Pablo Escobar
...to be the leading cocaine distributor in the world. He led an empire of terror, drugs, money, and violence. He was a gangster and outlaw in the ranks of icons such as Al Capone, Bonnie and Clyde, and John Gotti. He can only be understood by looking at the man’s early life, his rise to ultimate power, and the absolute necessity of ending his reign of terror by any means.
Pablo Escobar was born in 1949. His father was a peasant farmer and his mother was a school teacher. Pablo grew up in Envigado. Envigado was a suburb of the second largest city in Colombia, Medellin. Escobar’s childhood was in a very violent atmosphere. It was a rather brutal time in the consistently violent Colombian history. was growing up in a violent time in Colombia's violent history (Godfather). The period in which Escobar grew up in is known as “La Violencia”(meaning “the violence”) in Colombian History. At this time Colombia was involved in a political feud between the Liberals and Conservatives. Jorge Eliecer Gaitan was a leader of the Liberal group. He was assassinated on April 9, 1948. This act sparked riots, vandalism, and an overall state of panic. Colombian was thrown in to an unceasing state of rebellion and insurrection (Violencia).
In Escobar’s teenage years he was slowly getting into crime. He dropped out of school three months before graduation. He was soon drifting towards small time crime. Escobar had a certain quality about him that was probably the key to his rise to power. He was able to stay overly calm in situations that would frighten normal people (Bowden 17, 19). Pablo was had a great sense for ambition. He did not smoke cigarettes and he rarely drank alcohol. But according to his brother, Roberto, “He did enjoy weed, and his favorite beer: Heineken.” (Gangsters). It was always rumored that Pablo got his start in crime in a rather unconventional way. He and his...
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