Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria is a Colombian drug lord, narcoterrorist, and the founder of the Medellín Cartel. He is referred to as "the king of cocaine" and is considered to be one of the wealthiest criminals in history. Pablo Escobar's estimated net worth is $30 billion. In the 1980s and early 1990s, he monopolized the cocaine trade in the United States.
Pablo was born in Rionegro, Colombia, and raised in Medellín. Pablo got into some criminal activity by selling illegal cigarettes and fake lottery tickets as a teenager. He became more serious when he joined a gang that stole cars for a living. During the early 1970s, he started to work with various drug smugglers and often kidnapped and held people for ransom.
In this post, you will find information and rare pictures of Pablo Escobar, his wife Maria, and his children.
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The Story of Pablo Escobar
Pablo Escobar founded the Medellín Cartel in 1976. Initially, it distributed cocaine only in Colombia, but soon its reach grew to include smuggling routes into the United States and other countries. As a result of this globalization, cocaine became increasingly popular. Eventually, Escobar was leading shipments of up to 80 tons every month. This had a huge impact on the world as it turned Colombia into one of the most dangerous countries.
In 1982, Pablo Escobar was elected as a substitute member of the Chamber of Representatives in Colombia. He was responsible for community projects like constructing houses and football fields, which helped him gain popularity among the locals of the towns he frequented.
Escobar surrendered to the officials in 1991 and was sentenced to five years in prison on numerous charges. But he was granted an agreement from Colombian President Cesar Gaviria: he could live in a prison of his own design. In 1992, he escaped when officials attempted to move him to a more standard facility. With the Medellín Cartel in shambles after his escape, Escobar went into hiding. However, he was killed in 1993 by Colombian National Police one day before his 44th birthday.
Pablo Escobar and Maria Henao
Escobar married Maria Henao by eloping with her in 1976. At that time, Pablo was 26 years old, and Maria was only 15. Maria's family was against their relationship, so the couple eloped. They had two children: Juan Pablo and Manuela.
Pablo and Maria met in 1974 through her brother Carlos when she was just 13 years old. She fell in love with him, and he pursued her until she eventually said yes to marrying him. Maria Victoria Henao was born in Palmira, Colombia, in 1961. Even though Pablo and Maria had a good marriage, Pablo had affairs with many women. Maria only knew that Pablo was in the real estate business when they met because Pablo was not disclosing his work to her.
In their 17 years, Maria had gone through much pain because of Pablo's deeds. But, she couldn't ask for help from her family because she ended ties with them to marry Pablo.
After Pablo's death, they mourned and wanted to move peacefully. Maria and her children used anonymous names and maintained a low profile to hide their identity. But, they were arrested in 1999 because of allegations that Maria knew about Pablo's businesses. She denied this, and after a lack of evidence, they released Maria and her children. However, they got arrested again for helping a drug trafficker.
Today, Maria's son is now named Sebastián Marroquín and works as a lecturer. He authored the book "Pablo Escobar: My Father." Their daughter severed ties with the family. Maria lives in an apartment.
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