Robert James Wegner
Z1576166
From White Gold to
Red Blood
The name Pablo Escobar is well recognized around the globe for
being the king pin of the largest cartel that this world has seen. His ability to corrupt, intimidate and
manipulate gave him the title of one of the most feared men to walk the
Earth.
Little
is known about Escobar’s childhood, only that he grew up very poor with his
mother being a schoolteacher and his father, a farmer. It seems to me that his mother was unable to
teach young Pablo right from wrong, yet he was able to learn something from his
father who made a living of crops he grew to sell at the local market. Unlike
his father who was known to grow legal crops, Escobar began his reign of power
though the sale of marijuana and cocaine. Also unlike his father who was
selling his fruits and vegetable on a small-time local scale, Pablo’s product
was sold worldwide. In fact, it is estimated that in the 1980’s Pablo Escobar’s
cocaine supplied over 80% of the United States’ demand.
Before
this, Pablo was a small town thug with a thirst for money. He quickly realized
that he was able manipulate his way out of situations and used these abilities
to lie, cheat and steal from the peasants whom he grew up with. He was known to
steal cars, rob unarmed civilians and went as far to rob graves of the dead so
he could strip them of their quotes and resell them to the local morgues. An
individual who is willing to stoop to these levels, is arguably capable of
anything.
At the
young age 26 Escobar was arrested with 39 lbs. of cocaine but was never put on
trial. This was because no one had the audacity to convict him, considering
that the officer who arrested Escobar mysteriously disappeared and all of the
judges in the area received death threats—needless to say he was not tried, and
later was let free.
His
enterprise grew rapidly considering a kilo of 90% pure cocaine had a price tag
of $9,000 after leaving Columbia. By the
time it got into the United States the price had risen to $30,000. After getting across the border and
into one of his many safe houses around the country, the cocaine was then “cut”
to 30% purity and the value skyrocketed to a whopping $300,000. The cartels
moved an estimated 95,000 kilos of cocaine per year, which made a gargantuan
net profit of $2.75 billion dollars per year for Pablo. With enormous amounts
of illegal activity and funds tends to come a massive amount of murder; which
the streets of New York and Miami are still known for today.
Many
people wonder how one person would be able to bring so much cocaine across the
U.S. border. Escobar used planes, various airdrops and brought his product in
though our ports. He was a smart business man and would let a small amounts of
this “white gold” be seized by the United States government; while they were
busy breaking the news about that bust, Escobar had much larger shipment coming
into the country in a different way.
In
Escobar’s younger days, to avoid prosecution, he became very involved in
politics and in 1982 was even elected to be a member of the Columbian congress.
This granted Pablo Escobar immunity from arrest. When asked about his
involvement in the drug trade he challenged his accusers by saying “I give the
justice minister twenty four hours to provide proof of his claim that I am
involved in drug trafficking, or I will accuse him of slander.” It was
intimidating tactics like these that made Escobar such a successful drug deader
and businessman. He quickly got out of polices after realizing how easy it was
to manipulate, pay off, and intimidate other people in political power.
From a
grave stone burglar to the most infamous drug dealer this world has ever known,
Pablo Escobar’s name will be remembered not as a political leader but a man who
played on peoples’ fear, and used excessive force in to gain power and get his
way.
Like
many large drug dealers, I strongly believe that if Pablo Escobar did not get
into drug trafficking that he could have been a very successful businessman or
politician—had he lead an honest lifestyle. He was a smart man and had a
business motto that has yet to be duplicated.
He was able to sneak in and supply entire countries with his product. He
was able to manage money, grow profits and create an empire unparalleled to
anything that has been seen since. He was a family man who was known as a man that would do anything for them. Once
when his family and him were on the run, he burned almost $2 million in cash to
keep them warm and to cook their food. It is said that he had his family moved
between safe houses every 48 hours to prevent his inevitable death in 1993.
With all of the problems that arose out of Escobar’s chosen
field, he was a smart businessman who arguable would be a model for all
businesses should he have been involved with legitimate operations. However,
being a family man and not forgetting where he came from, he provided for them
and those from his town. He will forever remain an image of notoriety and as an
illegal drug lord
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