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Colombian Drug Lord Drug Trafficker Cartel Cocaine United States

Pablo Escobar was a Colombian drug lord who supplied an estimated 80% of the cocaine smuggled into the United States. At the height of his career in the 1980s and early 1990s, Escobar's Medellin drug cartel earned over $21 billion per year and he had a personal net worth of $30 billion, making him one of the richest men in the world. Escobar began his criminal career in Medellin stealing gravestones and smuggling cigarettes before forming the Medellin drug cartel and controlling up to 15 tons of cocaine smuggled into the US per day, worth $420 million per week. Escobar was ultimately shot and killed by Colombian law enforcement on December

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80 views5 pages

Colombian Drug Lord Drug Trafficker Cartel Cocaine United States

Pablo Escobar was a Colombian drug lord who supplied an estimated 80% of the cocaine smuggled into the United States. At the height of his career in the 1980s and early 1990s, Escobar's Medellin drug cartel earned over $21 billion per year and he had a personal net worth of $30 billion, making him one of the richest men in the world. Escobar began his criminal career in Medellin stealing gravestones and smuggling cigarettes before forming the Medellin drug cartel and controlling up to 15 tons of cocaine smuggled into the US per day, worth $420 million per week. Escobar was ultimately shot and killed by Colombian law enforcement on December

Uploaded by

Zaza Oniani
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was

a Colombian drug lord and drug trafficker.


His cartel, at the height of his career, supplied
an estimated 80% of the cocaine smuggled
into the United States, turning over US $21.9
billion a year in personal income. Often called
"The King of Cocaine", he was the wealthiest
criminal in history, with an estimated known
net worth of US $30 billion by the early
1990s, making him one of the richest men in
the world at his prime

Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was born on


December 1, 1949, in Rionegro, in the
Antioquia Department of Colombia. He was
the third of seven children to Abel de Jess
Dari Escobar, a farmer, and Hermilda Gaviria,
an elementary school teacher.[10] Raised in the
nearby town of Medelln, Escobar is thought to
have began his criminal career as a teenager,
allegedly stealing gravestones and sanding
them down for resale to local smugglers. His
brother, Roberto Escobar, denies this, instead
claiming that the gravestones came from
cemetery owners whose clients had stopped

paying for site care, and that he had a relative


who had a monuments business. Escobar's
son, Sebastin Marroqun, claims his father's
foray into crime began with a successful
practice of selling counterfeit high school
diplomas, generally counterfeiting those
awarded by the Universidad Autnoma
Latinoamericana of Medelln. Escobar studied
at the University for a short period, however,
left without obtaining a degree

As a young man, he told friends and family


that he wanted to become president of
Colombia. Yet as he saw it, his path to wealth
and legitimacy lay in crime. He got his start
as a petty street thief, stealing cars before
moving into the smuggling business.
Escobars early prominence came during the
Marlboro Wars, in which he played a highprofile role in the control of Colombias
smuggled cigarette market. This episode
proved to be a valuable training ground for
the future narcotics kingpin.

It wasnt by chance that Colombia came to


dominate the cocaine trade. Beginning in the
early 1970s, the country became a prime
smuggling ground for marijuana. But as the
cocaine market flourished, Colombias
geographical location proved to be its biggest
asset. Escobar moved quickly to grab control
of the cocaine trade. In 1975, Medellin drug
trafficker Fabio Restrepo was murdered. His
killing, its believed, came at the orders of
Escobar, who immediately seized power and
expanded Restrepos operation into
something the world had never seen. Under
Escobars leadership, large amounts of coca
paste were purchased in Bolivia and Peru,
processed, and brought to America. Escobar
worked with a small group to form the
infamous Medellin Cartel. By the mid-1980s,
Escobar controlled more than 80 percent of
the cocaine smuggled into the United States.
More than 15 tons of cocaine were reportedly
smuggled each day, netting the Cartel as
much as $420 million a week.

The cash was so prevalent that Escobar


purchased a Learjet for the sole purpose of

flying his money. With an estimated worth of


$30 billion, Escobar was named one of the ten
richest people on earth by Forbes.
Even as his fortune and fame grew, Escobar
didnt relinquish his dream to be seen as a
leader. In some ways he positioned himself as
a Robin Hood-like figure, which was echoed by
many locals as he spent money to expand
social programs for the poor.
In 1982 Escobar was elected as an alternate
member of Colombias Congress. But the
reasons for his wealth could not stay hidden
and two years after his election, he was
forced to resign, with the justice minister who
had revealed Escobar's notorious background
later slain.

After so many near misses, Colombian law


enforcement finally caught up to Escobar on
December 2, 1993, the day after his birthday,
in a middle-class neighborhood in Medellin. A
firefight ensued and, as Escobar tried to
escape across a series of rooftops, he and his
bodyguard were shot and killed.

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