From his brutal murders to his obscene wealth, uncover a few of the most astonishing details concerning the infamous Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.
Within the late Seventies and Eighties, Pablo Escobar reigned because the king of cocaine. Referred to as “El Padrino,” “El Patrón,” and “Don Pablo,” the Colombian drug lord constructed out his Medellín Cartel, made himself billions, and killed anybody who stood in his means. However who was Pablo Escobar?
Beneath, uncover 19 details concerning the notorious drug kingpin, from his gorgeous internet value to his pet hippos to the grotesque means that he died.
Who Is Pablo Escobar?
Eric VANDEVILLE/Gamma-Rapho by way of Getty PhotographsColombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, pictured in 1988.
Pablo Escobar was the pinnacle of the Medellín Cartel, a Colombian drug cartel that trafficked cocaine. From the founding of the cartel within the Seventies till Escobar’s loss of life in 1993, the profitable drug commerce made Escobar billions.
Throughout his life, Escobar lived by the mantra of “plata o plomo,” which roughly interprets to “silver or lead (bullets),” and describes how he used each violence and bribery to get his means. He and his cartel killed police, politicians, journalists, and strange residents who occurred to be within the mistaken place on the mistaken time. In 1989, the cartel was even accused of planting a bomb on a home passenger flight, killing over 100 folks on the airplane.
However many Colombians additionally noticed Escobar as a “Robin Hood” determine. He constructed hospitals and housing for the poor and was elected to the Colombian parliament in 1982. As such, he has a considerably difficult legacy within the nation at this time as each a violent drug lord and a philanthropist.
The place Is Pablo Escobar From?
Born on December 1, 1949, in Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia, Pablo Escobar grew up in a suburb of Medellín known as Envigado. There, decided to make it wealthy, he gravitated towards crime at a younger age. Escobar allegedly falsified diplomas, took tombstones from graveyards to resell, and stole automobiles.
Who Was Pablo Escobar’s Mom?
Pablo Escobar’s mom was Hermilda de Los Dolores Gaviria Berrío. Not like her prison son, she had a law-abiding profession as a schoolteacher. Escobar’s father, Abel de Jesús Dari Escobar Echeverri, was a farmer and a watchman.
Who Was Pablo Escobar’s Spouse?
Pablo Escobar met his spouse, Maria Victoria Henao, when she was simply 12 years outdated and he was 23. Henao known as the a lot older Escobar the “love of her life,” they usually received married three years later when she was 15.
In accordance with her autobiography, Mrs. Escobar: My Life with Pablo, Henao didn’t initially know what her husband did for a dwelling. “I grew up being molded by Pablo to be his spouse and the mom of his kids, to not ask questions or problem his selections, to look the opposite means,” she wrote.
However whereas Henao targeted on being Escobar’s spouse and the mom of their son and daughter, her husband entertained a number of extramarital affairs, together with a relationship with the Colombian journalist Virginia Vallejo.
Who Is Pablo Escobar’s Son?
YouTubePablo Escobar, pictured together with his son Juan Pablo, his daughter Manuela, and his spouse Maria Victoria Henao.
Formally, Pablo Escobar had only one son: Juan Pablo Escobar Henao, who goes by Sebastián Marroquín at this time and lives in Argentina.
Born in 1977 because the eldest little one of Escobar and Henao, Juan Pablo had a loving, luxurious childhood. His father doted on him. And Escobar’s large fortune meant that his son by no means lacked for something.
However Escobar’s violent profession made life troublesome for his household. After he orchestrated the homicide of Rodrigo Lara Bonilla, Colombia’s Minister of Justice, Juan Pablo, his mom, and his sister had been pressured to go on the run.
“My life was the lifetime of a prison,” Juan Pablo later recalled. “I used to be struggling the identical as if I had ordered all these murders on my own.”
He was pressured to return to life as a fugitive after Escobar’s loss of life in 1993. Then, Juan Pablo, his mom, and his sister began a brand new life in Argentina. Juan Pablo lives there to this present day and works as an architect.
Nevertheless, Pablo Escobar allegedly additionally had various “illegitimate” kids with different ladies throughout his extramarital relationships, together with at the very least one different son named Roberto Sendoya Escobar, in response to British GQ.
Who Is Pablo Escobar’s Daughter?
Pablo Escobar and Maria Victoria Henao additionally had a daughter named Manuela Escobar, who goes by Juana Manuela Marroquín Santos at this time.
Born in 1984, Manuela loved a charmed childhood. Regardless of his day job as a drug kingpin, Pablo Escobar was an attentive father. When Manuela informed him she needed a unicorn for her birthday, Escobar stapled a horn onto a white horse and offered it to her. (The horse sadly died afterward.)
However like her brother, Manuela’s life took a darkish flip following Escobar’s loss of life in 1993. Then, she fled with Juan Pablo and her mom to Argentina.
Although each her mom and brother have since spoken publicly about their relationship with Pablo Escobar, Manuela has remained out of the highlight. Allegedly fearful that her father’s enemies will take revenge, Manuela has change into one thing of a recluse and hasn’t been seen publicly in years.
Who Have been Pablo Escobar’s Brothers?
Pablo Escobar had six siblings, however his work within the drug cartel was hardly a household enterprise. His sister, Luz Maria Escobar, even informed the BBC that she didn’t find out about her brother’s cocaine empire till the early Eighties. However Pablo’s brother, Roberto Escobar, did play a job within the Medellín Cartel.
At first, Roberto was extra fascinated about driving bikes than dealing medication and even raced professionally. However as his little brother grew to become extra highly effective, Roberto began to work for the Medellín Cartel as an accountant.
In that position, Roberto dealt with nice sums of cash. The New Yorker studies that the cartel had a lot cash mendacity round that Roberto as soon as threw a briefcase with $100,000 right into a river as a result of it was too “heavy.”
Following his youthful brother’s loss of life in 1993, Roberto continued to capitalize on the household title. He’s given “narco excursions” in Colombia and even based a holding firm known as Escobar, Inc. in 2014.
It must also be famous that Escobar had two different brothers, Luis Fernando Escobar and Argemiro Escobar, however they had been by no means within the highlight.
Did Pablo Escobar Have Hippos And What Occurred To Them?
JOAQUIN SARMIENTO/AFP by way of Getty PhotographsA descendant of one of many hippos imported by Pablo Escobar to Colombia within the Eighties.
Sure, Pablo Escobar did have hippos. In actual fact, the drug kingpin had a whole zoo at his property outdoors of Medellín. This zoo included 4 hippopotamuses that he’d illegally imported into Colombia within the Eighties.
After Escobar’s loss of life, in response to NPR, authorities thought that the hippos would merely die as properly. However as an alternative, the animals thrived.
Immediately, the 100 hippos roaming the Colombian countryside, due to Escobar, are thought-about an invasive species. The Washington Publish studies that authorities have began to sterilize them to restrict their unfold.
What Was Pablo Escobar’s Home Like?
Unsurprisingly, Pablo Escobar had a sprawling, opulent residence. He purchased a 7,000-acre property in 1978 and named it Hacienda Nápoles, after Naples, Italy.
The grounds of Hacienda Nápoles included a Spanish colonial mansion, an airport, swimming swimming pools, a sculpture backyard, and, after all, Escobar’s zoo, which housed his notorious hippos in addition to birds, elephants, and different unique animals. Although Hacienda Nápoles wasn’t the one property that Escobar owned, it was clearly the place that he known as residence.
Years after Escobar’s loss of life, the grounds of his former property grew to become a theme park known as the Parque Temático Hacienda Nápoles. In accordance with Atlas Obscura, nevertheless, folks nonetheless sneak onto Hacienda Nápoles’ grounds with a shovel — hoping to dig up any cash that Escobar hid.
What Was Pablo Escobar’s Internet Value?
Pablo Escobar’s Medellín Cartel introduced in an estimated $70 million a day within the Eighties. Thus, Escobar’s internet value was estimated to be between $30 and $60 billion throughout his life. Immediately, that quantity could be greater than doubled.
Was Pablo Escobar Richer And Extra Highly effective Than El Chapo?
In accordance with Newsweek, Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán had a internet value of about $1 billion. As such, Pablo Escobar was a lot richer.
Although energy is harder to measure, Escobar wielded a variety of it. Not solely did he provide 80 % of the world’s cocaine, however he additionally dipped his toe into politics and even dreamed of turning into the president of Colombia.
In accordance with Enterprise Insider, El Chapo had no such ambition, and his Sinaloa Cartel managed simply 35 % of cocaine produced in Colombia. Nevertheless, his cartel is believed to have an enormous worldwide footprint, bringing medication (together with, however not restricted to, cocaine) into some nations that Escobar didn’t have a direct reference to. All in all, it will possibly actually be argued that Escobar was the extra highly effective of the 2. However as with many issues associated to the underworld, it’s powerful to come back to a particular reply.
How Did Pablo Escobar Take A Photograph At The White Home?
Sebastián Marroquín/Sins Of My FatherPablo Escobar, pictured together with his son on the White Home in 1981.
In 1981, Pablo Escobar introduced his son to the USA, the place they snapped a now-infamous photograph in entrance of the White Home. How did the drug kingpin handle to do this with out getting arrested?
At that time, Escobar was merely on the sting of infamy. A number of years later, in 1984, he orchestrated the homicide of Rodrigo Lara Bonilla, Colombia’s Minister of Justice who dared stand as much as him. And in 1989, he allegedly plotted to plant a bomb on Avianca Flight 203 (wrongly believing that future Colombian president César Augusto Gaviria Trujillo was on board), killing over 100 folks on the airplane and even a couple of folks on the bottom.
The Eighties additionally noticed a rise in cocaine consumption in the USA, which made Escobar extra of a menace to American authorities. However in 1981, Escobar apparently wasn’t thought-about fairly that harmful — but.
How Many Individuals Did Pablo Escobar Kill?
Infamously brutal and ruthless, Pablo Escobar killed anybody who dared to face in his means. He’s estimated to have been answerable for the deaths of some 4,000 folks, together with law enforcement officials, authorities officers, journalists, strange residents, and members of rival cartels.
Did Pablo Escobar Go To Jail?
Sure, Pablo Escobar did go to jail — however underneath his personal phrases. In 1991, Escobar struck a cope with Colombian authorities during which he agreed to show himself in, however provided that he might keep away from extradition to the USA and construct his personal jail in Colombia to his specs.
Extremely, the Colombian authorities agreed to Escobar’s proposal. On the day that they banned extraditing criminals within the new Colombian structure, Escobar surrendered. And he went to a jail that he’d designed himself close to Medellín, which was dubbed La Catedral.
Not like most prisons, La Catedral had a sauna, a jacuzzi, a billiards room, and a disco. And in contrast to most prisoners, Escobar continued to conduct enterprise from behind bars. In 1992, he ordered the deaths of a number of cartel leaders.
Colombian authorities then determined to maneuver him to a unique jail — however Pablo Escobar escaped in July 1992 earlier than they received to La Catedral.
When Did Pablo Escobar Die?
Pablo Escobar’s escape from La Catedral triggered an enormous manhunt. And a couple of 12 months and a half later, he was cornered by Colombian forces and died on December 2, 1993, simply someday after his forty fourth birthday.
How Did Pablo Escobar Die?
Wikimedia CommonsPablo Escobar’s physique following his loss of life on December 2, 1993.
Pablo Escobar died after being shot within the leg, torso, and ear, whereas fleeing Colombian authorities on rooftops within the Los Olivos barrio of Medellín.
However the query of who killed him is the topic of some debate.
Who Killed Pablo Escobar?
Formally, a particular Colombian job power organized to seek out Pablo Escobar, generally known as Search Bloc, killed the drug kingpin.
“Viva Colombia!” a Search Bloc soldier screamed after Escobar fell. “We have now simply killed Pablo Escobar!” However some members of Escobar’s household, together with his son, Juan Pablo, insist that Escobar killed himself.
Juan Pablo claims that his father’s official post-mortem was falsified to make the Colombian authorities appear like heroes. He insists that, as soon as his father was cornered, he died by suicide earlier than he might be killed.
In accordance with the New York Publish, Juan Pablo mentioned, “Forensic investigators who carried out the post-mortem informed us it was suicide however that they had been threatened by the authorities to not disclose the reality of their remaining report.”
What Brought about Pablo Escobar’s Demise?
Pablo Escobar’s loss of life was a very long time coming. After he escaped from La Catedral in July 1992, Escobar was on the run for 16 months. However two completely different teams had been scorching on his path throughout this complete time.
The primary group was Search Bloc, a Colombian police unit that had been created to trace down Pablo Escobar. In accordance with Enterprise Insider, this group was assisted of their pursuit by the U.S. particular forces, U.S. Army intelligence, the CIA, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The second was the “Perseguidos por Pablos Escobar,” which interprets to “Individuals Persecuted by Pablo Escobar.” Nicknamed Los Pepes, this group was composed of Escobar’s enemies, together with different drug traffickers. One member, Rodolfo Berna, was allegedly credited with firing the shot that killed the drug kingpin, although this account has by no means been confirmed.
In any case, the 2 teams labored tirelessly to trace down the drug lord — and kill him. So, what occurred to Escobar’s family members after his loss of life?
What Occurred To Pablo Escobar’s Household?
After Pablo Escobar was killed, his spouse, son, and daughter fled Colombia. After they tried — and failed — to get asylum in Germany and Mozambique, they settled in Argentina. There, they modified their names.
They’ve largely stayed out of the highlight ever since, though Escobar’s spouse and son have written books and given interviews lately.
“He was a loving father,” Escobar’s son, Juan Pablo, mentioned in a single interview. “It might be simple to attempt to slot in and say he was a foul man, however he wasn’t.”
Hundreds of Colombians, nevertheless, are prone to disagree.
After studying by these details about Pablo Escobar, uncover these details about Mexican drug lord El Chapo. Then, check out Colombian drug kingpin Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, the previous chief of the Cali Cartel.
