Pablo Escobar, the most famous Colombian in the world, was killed 25 years ago in the shooting between his narco-brigades and the US agents from DEA. Medellin’s local people are marking the death of their “Colombian Robin Hood” in his former neighbourhood.
Unsurprisingly, in Medellin, Pablo Escobar’s his dark legacy lives on 25 years after his death. Forbes listed him as the world’s seventh richest man in 1989 with an estimated net worth of $9bn. In the 70s, Colombian drug lord’s cartel supplied an estimated 80% of the cocaine smuggled into the US at the height of his career – making $21.9bn a year. In fact, he has created the cocaine culture, other drug lords were just following him.
the legendary and controversial figure of Pablo Escobar is inspiring Hollywood, the Netflix TV series continues to tell Pablo’s story in its fourth season. Meanwhile, Colombians are missing their “Robin Hood” who really cared about the poorest people in his country. Being called “The King of Cocaine,” Escobar was one of the wealthiest criminals in history and the most generous one. On the 25th anniversary of his death, people are paying tribute to a drug lord in the neighbourhood where he donated 443 houses to formerly homeless people.
The mighty and notorious Pablo Escobar was gunned down in his home city of Medellin by police on 2 December 1993, a day after his 44th birthday. One resident, Maria Eugenia Castano, said: “I see him like a second God. To me, God is first, and then him.”
Escobar’s eight-storey mansion, The Monaco, has fallen into disrepair since Pablo’s death. The white building is set to be demolished in February, in an event complete with stands for people to watch. The local authorities don’t want to have such an anti-symbol, in a place where some people are outspoken defenders of crime and terrorism. “We don’t want any more children saying they want to be Pablo Escobar when they grow up,” said Manuel Villa, the city hall secretary who will perform the official countdown to the detonation.
