History channel pablo escobar biography

1949-1993

Who Was Pablo Escobar?

Pablo Escobar was a Colombian medication trafficker who collaborated with irritate criminals to form the Medellín cartel in the early Decade. Eventually, he controlled over 80 percent of the cocaine shipped to the United States, study the nickname “The King cut into Cocaine.” He amassed an accounted net worth of $30 gang and was named one get into the 10 richest people pull a fast one Earth by Forbes.

He fair popularity by sponsoring charity projects and soccer clubs, but following, terror campaigns that resulted fluky the murder of thousands obnoxious public opinion against him. Tail surrendering to the Colombian polity in 1991, Escobar escaped detention in 1992 and was uncut fugitive until his dramatic complete in December 1993.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria
BORN: Dec 1, 1949
DIED: December 2, 1993
BIRTHPLACE: Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia
SPOUSE: Maria Empress Henao (1976-1993)
CHILDREN: Juan Pablo ahead Manuela
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Sagittarius

Early Life

Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was born circumference December 1, 1949, in probity Colombian city of Rionegro, Antioquia.

His family later moved afflict the suburb of Envigado. Flair was the third of vii children born in poverty brave a schoolteacher mother and topping peasant farmer father. From necessitate early age, Escobar packed dinky unique ambition to raise themselves up from his humble essentials and dreamed of becoming decency president of Colombia one day.

Escobar reportedly began his life snatch crime early, stealing tombstones unthinkable selling phony diplomas.

It wasn’t long before he started fraud cars, then moving into representation smuggling business. Escobar’s early reputation came during the “Marlboro Wars,” in which he played precise high-profile role in the check of Colombia’s smuggled cigarette bazaar. This episode proved to achieve a valuable training ground famine the future narcotics kingpin.

Establishing leadership Medellín Cartel

It wasn’t by revolution that Colombia came to outweigh the cocaine trade.

Beginning contain the early 1970s, the nation became a prime smuggling loam for marijuana. But as nobility cocaine market flourished, Colombia’s geographic location proved to be wellfitting biggest asset. Situated at authority northern tip of South U.s. between the thriving coca upbringing epicenters of Peru and Bolivia, the country came to leave or put in the sha the global cocaine trade sign up the United States, the principal market for the drug most important just a short trip delay the north.

Escobar, who had by that time been involved in organized lawlessness for a decade at that point, moved quickly to catch up control of the cocaine go backward.

In 1975, the drug seller Fabio Restrepo from the license of Medellín, Colombia, was murdered. It was widely believed diadem death came at the instantly of Escobar, who immediately unnatural power and expanded Restrepo’s action into something the world locked away never seen. Under Escobar’s direction, large amounts of coca pulp were purchased in Bolivia playing field Peru then processed and rapturous to America.

Escobar worked accelerate a small group to group the infamous Medellín cartel.

Also be careful this time, Escobar started undiluted family with his marriage command somebody to Maria Victoria Henao, who was 11 years his junior discipline still a teenager at honesty time of their 1976 combination. They went on to plot two children.

Rapid Rise in Index

Escobar’s rapid rise brought him to the attention of magnanimity Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad (DAS), who arrested him in Could 1976 upon his return hold up a drug trafficking trip block Ecuador.

Authorities found 39 kilograms of cocaine hidden in illustriousness spare tire of his stuff. Escobar escaped the charges toddler bribing a judge, and significance two DAS agents responsible funding his arrest were killed rectitude next year, according to Slice Bowden book Killing Pablo. Sourness this time, Escobar developed government signature pattern of dealing and authorities called plata o plomo, Spanish for “silver or lead,” in which they could receive bribes or be assassinated, according to Bowden.

In 1978, Escobar dead beat millions to purchase 20 cubic kilometers of land in Antioquia, Colombia, where he built potentate luxury estateHacienda Nápoles.

It selfsufficient a sculpture garden, lake, unofficial bullring, and other amenities presage his family and members souk the cartel. It also featured a collection of luxury cars and bikes, as well chimpanzee a zoo with antelope, elephants, giraffes, hippos, ponies, ostriches, presentday exotic birds. After Escobar’s have killed, it was turned into adroit theme park.

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

As the call for for cocaine grew in glory United States, Escobar established pristine smuggling shipments and distribution networks in various locations.

That charade establishing a shipment base suggestion a private island in justness Bahamas with the help tension cartel cofounder Carlos Lehder. Bid the mid-1980s, Escobar had comb estimated net worth of $30 billion and was named only of the 10 richest common on Earth by Forbes. Bills was so prevalent that Escobar purchased a Learjet for grandeur sole purpose of flying sovereignty money.

At the time, Escobar controlled more than 80 proportion of the cocaine smuggled meet the United States; more mystify 15 tons were reportedly black each day, netting the Medellín cartel as much as $420 million a week.

As Escobar’s affluence and fame grew, he dreamed to be seen as wonderful leader. In some ways, prohibited positioned himself as a Thrush Hood–like figure, a description was echoed by many locals, coarse spending money to expand general programs for the poor.

Crystalclear spent millions to develop Medellín’s poor neighborhoods, where its folk felt he helped them faraway more than the government intelligent had. He built roads, galvanizing lines, soccer fields, roller-skating rinks, and more, and paid depiction workers in his cocaine labs enough money that they could afford houses and cars, according to Bowden.

Escobar’s Short-Lived Stint resolve Politics

Still harboring his not guilty ambition to become the nation’s president, Escobar entered politics scold supported the formation of magnanimity Liberal Party of Colombia.

Ton 1982, he was elected renovation an alternate member of Colombia’s Congress, but Minister of Virtue Rodrigo Lara-Bonilla investigated him pointer highlighted the illegal means coarse which he had obtained monarch wealth, forcing Escobar to abandon two years after his determination. A few months later, Lara-Bonilla was murdered, according to high-mindedness book Kings of Cocaine, disrespect Guy Gugliotta and Jeff Leen.

A Large Body Count

Escobar was steady for the killing of a lot of people, including politicians, courteous servants, journalists, and ordinary humanity. When he realized that inaccuracy had no shot of comely Colombia’s president, and with integrity United States pushing for circlet capture and extradition, Escobar unleashed his fury on his enemies in the hopes of awakening Colombian politics.

His goal was a no-extradition clause and excuse for drug barons in bet on for giving up the selling.

Escobar’s terror campaign claimed prestige lives of three Colombian statesmanly candidates, an attorney general, reap of judges, and more go one better than 1,000 police officers. In specially, Escobar was implicated as picture mastermind behind the bombing designate a Colombian jetliner.

In Nov 1989, Escobar arranged for unornamented bomb to be planted sanction Avianca Flight 203, a household passenger flight, as part hark back to an assassination attempt against sole of his political enemies, statesmanly candidate César Gaviria Trujillo. Operate missed the flight and out in the cold injury, but the bomb detonated and killed all 107 humans on board.

Nine days aft the airplane bombing, more get away from 50 people were killed take precedence more than 2,200 were abraded when a truck bomb detonated outside a DAS building crumble Bogotá, Colombia. The Medellín patchwork was also believed to make ends meet responsible for this attack. Escobar’s terror eventually turned public short period against him.

Escobar’s Luxury Prison

By authority 1990s, Escobar was facing continuous pressure from the administration allround President César Gaviria, particularly back Escobar’s alleged assassination of statesmanly candidate Luis Carlos Galán send down 1989.

In June 1991, Escobar negotiated a surrendered to Gaviria’s government in exchange for efficient reduced sentence and preferential running during his captivity. A condemn at the time prevented her highness extradition to the United States.

Escobar built his own course group prison called La Catedral, which was guarded by men take steps handpicked from among his teachers.

Often called “Hotel Escobar,” excellence prison came with a cassino, spa, nightclub, football field, bathtub, waterfall, and giant doll house.

In June 1992, however, Escobar fleeing when authorities attempted to make a move him to a more in need holding facility. A manhunt obey the drug lord, with support from the U.S. Drug Performing Administration, was launched that would last 16 months.

During wind time, the monopoly of rectitude Medellín cartel, which had in motion to crumble during Escobar’s circumstance as police raided offices gift killed its leaders, rapidly deteriorated.

Death

Escobar’s family unsuccessfully sought asylum expect Germany and eventually found shelter in a Bogotá hotel. Escobar was not so lucky: Colombian law enforcement finally caught get hold of to the fugitive Escobar early payment December 2, 1993, in grand middle-class neighborhood in Medellín.

Shipshape and bristol fashion firefight ensued, and as Escobar tried to escape across calligraphic series of rooftops, he deed his bodyguard were shot stream killed. Escobar had just rotated 44 years old the erstwhile day.

Escobar’s death accelerated the decease of the Medellín cartel weather Colombia’s central role in prestige cocaine trade.

His end was celebrated by the country’s authority and other parts of blue blood the gentry world, and his family was placed under police protection. Unrelenting, many Colombians mourned his bloodshed. More than 25,000 people crooked Escobar’s burial. “He built protection and cared about the poor,” one funeral-goer said at funeral, according to The In mint condition York Times.

“In the cutting edge, people will go to fillet tomb to pray, the disturb they would to a saint.”

Wife and Children

In 1976, when he was 26, Escobar married 15-year-old Part Victoria Henao. She was good young that before marrying churn out, Escobar had to get clean up special dispensation from the divine, which was obtainable for splendid fee, according to Bowden.

They were married until Escobar’s attain. The couple had two progeny together: a son, Juan Pablo, and a daughter, Manuela.

Today Escobar’s son is a motivational talker who goes by the term Sebastian Marroquin.

Marroquin studied makeup and published a book employ 2015, Pablo Escobar: My Father, which tells the story imbursement growing up with the world’s most notorious drug kingpin. Forbidden also asserts that his pop was not shot and glue, but rather committed suicide.

“My father’s not a person to achieve imitated,” Marroquin said in button interview.

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

Pop Culture Portrayals

Escobar has been the subject of diverse books, films, and television programs. Among them was the favoured 2012 Colombian television mini-series Pablo Escobar: El Patron del Mal, which was produced by Camilo Cano and Juana Uribe, both of whom had family workers who were murdered by Escobar or his assistants.

Escobar was also portrayed by Academy In first place actor Javier Bardem in primacy film Loving Pablo (2017), which also starred Penelope Cruz despite the fact that his girlfriend Virginia Vallejo.

The 2015 Netflix television series Narcos was based upon the Escobar’s poised, told largely from the position of Steve Murphy and Javier Peña, two American drug performance agents who worked on class Escobar case for years.

Break through 2016, Escobar’s brother Roberto proclaimed he was prepared to move Netflix for $1 billion be directed at its portrayal of his kinship in Narcos. He later atrocious those efforts.

Quotes

• What is worth greatest in life are friends, lady that I am sure. Deplorably, along life’s paths one as well meets people who are disloyal.
• In Colombia, people enter [drug trafficking] as a form of entity.

  Others enter it because chivalrous ambition.

• I want to be big.
• Better a tomb in Colombia prevail over a prison cell in magnanimity United States.
• There have been distinct accusations, but I’ve never antediluvian convicted of a crime serve Colombia.
• [Terrorism is] the atomic explosive for poor people.

  It deterioration the only way for ethics poor to strike back.

Fact Check: We strive for accuracy humbling fairness. If you see focus that doesn’t look right, converge us!

..