Major achievements

• For the people of Medellin, the urban namesake of Pablo's cocaine cartel, Escobar would become a hero, a builder of hospitals, and a leader of men. In the early 60's, Colombian farmers grew and sold coca plants and extracts to outside interests, never really paying attention to what the vegetation was used for. When Escobar came of age in the late 60's, he quickly realized that all this coca was being snorted up the noses of the rapidly expanding drug culture in America. As such, he decided that the best way to make money off of the sale and processing was to control all sides of the business. He quickly took over the coca fields around Medellin, paying farmers and workers double what they were making on their own. Escobar then opened processing labs and facilities nearby to turn the plants into sweet, sweet nose candy. But by 1982, Pablo Escobar was raking in billions of dollars from American coke heads, and he used those funds to win the hearts and minds of Medellin residents. He built hospitals, schools, and low income housing projects for his loyal workers. By year’s end, he was even elected to a seat in the Colombian congress. In 1989, Forbes magazine listed Escobar as the seventh richest man in the world. Despite his wealth, Pablo was living the life of a fugitive. There were arrest warrants issued for him in both Colombia and the United States. He was offered clemency if he turned himself into the Colombian authorities and gave up his empire. After a botched assassination attempt by a rival cartel, Pablo turned himself in to Colombian authorities. While on the run, he placed a bounty on the heads of all police officers, American citizens, and military personnel within Medellin. He paid $300 a head For the poor folks of this Colombian town, the bounty was a god-send. Dozens of cops and officials were slaughtered and decapitated while Pablo was on the run. It was easy to spot Pablo's hideouts after he'd left them; they were all run-down houses with shiny new bathrooms. In 1993, Pablo Escobar made a cell phone call from an apartment building in Medellin. The Colombian secret police stormed the building and shot Escobar dead within moments.