Pablo Escobar
Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria (1976 - 1993) a.k.a "Pablo Escobar" or "El Patron" was the head of Colombian, Medellin Cartel. Some of you might heard or know about him as the "Plata O Plomo"(Silver/money or lead/death) drug lord, narco-terrorist, billionaire and a murderer, but some called him the "Robin Hood Paisa" as he contributed so much to the poor people in his neighborhood (Medellin). After his death, his legacy still went on and Escobar is a global icon figure, while in Medellin, he's still being idolized as a Robin Hood until this day. So, let's look into 9 facts of Pablo Escobar!
1. Pablo Escobar Became A Millionaire At The Age Of 22
His ambitions for power and wealth followed him since his early years. In the beginning, he usually doing crimes like theft, trafficking Marijuana/ stolen digital equipment/ cigarettes, and stealing cars and tombstones. When he was 20 years old, he kidnapped an executive from his own city of Medellin, and to let him free, he asked a ransom of 100,000 dollars which converted today's value, would be 600,000 dollars. All of this made Escobar a millionaire by the time he was 22 years old.
2. Escobar Killed A Lot Of People To Be On The Top
Pablo knew that there was only one way to the top, and he took the chance. When he was 26 years old, he tried to make a deal with the Medellin Syndicate leader, Fabio Restrepo, a deal which involve 14 kilos of cocaine. But because he was viewed as a typical street criminal, the deal failed and Escobar killed Restrepo. After killing him, he informed his (Restrepo) workers that from then on, they work for him (Escobar), effectively taking charge and beginning his ascension to be the boss of the Medellin Cartel.
3. If He Couldn't Bribe You, He'll Kill You
Escobar made a lot of friends in the police force, mostly by paying them, so they would turn a blind eye to his illegal operations. But obviously, not everyone took the bribe, resulting on his famous saying "Plata O Plomo", meaning, take the bribe or be killed. This resulted on thousands of death, including the famous bombing of the 203 flight plane, which killed 107 innocent people. Throughout his career, it is believed that Pablo is responsible for 4000 - 5000 deaths in total.
4. Pilot Could Earn As Much As 500,000 Dollars Per Flight
Before Escobar hired pilots to work for him, he would fly personally to United States with small smuggling cocaine hidden in tires. However, when his business became bigger, he started to employ professional pilots, who would transport tons of cocaine for him. There was cases, where they would fly as much as 11 tons on one flight depending on how much cocaine the pilot was able to smuggle across, estimated 500,000 dollars per flight.
5. He Was Insanely Rich
He was incredibly rich, as in officially recognized as the seventh richest men in the world, by Forbes Magazine. Pablo's brother, states that in the cartels, they would spend thousands of dollar per week, to buy rubber bands, just to tie their stacks of cash. In his height, he was supplying 80% of United States cocaine's market and by the 90's, he was officially worth 30 billion dollars. Once he burned 2 millions dollar, in order to keep his family warm due to cold weather.
6. He Was Involved In Politics
In year 1982, Pablo was elected as member of the Chamber Of Representatives, while he still running his drug empire. As a member of Colombian Liberal Party, he was trying to gain influence in order to stop extradition deals, between United States and Colombian government.
7. He Helped The Poor
During his time, he was considered like a modern-day Robin Hood. A lot of Escobar's money was contributed to the poor, by doing so, he gained sympathy around the population of his city. In fact, there's a neighborhood in Medellin, that still holds his name. Also he was popular for his contribution to the city, which included sponsoring local football teams and building sport complexes, schools, and churches for the poor.
8. He Was The Reason Why Colombia Is Named "Capital Of The Murder"
Wars that raged between cartels during his time, led Colombia to become the murder capital of the world. In fact, the country suffered over 270,000 violent deaths in 1992 alone, which equals to 74 murders per day. Yet in the end, because of his enormous influence and power, his punishment for all of these murders, was Pablo's personally designed jail, called La Catedral, which included waterfall, a bar, jacuzzi and a personal football field.
9. The End Of Pablo Escobar
In 1992, a vigilante group calling themselves, Los Pepes, emerged. They burned down Escobar's compounds and killing family members. Due to his loss of power and wealth, US intelligence agencies began working with Colombian forces and through radio triangulation technology, they were able to locate Escobar in Medellin, which ultimately resulting in a shootout across rooftop in 1993, where Escobar was fatally shot dead. It is still disputed to this day, whether the bullet came from the official authorities or, he pulled the trigger himself.
