Escobar, Pablo Gaviria (1949–1993)

Colombian drug dealer, racketeer, and politician. From humble beginnings he became the leader of an international drugs cartel based in the city of Medellín. His activities, which included political assassination and terrorism, brought international condemnation.

As head of the Medellín cartel, Escobar transformed the law-abiding city of Medellín into the narcotics capital of South America. His political ambitions in the 1980s (in 1982 he was elected to congress) led to the assassination of opponents as well as indiscriminate acts of terrorism. After escaping from ‘voluntary imprisonment’ he was killed by police while resisting arrest.

The son of a small farmer and a teacher, he became involved in petty crime at an early age. Stealing cars and smuggling cigarettes led to dealing in marijuana and then cocaine in the 1970s, and he became a key player in the rapidly growing drugs trade. Incongruously, he achieved a different sort of fame with the unique zoological collection that he established on the Magdalena River. A determined campaign by the Colombian government, encouraged by the USA, eventually brought his voluntary surrender.