Do you think that without the influence of Pablo Escobar, the comunas and infrastructure in Medellin, Colombia, would have received the same amount of funding for renovations?.How has Pablo Escobar’s legacy shaped the city, and what understanding can be gained from its lasting effects on Medellin?.Should the Colombian government use narco-tourism and the story of Pablo Escobar to their advantage or start to remove the association of Escobar and the Medellin Cartel from their image?.Why did the people of Medellin, Colombia, support a known drug dealer and the drug cartel, Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel, was it for a spot in the Colombian government?.He was shot dead after police traced him to his hide-out as he talked with his son. In the end, it was his fondness for his family that led to his downfall. He was on the run again, pursued by an elite Colombian police unit and enemies in the Colombian underworld. "We had lovely family gatherings at La Catedral." It was only when he heard he was to be moved to another prison that Escobar escaped. It was a wonderful time for everyone, according to his sister, Luz Maria. Guards were bribed to ensure the free movement of visitors. His personal prison, La Catedral, was located at the end of a long and windy dirt track where it could be defended from attack by Escobar's enemies. For every dead officer, 10 gang members or innocent civilians were killed, many by police death squads.Įventually, Escobar surrendered to the Colombian justice system, but only after forcing the government to accept his terms - including immunity from extradition and a purpose-built prison. A tidal wave of violence was unleashed, claiming the lives of 1,000 police officers. Escobar had Lara Bonilla assassinated, I was told.įrom 1985 to 1988 the battle focused on intimidating the judiciary into ruling extradition unconstitutional. His most zealous critic was Rodrigo Lara Bonilla, the justice minister, who favoured extradition to the US (where drug traffickers found the justice system less responsive to their bribes and threats). He came to public attention in the early 80s, during his campaign for election to Colombia's congress. They began to invade this country, sent by the government up there, saying they had come in search of peace, but they ended up in search of cocaine." The popularity of cocaine in the clubs of Miami and New York in the late 70s and early 80s propelled Escobar from a backstreet crime boss to one of the richest and most powerful men in the world. Gaviria said, "Pablo always said that it was the young gringos from the peace corps who started the cocaine bonanza. He was arrested in 1976, but avoided prosecution after the two secret police officers responsible for his arrest were murdered. At school, he told Gaviria, "I might be poor, but I am not going to die poor." He began in the cocaine business smuggling small quantities of coca paste from Peru to Colombia. Escobar challenged the state, declared war on the elites that had ruled Colombia for decades and even dared aspire to be president. A "white gold" rush was on in preparation for a legal business. When Pablo was first getting his business organised, people in Colombia believed cocaine would soon be legalised. It was important to understand, they said, that people's attitudes had fundamentally changed towards cocaine. Pablo's cousin, Jaime Gaviria, and his old schoolmate, "El Chino", told us of the early days of the cocaine trade. I decided to investigate further, to talk to people who had known him - and to unearth more photographs.ĭoña Hermilda, Pablo's mother, then 88, told us of the charming gentleman son she had raised. There seemed some discrepancy between the gangster myth - "the most dangerous criminal the world has ever seen" - and the reality. There were guns and sex toys, and also more homely pictures of Pablo playing with his family. The photographs showed items and scenes discovered at Pablo's private Medellin prison. He had a bag of Escobar photographs - would I like to see them? I explained to the boss, Manuel Dario Aristizabal, what I was doing and he proudly informed me that the office we sat in used to be Pablo's bedroom. The building is now the administrative HQ of Colombia's public prosecutors, and I was apprehended in the street outside as I took photos. Escobar's home in Medellin, a six-storey concrete bunker, was last on my list. I was in Colombia pursuing a photographic project on "Narcotecture" - buildings built with drugs money.
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