The world’s most wanted criminal in history; Pablo Escobar
Alaa Babiker
Today I bring to you one the most wanted men in history. The person who challenged the president of the United State of America George H. W. Bush in the early 1990s, the founder of the Medellín Cartel, and the wealthiest criminal in history where his net worth reported to reach $30 Billion by the time of his death in 1993 (equivalent to $70 billion as of 2022), that is my dear readers, Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria, known as Pablo Escobar. Although the photo looks cute and the name sounds super, but it was estimated that Escobar led monthly shipments of 70 to 80 tons of cocaine into the United States of America in the 1980s.
This man was a legendary criminal who was responsible for the killing of 4,000 people including policemen, government officials including court judges, civilians, and drugs smugglers. Escobar was the only criminal in history that built his own prison after long negotiations with the government of Colombia which agreed to his terms of building his prison and gave him the right to choose his own guards!
Escobar is an example of extreme notorious fame which at the end led to definite disasters, not only personally, but nationally and internationally as well. The life of this man is filled with drama, action, horror, and even tragedy, and because of that it was turned into many movies, some published and others still on the process of making. His life was written in books and translated into more than 15 languages. His actions affected his family and loved one’s even for years after his death. His reckless behavior and challenging to both the Colombian and the American governments costs them millions of dollars just to end his life and destroy his empire, not to mention the thousands of lives lost during his active criminal years, and the hundreds of properties and governmental and private buildings completely put to ground as a result of the continuous bombing he made all over Colombia.
From the international free encyclopedia “Wikipedia” enjoy reading some of the interesting facts and death theories about the king of Cocaine, Pablo Escobar:
(Born in Rionegro and raised in Medellín in 1 December 1949, Escobar studied briefly at Universidad Autónoma Latinoamericana of Medellín, but left without graduating; he instead began engaging in criminal activity, selling illegal cigarettes and fake lottery tickets, as well as participating in motor vehicle theft. In the early 1970s, he began to work for various drug smugglers, often kidnapping and holding people for ransom.
In 1976, Escobar founded the Medellín Cartel, which distributed powder cocaine, and established the first smuggling routes from Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, through Colombia and eventually into the United States. Escobar’s infiltration into the U.S. created exponential demand for cocaine and by the 1980s it was estimated Escobar led monthly shipments of 70 to 80 tons of cocaine into the country from Colombia. As a result, he quickly became one of the richest people in the world, but constantly battled rival cartels domestically and abroad, leading to massacres and the murders of police officers, judges, locals, and prominent politicians, making Colombia the murder capital of the world.
In 1991, Escobar surrendered to authorities, and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on a host of charges, but struck a deal of no extradition with Colombian President César Gaviria, with the ability of being housed in his own, self-built prison, La Catedral. In 1992, Escobar escaped and went into hiding when authorities attempted to move him to a more standard holding facility, leading to a nationwide manhunt. As a result, the Medellín Cartel crumbled, and in 1993, Escobar was killed in his hometown by Colombian National Police, a day after his 44th birthday.
Soon after Escobar’s death and the subsequent fragmentation of the Medellín Cartel, the cocaine market became dominated by the rival Cali Cartel until the mid-1990s when its leaders were either killed or captured by the Colombian government. The Robin Hood image that Escobar had cultivated maintained a lasting influence in Medellín. Many there, especially many of the city’s poor whom Escobar had aided while he was alive, mourned his death, and over 25,000 people attended his funeral. Some of them consider him a saint and pray to him for receiving divine help. Escobar was buried at the Monte Sacro Cemetery.
On 4 July 2006, Virginia Vallejo, a television anchorwoman romantically involved with Escobar from 1983 to 1987, offered Attorney General Mario Iguarán her testimony in the trial against former Senator Alberto Santofimio, who was accused of conspiracy in the 1989 assassination of presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán. Iguarán acknowledged that, although Vallejo had contacted his office on 4 July, the judge had decided to close the trial on 9 July, several weeks before the prospective closing date. The action was seen as too late.
On 18 July 2006, Vallejo was taken to the United States on a special flight of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), for “safety and security reasons” due to her cooperation in high-profile criminal cases. On 24 July, a video in which Vallejo had accused Santofimio of instigating Escobar to eliminate presidential candidate Galán was aired by RCN Television of Colombia. The video was seen by 14 million people, and was instrumental for the reopened case of Galán’s assassination. On 31 August 2011 Santofimio was sentenced to 24 years in prison for his role in the crime).
This man’s life was a true legendary one; so far 9 famous books were written about Escobar’s life, including (Escobar) written by his brother Roberto Escobar, shows how he became infamous and ultimately died. In addition more than 20 films and television documentaries telling the thrilled life of the famous King of Cocaine.
As for musical songs, three famous songs released based on Escobar’s story, preformed by Earl Stevens, Kanye West, and Dubdogz’s.