, an aircraft hangar, horse quarters, a dino park and his own bullring. Today, all of this is part of a theme park.
This complex also includes "Afrikanisches Museum"
1700 employees and a private zoo
Soon, ten luxury residential buildings were built throughout the complex, in which about 1,700 employees lived. Escobar and his business partners. The cost of Hacienda was at one time estimated at over $60 million. Legend has it that he owns a 1934 Chevrolet Modell on display in which a gangster couple was allegedly shot dead. Bonnie and Clyde. It was also known that Escobar honored them both. In addition, the property Escobar there was an exotic arboretum with rare palm trees and other plants.
Car park Escobar
Former truck fleet Pablo Escobaro started to rust. There is not small amount people who are firmly convinced to this day that the rock group Rolling Stones ( Rolling Stones) once performed at Hocienda Napolis. However, this rumor has never been officially confirmed, but this myth has made a certain contribution.
Car park Escobar
All this megalomania was fully reflected in private hobbies, in which Escobar invested millions of dollars private zoo, filled with giraffes, rhinos, elephants, kangaroos, camels and hippos - just to name a few of the many species that live there.
These flamingos walk proudly through Escobar's private zoo and were soon relocated to the Santafe Zoo in the city. Medellin
Friendly junkie needed ideas El Capo, divulged the son Escobar after the death of his father, who today calls himself Sebastian Marroquin. At the time, there were such visible extravagant norms under the Colombian drug lord. But here's the absurdity: a private zoo Escobar was founded after one purchase in the United States of America (Vereinigten Staaten). “My father negotiated with the owners of the zoo in Dallas, Texas (Dallas, Texas),” says younger son Escobar, "he paid these people two million dollars in cash and a short time later the animals were sent."
Colombian journalist Juan Felipe Lopez Lara explains why under the noses of the city authorities such bandits as Escobar could lead such an extravagant and conspicuous life without fear of being searched by the police:
Drug dealers then ruled the whole country, they ruled both the politics and the economy of the whole of Colombia. It was an era of pure anarchy, they controlled almost everything, from the fate of states to sports.
That's how Escobar even bought out the South American football competition Copa Libertadores (Copa Libertadores) in 1989 to see how his favorite team wins. "Club Atletico Nacional in the city of Medellin" (Club Atletico Nacional de Medellin).
Pablo Escobar opened his zoo to the public
And again a little about Hacienda Napolis, who, during her lifetime, Escobar bequeathed to future generations. As soon as all construction work was completed on the estate and his private zoo was fully equipped and all animals were delivered there, Pablo Escobar did something very unexpected! Rather than fence off his own property and retire there, he opened the whole territory to the public and gave everyone who entered the opportunity to use their dose of courage there and appease their curiosity.
My son, this zoo is here for the public.
this is how the drug lord explained his decision to the children.
As long as I'm alive, no one here will have to pay to enter. I love that poor people can just come and marvel at the wonders of nature
There were crowds of people. Initial time to visit the zoo Escobaro was calculated as 10 minutes per person, but soon due to huge crowds, the waiting time was increased to two hours.
In his book "Pablo Escobaro is my father" Sebastian Marroquin recounts how he saved an injured deer from his fate both times: “He let me take his Sieg Sauer P-226 pistol and helped me aim. However, it took me three tries because I was very scared and my hands were shaking."
The era of the king of drugs did not last so long: Escobar Of course, he felt like the favorites of little people and the crowd, he always acted boldly, boldly and mercilessly. Thousands of people died in this drug war. It seemed that Colombia lost in this fight against the mighty Escobaro. AND USA insisted that the man who filled their entire country with cocaine receive American capital punishment. The truth meanwhile Escobar a deal with the authorities was granted and he was sent behind bars, to a prison that looked like a luxury hotel inside. He built this prison himself. After the escape attempt, it became clear that only the death of state enemy number one would provide a small respite in this drug war and the US would calm down after that.
The shot was fired by an elite group of Colombian and American police officers of the federal drug control service. His Hacienda Napolis estate was confiscated. "The Colombian state and the narcotics service got the whole estate at the time," says the journalist Lopez Lara.
After Escobaro's death , Hacienda is gradually being destroyed
In the next few decades, such an elegant and pompous place collapsed quite badly: the robbers took with them everything they could carry, nature again took all its strength and the entire Hacienda began to slowly collapse before our eyes and become covered with destructive greenery. Surprising changes were taking place with the once brilliant private zoo. Even during his lifetime Escobaro many hippopotamuses, which were brought by him, ran away. He brought them because the smell of their fertilizer covered the smell of drugs.
Pablo Escobar hippos 
Pablo Escobar hippos
Hippos were imported from Pablo Escobaro and are now enjoying freedom: hippos are close to Hacienda Napolis.
“Today we try to find all the animals in the area,” explains Lopez Lara. These are the only living hippos living outside of Africa (Afrika). How large their population is, no one can say for sure. Some say that they number about 70 individuals, while others, on the contrary, argue that we are talking O more animals. It is a fact that hippos are doing well in Colombia and their numbers are steadily increasing. Here them sex life much more active than their counterparts in Africa.
According to the BBC company (BBC), animals in this area suffer greatly: they scare the fish, devour the entire crop and occasionally kill livestock. Probably, Pablo Escobaro this place was a great pleasure, and so now it says that Colombia simply did not give a damn about the soul of Pablo already 20 years after his death.
Today Hacienda Napolis it is again a zoo and a tourist theme park with hotels and attractions. Travel portal TripAdvisor (Tripadvisor) awarded him a certificate of quality in 2014 thanks not only to animals, but also to the fact that you can plunge into the world of a person who, thanks to his career as a criminal, got into Forbes list(Forbes) as one of the richest people in the world.
Today estate Escobaro it is an art museum showing the life stages of a drug lord.
At the entrance, at the gate, you can see a small plane that brought the first contraband shipment of cocaine into the United States. Inside the complex, visitors can walk through the water park and enjoy the dino park, which Escobaro built for his son. And of course, you can learn a lot about yourself Escobaro, about the man whose death all Colombia needed so much.
Life Pablo Escobaro has been filmed many times, most recently in the TV series Narcos with a Brazilian actor Wagner Moura starring. On this moment You can watch this series on Netflix.
