Early Life

Escobar was born on December 1, 1949, into a lower-middle-class family and

grew up in Medellín, Colombia. As a young man, he was driven and ambitious,
telling friends and family that he wanted to be the president
of Colombia someday. He got his start as a street criminal. According to
legend, Escobar would steal tombstones, sandblast the names off of them, and
resell them to crooked Panamanians. Later, he moved up to stealing cars. It
was in the 1970s that he found his path to wealth and power: drugs. He would
buy coca paste in Bolivia and Peru, refine it, and transport it for sale in the
United States.

Rise to Power
In 1975, a local Medellín drug lord named Fabio Restrepo was murdered,
reportedly on the orders of Escobar himself. Stepping into the power vacuum,
Escobar took over Restrepo’s organization and expanded his operations.
Before long, Escobar controlled all organized crime in Medellín and was
responsible for as much as 80 percent of the cocaine transported into the
United States. In 1982, he was elected to Colombia’s Congress. With economic,
criminal, and political power, Escobar’s rise was complete.

In 1976, Escobar married 15-year-old Maria Victoria Henao Vellejo, and they
would later have two children, Juan Pablo and Manuela. Escobar was famous
for his extramarital affairs and tended to prefer underage girls. One of his
girlfriends, Virginia Vallejo, went on to become a famous Colombian television
personality. In spite of his affairs, he remained married to María Victoria until
his death.

Narcoterrorism
As the leader of the Medellín Cartel, Escobar quickly became legendary for his
ruthlessness, and an increasing number of politicians, judges, and policemen
publicly opposed him. Escobar had a way of dealing with his enemies: he
called it plata o plomo (silver or lead). If a politician, judge, or policeman got
in his way, he would almost always first attempt to bribe him or her. If that
didn’t work, he would order the person killed, occasionally including the
victim's family in the hit. The exact number of men and women killed by
Escobar is unknown, but it certainly goes well into the hundreds and possibly
into the thousands.

Social status did not matter to Escobar; if he wanted you out of the way, he'd
get you out of the way. He ordered the assassination of presidential candidates
and was even rumored to be behind the 1985 attack on the Supreme Court,
carried out by the 19th of April insurrectionist movement, in which several
Supreme Court justices were killed. On November 27, 1989, Escobar’s
cartel planted a bomb on Avianca flight 203, killing 110 people. The target, a
presidential candidate, was not actually on board. In addition to these high-
profile assassinations, Escobar and his organization were responsible for the
deaths of countless magistrates, journalists, policemen, and even criminals
inside his own organization.

Height of His Power

By the mid-1980s, Escobar was one of the most powerful men in the world,
and Forbes magazine listed him as the seventh richest. His empire included an
army of soldiers and criminals, a private zoo, mansions and apartments all
over Colombia, private airstrips and planes for drug transport, and personal
wealth reported to be in the neighborhood of $24 billion. Escobar could order
the murder of anyone, anywhere, anytime.

He was a brilliant criminal, and he knew that he would be safer if the common
people of Medellín loved him. Therefore, he spent millions on parks, schools,
stadiums, churches, and even housing for the poorest of Medellín’s
inhabitants. His strategy worked—Escobar was beloved by the common
people, who saw him as a local boy who had done well and was giving back to
his community.

Legal Troubles
Escobar’s first serious run-in with the law came in 1976 when he and some of
his associates were caught returning from a drug run to Ecuador. Escobar
ordered the killing of the arresting officers, and the case was soon dropped.
Later, at the height of his power, Escobar’s wealth and ruthlessness made it
almost impossible for Colombian authorities to bring him to justice. Any time
an attempt was made to limit his power, those responsible were bribed, killed,
or otherwise neutralized. The pressure was mounting, however, from the
United States government, which wanted Escobar extradited to face drug
charges. He had to use all of his power to prevent extradition.

In 1991, due to increasing pressure from the U.S.,

the Colombian government and Escobar’s lawyers came up with an interesting
arrangement. Escobar would turn himself in and serve a five-year jail term. In
return, he would build his own prison and would not be extradited to the
United States or anywhere else. The prison, La Catedral, was an elegant
fortress which featured a Jacuzzi, a waterfall, a full bar, and a soccer field. In
addition, Escobar had negotiated the right to select his own “guards.” He ran
his empire from inside La Catedral, giving orders by telephone. There were no
other prisoners in La Catedral. Today, La Catedral is in ruins, having been
hacked to pieces by treasure hunters looking for hidden Escobar loot.
On the Run
Everyone knew that Escobar was still running his operation from La Catedral,
but in July 1992 it became known that the drug kingpin had ordered some
disloyal underlings brought to his “prison,” where they were tortured and
killed. This was too much for even the Colombian government, and plans were
made to transfer Escobar to a standard prison. Fearing he might be extradited,
Escobar escaped and went into hiding. The U.S. government and local police
ordered a massive manhunt. By late 1992, there were two organizations
searching for him: the Search Bloc, a special, U.S.-trained Colombian task
force, and “Los Pepes,” a shadowy organization of Escobar’s enemies made up
of family members of his victims and financed by Escobar’s main business
rival, the Cali Cartel.

Death
On December 2, 1993, Colombian security forces—using U.S. technology—
located Escobar hiding in a home in a middle-class section of Medellín. The
Search Bloc moved in, triangulated his position, and attempted to bring him
into custody. Escobar fought back, however, and there was a shootout.
Escobar was eventually gunned down as he attempted to escape on the
rooftop. Although he was also shot in the torso and leg, the fatal wound passed
through his ear, leading many to believe that Escobar committed suicide.
Others believe one of the Colombian policemen fired the bullet.

Legacy
With Escobar gone, the Medellín Cartel quickly lost power to its rival, the Cali
Cartel, which remained dominant until the Colombian government shut it
down in the mid-1990s. Escobar is still remembered by the poor of Medellín as
a benefactor. He has been the subject of numerous books, movies, and
television series, including "Narcos" and "Escobar: Paradise Lost." Many
people remain fascinated by the master criminal, who once ruled one of the
largest drug empires in history.