Pablo Escobar

Pablo Escobar, popularly known as the Colombian Drug Lord and narco-terrorist, was born in Rionegro, Colombia. His involvement in criminal activities began during his teenage. Since then he had been a part of selling illegal cigarettes, fake lottery tickets, kidnapping and even motor vehicle thefts.

It was only after establishing himself as a legit criminal he started selling powder cocaine and eventually became the first cocaine smuggler in 1975 USA. His drug network came to be known as the Medellin Cartel.

He’s been involved in massive drug trafficking, involving around 70–80 tons of cocaine being shipped from Colombia to the USA on monthly basis. By the early 1990’s he became the richest drug mafia in the history with a net worth of about US $30 billion.

Reaching heights of success, the Medellin Cartel was able to smuggle 15 tons of cocaine every day which was worth more than half a billion dollar in the USA. During this time, they were able to capture about 80% of the global cocaine market. Other drug traffickers were handing over a good percentage (i.e. 20–30%) of their profits to Escobar as he was the sole owner of the carrier of those drugs from Colombia to the USA.

Escobar became the hero in Medellin, especially amongst the poor. He not only created goodwill but a few football fields and multi sports courts as well. He also sponsored for kids football teams and helped the poor in constructing their houses.

His birth and life haven’t been much of a mystery, but what about his death? How did Pablo Escobar die?

His death has been nothing less than a substantial mystery to everyone. According to reports, his dead body was found on a rooftop in Medellin, Colombia. The bystanders reported a 20-minute shootout between Pablo, his bodyguard, Alvaro de Jesus Agudelo and some elite police task force, known as the “Search Bloc.” The fatal shot took place on December 2nd, 1993. Before his body fell dead on the floor, Pablo was on the run from his ‘luxurious prison,’ La Catedral since June 1992. The police tracked him based on the call he made to his son Juan Pablo.

A Colombian Electronic Surveillance team used radio triangulation technology to track Pablo’s radiotelephone transmissions and found him hiding in Los Olivos, Medellín. Both Pablo and his body guard struggled to escape by hopping across the adjoining roofs to find an escape route, but they were shot and slew by the Colombian National Police. Escobar got shot in his leg and torso, and a fatal gunshot pierced through his ear.

Apart from the murder reports, there have been few conspiracy theories behind his death too.

#1. This theory has been propounded by Pablo’s son, Juan, 39, who claims that he knows the actual reason behind his father’s death. He recalls the phone conversations between the two, where the father told him about shooting himself in the right ear to prevent being captured alive.

#2. The other theory blames Los Pepes, a group including rival drug traffickers and other people who were mocked by the Medellin cartel’s boss. According to a former member of the Medellin cartel, the group was aimed to take vengeance and therefore offered money to the Search Bloc to commit the murder.

He could not be held liable to any punishments for using and selling drugsbecause of his sudden and unsaid demise. Soon after his death, the Medellin Cartel fragmented, giving way to rival Cali Cartel.

Pablo’s funeral was attended by 25,000 people from all around the globe, and his Robin Hood image kept him alive even after his death.

Originally Published at How Did Pablo Escobar Die?