Adonis Mezee Nyagbona
Professor Jacobs
English 111
6 October 2015
Pablo Escobar Colombia’s Dream or Nightmare? December 2, 1993 the world’s most wanted man was tracked down to a small house in a suburb outside of Medellin. Many would ask who the world’s most wanted man was at this time and it would be none other than El Padrino (the Godfather) Pablo Escobar. For those who do not know El Padrino he was the world’s largest cocaine distributor in the world. Even though many Colombians prospered from Pablo Escobar’s cocaine trade; was the financial gain worth the state becoming a narco-terror state; and introducing the world to a substance which would increase terror and corruption in two countries. Many Colombians and Americans would say no. Even though killing Pablo Escobar did not reduce the output of cocaine being imported into the U.S. and around the world. Many Colombians felt as if his death ended the narco-terror which paralyzed Colombia for almost fifteen years, but some Colombians believe that his good justified the means of his brutality. In the early 1970’s the United States started a campaign called the War on Drugs, President Richard Nixon declared “drug abuse enemy number one’ in 1971. Why did Richard Nixon take a hard line look at drugs with the Vietnam War taken place? Was it because, he looked at drugs as symbols of rebellion, political strife, and or social upheaval? Who knows what President Nixon’s reasoning for this new policy? After this policy was established earlier in the decade; there was a drug renaissance about a certain white powder, which would change the course of the United States forever. This drug renaissance came along with the perception that it was cool to use after seeing many celebrities such as Steven Tyler from the Rock band Aerosmith, who said he “spent 20 million dollars on cocaine in the 70’s and 80’s. (Tyler 50)” This type of glorification of cocaine was not just by Hollywood musicians but also many actors had a large role in introducing this glamour drug to the mainstream population as the drug of the rich and famous. During the mid to late 70’s in the U.S. cocaine was taking off as the drug of choice for the elites of U.S. society. Blow which was the street name for cocaine begin showing up in prestigious disco techs such as Studio 54 which was one of the most exclusive nightclubs in New York City. Cocaine had gotten so big so fast that a whole sub-industry was devoted to helping wealthier clientele have ease of access to using the drug. During the 1970’s magazine ads were devoted strictly to cocaine users such as “The Blue Lady “ad in 1979. This advertising would make cocaine a billion dollar business rivaling major cooperation’s such as Coca-Cola. With advertising and social glorification by such big names as Steven Tyler there seemed to be no one who could stop this wonder drug. During the late 1970’s and throughout the 1980’s the Medellin Cartel came to its meteoric rise due to America’s lust for cocaine; but why many Americans enjoyed this drug the United States government was becoming aggravated with Colombia’s wonder drug making U.S. citizens seem like overzealous drug addicts. To combat this perception of the United States perceived drug problem many congressmen became infatuated with these perceived drug barons making a mockery out of the. United States drug policy, so in 1979 the United States and the Colombian government negotiated the Extradition treaty of 1979. The 1979 Extradition treaty between Colombia and the United States served notice to the Medellin Cartel that they were not above the law in the United States; and could be convicted of drug trafficking crimes without ever stepping foot on U.S. soil. This treaty between these two countries would forever change the way that Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel would conduct narco operations throughout Colombia. To avoid extradition Pablo Escobar and other leaders of the Medellin Cartel came to the conclusion that gaining political allies would help their case in the fight against extradition to the United States. To maintain their charmed lifestyle Pablo Escobar, Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha, Carlos Ledher, and the Ochoa brothers Jorge Luis Ochoa and Fabio Ochoa formed a group called Los Extraditables, which was to put political pressure on all forms of the Colombian government to abolish extradition to the United States. The Medellin Cartel’s vision of a cocaine cooperation rivaling the likes of Exxon or Macy’s could only be fulfilled by having political power and lobbyists who would fight on behalf of the cartel’s leaders. Many political parties in Colombia were not immune to drug money due to the abundance of the money, which could provide hefty campaign contributions and lavish lifestyles for those politicians who would look the other way. After Pablo Escobar was elected to the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia as part of the Colombian Liberal Party it had now become clear to the rest of the world that Colombia was one step closer to becoming a narco-state flooded in drug corruption. On the world stage Colombia had quietly become a state with no values and was portrayed as a country contributing the United States drug epidemic. Plata or Plumo is a narco saying from the Medellin Cartel, which means silver or lead; this phrase came to be known to politicians as take my bribe or be assassinated. Many brave Colombian politicians decided that taking a bribe from narco-terrorist would further discredit Colombia as a legitimate nation and keep the perception of a drug-state. These politicians would meet their downfall at the hands of bombings and machine gun killings. Denouncing the Medellin Cartel and not accepting the bribes led to the key assassinations of many important political leaders such as the Minister of Justice Rodrigo Lara Bonilla, who was assassinated April 30, 1984 when his car was machine gunned by a Medellin Cartel hitman.
After the assassination of Rodrigo Lara Bonilla political influence for the cartel was starting to falter, due to the murders and chaos of the narcos. (Bowden 124) The political influence started to dwindle for the cartels; when extradition was approved after the death of Minister Bonilla. This event would lead to the Medellin Cartel seizing the Colombian Palace of Justice, which is the equivalent of the United States Supreme Court; this move would show that the Cartels had lost all political influence and could only persuade the Colombian government by terror tactics and intimidation. Many Colombians look at Pablo Escobar as a cult hero in his native Medellin for the money and infrastructure, he implanted into his home town. With the money made from the violent drug trade; Pablo Escobar became one of the richest men in the world. The country of Columbia has always been perceived by the rest of the world as an impoverished country which lacks the resources to be anything more than a third world country. One man thought of his homeland as much more than a third world country and decided to take it upon himself to improve the living standards; but was the development of a poor country worth the strife and terror of the drug trade? Escobar’s first act of kindness would be Civismo en Marcha, a welfare program which planted trees, developed sports facilities and medical care treatment centers for the less fortunate. But as Escobar became more violent and gained more wealth he also became even more of a philanthropist; establishing his most famous initiative Medellin sin tugurios (Medellin without slums), which included Barrio Pablo Escobar. This neighborhood was constructed because Pablo Escobar was distraught over living conditions for members of the neighborhood who had been forced to live on a garbage landfill. Looking at the person which is Pablo Escobar it can be said that he built Barrio Pablo Escobar to find new siccarios (assassins) for his war against extradition; which is the stance that the Colombian government still holds today twenty-two years after Escobar’s death. Siccarios have been used by Escobar as a form of cheap help to assassinate high ranking government officials; these young kids were promised money for sanctioned murders. The Colombian government was helpless because the Medellin Cartel had won the hearts and minds of these disenchanted populations who had long been neglected by the overlooking Colombian government. The death of Pablo Escobar can be considered one of the greatest days in Colombia’s history besides gaining independence. Certain factors would lead to the death and fall of the Medellin Cartel’s leader, which was put into place years earlier as Escobar had declared all-out war on the Colombian government for approving extradition. After numerous assassinations of key government leaders such presidential candidates, supreme court judges, and high ranking police officers the Colombian Government decided to take the fight Pablo Escobar and his Medellin Cartel. The first step to this war would be the creation of a special police unit called Search Bloc, containing the most loyal and highly skilled policeman in Colombia. The Search Bloc may have been created to capture or kill Pablo Escobar, but it was the Search Bloc which would take the casualties early once this all-out war started between Escobar’s Medellin Cartel and the Colombian Government. Why Pablo Escobar was viewed as a Robin Hood type personality in the early eighty’s he had now became a fugitive and wanted man after the presidential assassination of Luis Galan, and the death and kidnapping of Diana Turbay Colombia’s most beloved reporter and daughter of former Colombian President Julio Cesar Turbay.; All the bridges for Escobar and his cartel had now been burned and in 1989 Jose Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha also known as “The Mexican” was killed in a shootout with the Search Bloc. After Gacha was killed by the Search Bloc another leader of Escobar’s Medellin Cartel was captured putting more pressure on the cocaine king, this time it would be the head of Escobar’s transportation operation Carlos Ledher, who had been instrumental in the drug trade with his creation of drug routes from the Caribbean islands would be arrested by the United Stated Drug Enforcement Agency which crippled the Cartel’s financial situation. Escobar had started to feel the walls caving in, and decided to cut a deal with the Colombian government surrendering and being placed in his own prison, but even as Escobar had surrendered he was still conducting illegal activities such as assassinations and murders of rival cartels and disloyal cartel members. .The forthcoming events would set into place the last few months of Pablo Escobar’s life; ending Colombia’s nightmare of death and destruction. Escobar’s demise would come a few months after he escaped La Cathedral his personal built prison, due to the Colombian National police raiding the prison to send Escobar to a state ran prison. In December of 1993 Pablo Escobar would be killed right outside of his hometown Medellin by the Search Bloc .Ending one of the most Violent times in Colombia since La Viclena When Pablo Escobar was killed, many Colombians rejoiced and celebrated the end of a terribly violent era and Americans applauded the accomplishment as great step forward in combating the illegal drug trade. Escobar may have been hated by the Americans and the elites of Colombia, but the lower class of Colombia grieved the loss of a hero and the essence of hope for those who were not wealthy. Today Colombia is a better place after the death of the world’s largest cocaine trafficker; there are no bombings historic landmarks, police officers are now once again safe to patrol without fear of being murdered by sicarios doing their jobs.

Pablo Escobar Colombia Worst Nightmare:
An Annotated Bibliography
Rico. "Medellín: How Colombia's Second City Overcame Its Drug Cartel Past."
International Business Times, March 5, 2013. Accessed April 1, 2013. In this article the Author discusses how the city of Medellin has overcame its violent past to become one of Colombia main tourist attractions.
Ruble, Nikki M., and William L. Turner. "A Systemic Analysis of the Dynamics and
Organization of Urban Street Gangs'" The Journal of Family Therapy 28 (2000). When Ruble discusses how gangs are organized in urban areas it is implied that poverty and poor education help lead to members joining gangs. Gangs are the creation of neglected peoples whose society have overlooked them as the author discuses.
Holmes, Jennifer S., Sheila Amin Gutierrez De Pineres, and Kevin M. Curtin. "Drug,
Violence, and Development in Colombia: A Department-Level Analysis." Latin
American Politics and Society 48.3 (2006). The analysis in this article discusses how drug violence help develop some of the country’s economic infrastructure such as Luxurious resorts and many schools, and hospitals. This suggests that the narco trafficers may have positively influenced the Latin American country’s financial situations.
Bowden, Mark. Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw. New York: Atlantic Monthly, 2001. Print Killing Pablo discusses the life and death of Pablo Escobar and the downfall of the Medellin Cartel. During his time as the world’s most wanted narc-terrorist Escobar and his cartel bring the country of Colombia to its knees forcing the state to fight for its existence as a respected country and not a narco-state.
Tyler, Steven. Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?: A Rock'n'Roll Memoir. 0. Print. In this memoir written by Steven Tyler he discusses his life and times of being a Rock’n’Roll pioneer. Tyler also talks about his cocaine addiction during the 70’s and 80’s on how he spent 20 million dollars to support his habit.
"These Cocaine Ads From The 1970s Prove The Past Is A Different World." 18 Sept. 2015. Print. This article takes a look at how cocaine was looked at during the 1970’s, taking snapshots of old ads from the 70’s which promoted cocaine use for the casual user.