Escobar, Pablo (1949-1993), was a Colombian drug trafficker, terrorist , and politician. Initially a small-time thief, Escobar became one of the richest, most powerful criminals in history. Escobar exercised enormous influence in Colombia for more than a decade. He organized an extremely profitable global cocaine -trafficking network before Colombian and United States authorities defeated and killed him in 1993.
Pablo Escobar Gaviría was born on Dec. 1, 1949, in the village of Rionegro, Colombia. He had six siblings. From the late 1940’s to the mid-1960’s, Colombia experienced a period of political instability and fighting called La Violencia (The Violence). During this period, Escobar became involved in petty crime and car theft. In the 1970’s, he began selling cocaine, for export to the United States. By the early 1980’s, he had become the dominant figure in a powerful drug cartel based in Medellín , Colombia. A cartel is an association formed by suppliers to control the market for their product.
Despite a reputation for extreme violence, Escobar sought legitimacy to protect his business. To this end, he sought and won a seat as an alternate representative in Colombia’s legislature in 1982. Seeking to build a favorable ” Robin Hood ” image, Escobar was active in charity work and supported soccer teams among the poor of Medellín. He enhanced his power through a policy of “plata o plomo” (silver or lead), offering police and judges a choice between bribery or death. By the mid-1980’s, Escobar and his associates had amassed great wealth and were the primary suppliers of cocaine to the United States.
In 1985, fearing extradition (being handed over) to the United States, Escobar declared a virtual war against Colombia’s government. At that time, extradition was the government’s policy regarding drug traffickers. Escobar hired guerrilla groups and assassins to attack government buildings and kill high-ranking officials. In 1989, his gunmen murdered Luis Carlos Galán, a prominent Colombian politician and presidential candidate who supported extradition. That same year, Escobar was estimated to have personal wealth totaling more than $3 billion.
During a temporary truce, the Colombian government agreed to let Escobar remain “captive” in a palacelike prison that Escobar himself ran. But Escobar escaped in 1992 and ordered more acts of violence against the government. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) provided technology and intelligence to track down Escobar. The Colombian government formed a group called the Search Bloc that included Colombian military special forces . The Search Bloc collaborated with a group of vigilante gunmen known as Los Pepes. Los Pepes arrested and killed Escobar’s followers and threatened Escobar’s family. On Dec. 2, 1993, Colombian police surrounded and killed Escobar in a shoot-out on the roof of his Medellín hideout.
