Russian drug lords. The richest drug lords in history

Since the release of the first list of the world's richest people in 1982, Forbes magazine has included drug lords and gangsters there - since organized crime is part of the global economy, these incomes must be counted. For example, according to The Guardian, the Calabrian mafia Ndrangheta in 2013 enriched itself more than Deutsche Bank and McDonald’s combined - by € 53 billion.

Below are the notorious figures of the underworld who made millions and billions - Pablo Escobar, "Shorty", Al Capone, Tony Salerno and others.

Pablo Escobar

Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar became the first criminal to be listed on Forbes' 100 International Billionaires in 1987 with $ 3 billion in revenue. He only dropped out after his death in 1993. Led by Escobar, the Medellin cartel from 1981 to 1986 had revenue of $ 7 billion, the drug lord took 40% for himself. The cartel's main wealth came from the smuggling of cocaine in the United States (about 15 tons daily); in the late 1980s, it owned 80% of the entire cocaine market in the world. According to Business Insider, Escobar earned $ 420 million per week, according to other sources, his fortune totaled more than $ 30 billion.

Each year, the king of cocaine lost about $ 2.1 billion (10% of the proceeds), as money was randomly stored in warehouses and abandoned farms, it was destroyed by mold and rodents. He spent $ 2,500 every month on rubber bands to hold the bills. Once Escobar burned $ 2 million to warm his daughter: the family was then hiding in the mountains, and there was nothing to start a fire from. In 1984, the cartel offered to pay Colombia's national debt in exchange for immunity. For Escobar's head, the Drug Enforcement Administration has appointed a reward of $ 11 million. km.

The life of the drug lord was so bright that Netflix in 2015 released the series "Narco" dedicated to him.

Joaquin Guzman Loera

In 2009, the Mexican drug lord Joaquin Guzman Loera, nicknamed "Shorty", was included in the list of the richest people on the planet Forbes with a fortune of $ 1 billion. In 2012 and 2013, he was ranked 63rd and 67th among the most influential people in the world. Strategic Forecasting Inc. and even estimated his wealth at $ 12 billion.The Sinaloa cartel under the leadership of Loer was responsible for 25% of illegal drug trafficking from Mexico to the United States and received $ 3 billion in revenue. The New York Times, citing data from the Drug Enforcement Administration, writes that the cartel sold more cocaine than Escobar at the height of his career.

"Shorty" started his business in the early 1990s, transporting cocaine, including in chili cans (in 1993, the Mexican authorities confiscated such a 7-ton cargo). He was declared "Mexico's most wanted man" with a $ 7 million catch bounty: $ 5 million from the United States and another $ 2 million from Mexico. He was first arrested in 1993, but escaped from prison in 2001. The last time the Mexican intelligence services captured Loera in Sinaloa in January 2016. The drug lord was ruined by vanity. He was going to make a biopic about himself and was casting. In addition, actor Sean Penn flew to Shorty for interviews. It is believed that the authorities were able to track the movements of the perpetrator due to this.

Brothers Ochoa and Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha

In 1987, along with Escobar, the co-founders of the Medellin cartel, Jorge Luis Ochoa-Vasquez (with an income of $ 2 billion) with brothers Juan David and Fabio, who received 30% of the cartel's proceeds, were included in the Forbes list of the richest. The Ochoa brothers stayed on the Forbes list for another 6 years until they surrendered to the authorities.

The drug lord Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha, who lived at the same time, worked both with the Medellin cartel and independently: (for example, transporting cocaine disguised as flower deliveries to the United States from Bogota) was also a billionaire. In 1988, Forbes estimated his fortune at $ 1.3 billion. Gacha stayed on the list for two years until he was shot by Colombian police.

Raphael Caro Quintero and Amado Carrillo Fuentes

Before the star of the drug lord "Shorty" rose in Mexico, two names thundered there - Rafael Caro Quintero (pictured) and Carrillo Fuentes. The head of the Guadalajara cartel, Rafael Quintero, owned a marijuana plantation called Rancho Bufalo. During a 1984 police raid, about 6,000 tons of marijuana were seized on the ranch, which, according to The Wall Street Journal, cost Quintero between $ 3.2 and $ 8 billion. The Guadalajara cartel earned $ 5 billion a year. There were rumors in the Mexican press that Quintero, following Escobar, offered to pay off Mexico's foreign debt in exchange for his freedom. The drug lord was sentenced in 1989 to 40 years in a Mexican prison, but 28 years later he was released.

The second Mexican drug lord is Carrillo Fuentes, head of the Juarez cartel. The Washington Post estimated his fortune at $ 25 billion. It is believed that the wealth allowed him to avoid justice for many years. Fuentes received the nickname "Lord of the Skies" for an extensive fleet (22 aircraft) to transport cocaine to the United States. Fuentes died in 1997 during plastic surgery to change his appearance.

Morris Dalitz

Moritz (Mo) Dalitz was one of the legendary gangsters such as Al Capone and Bugsy Siegel. During the Prohibition era, he was involved in bootlegging, and later in gambling and real estate. In 1982, Dalitz was in the first list of the richest Forbes along with artist Yoko Ono, actor Bob Hope and mafia accountant Meyer Lansky. Dalitz's fortune was estimated at $ 110 million, but how much he actually earned remains a question.

Dalitz received a significant share of his wealth from the first casinos in Las Vegas. In 1949, he co-founded the Desert Inn Casino and the Stardust Hotel. In the 1950s, he took part in the emergence of the Paradise Development Company, which built a university and convention center in Las Vegas. In the 1960s, he invested in the $ 100 million La Costa Resort complex near San Diego, after which he sued for $ 640 million with Penthouse magazine, which wrote that the construction was funded by the mafia. Unlike many colleagues in the criminal past, Dalitz lived to old age, in recent years he was engaged in charity work.

Khun Sa

The fortune of Khun Sa, the "Opium King", was estimated by Business Insider at $ 5 billion. Born Chang Shifu, the son of a Chinese and a Shan woman, in the 1960s he changed his name to the pseudonym Khun Sa, which means "Prosperous Prince." During these years, he led the Burmese army that cultivated opium in the Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia, which included 20,000 men. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Sa army controlled the Thai-Burmese border and was responsible for 45% of the pure heroin entering the United States, for which the DEA called it "the best in business" (according to The Economist).

For the head of the "Opium King" the US government has appointed a reward of $ 2 million. By the 1990s, the DEA was able to destroy the trading chain of Sa, he moved to Yangon and retired. Currently, opium production in the Golden Triangle has fallen to 5% of the global figure (in 1975 it was 70%).

There are different versions of whether the drug lord saved billions until his death in 2007 - from "living in luxury" to "being content with a modest pension."

Griselda Blanco

Colombian Griselda Blanco was called the "Godmother of cocaine" by the Western press. Blanco was one of the key figures in the Miami cocaine trade during the 1970s and 1980s. Even in the male drug business, she had a reputation as a ruthless businessman. According to Business Insider, her fortune was close to $ 2 billion, however, she was far from the income of Exobar.

Three times a widow, whose spouses were rumored to have died at her hands, she named one of her sons Michael Corleone. According to The Guardian, its distribution network made tens of millions of dollars and transported around 1,500 kilograms of cocaine per month. Before his arrest in 1985 in California, The Godmother was on the list of the most dangerous drug dealers along with Escobar and the Ochoa brothers. She was charged with 40 to 200 murders in Florida, but the woman managed to avoid the death penalty due to a technical error in court: the officer who testified against her was discredited because he had a sex conversation on the phone with a secretary in the prosecutor's office, wrote the Guardian. Blanco was imprisoned in federal prison, deported to Colombia in 2004, where 8 years later she was shot by a murderer on a motorcycle.

Al Capone

Capone is the most famous American gangster. A character named Al Capone appears in 77 Mafia films.

At the time of his death in 1947, his fortune was estimated at $ 1.3 billion. Capone acted in various criminal areas - bootlegging, racketeering, murder. In 1929, he was declared Enemy # 1 by the American government. The prosecutor's office has repeatedly sentenced Capone to prison, but after a few months he was released. As a result, in 1931, Capone could be sentenced only for tax evasion - for 11 years. He was to spend most of his term in Alcatraz.

In 1939, Capone came out, but his health was undermined - he suffered from syphilis and dementia.

In 2012, Forbes conducted an analysis of the former Capone property. The Chicago four-bedroom house, which he bought with his first earnings, was estimated at $ 450,000, and the mansion in Miami Beach, where he died in 1947, at $ 9.95 million.

Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar

The income of the most wanted criminal in India is estimated by Business Insider at $ 6.7 billion. Forbes included Cascar in the lists of the most influential people in the world in 2009, 2010 and 2011 (50th, 63rd and 57th place, respectively). His crime syndicate D-Company is accused of terrorist attacks in Mumbai in 1993 and 2008, and he was also involved in drug and arms smuggling. The US government believes that Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar is associated with al-Qaeda and the Taliban. According to one version, Kaskar is hiding in Pakistan.

Anthony Salerno

In 1986, Fortune magazine published a list of the "50 Most Influential Mafia Bosses". The editor-in-chief explained the appearance of the material by the fact that "organized crime is a powerful economic factor." Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno also made the list. The Genovese clan led by a gangster (300 people) was engaged in racketeering and drugs in New York. According to The New York Times, the clan's influence extended to Cleveland, Nevada, and Miami, and its areas of interest also included construction, usury and casinos. Since the 1960s, the clan has earned $ 50 million a year. Between 1981 and 1985, Salerno imposed a two percent Mafia tax in New York on all contractors on the pouring of concrete for buildings worth more than $ 2 million. Salerno's real fortune could be $ 1 billion.

In 1988, the gangster was sentenced to 70 years for racketeering and concealment of illegal income of $ 10 million a year (the declaration indicated only $ 40,000 a year). Four years later, at the age of 80, he died in prison.

Michael Franzese

In the Fortune list of "50 Most Influential Mafia Bosses," Michael Franzese ranked 18th. Franzese, nicknamed "Don Yuppie" - the son of a bank robber who formed a cartel that was involved in the release of B films, illegal gasoline sales, car repair and sale scams, fraudulent loans.

Michael Franzese received from $ 1 to $ 2 million in income per week. In 1985, the US government accused him of fraud, stripped him of $ 4.8 million in assets and ordered him to refund $ 10 million for illegal gasoline sales through fly-by-night firms. After eight years in prison and a $ 15 million payment, Franses moved to California and decided to capitalize on his criminal record. He has written two books - the autobiography Blood Covenant and the business advice book I'll Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse, and sold CBS the rights to a miniseries about his life. The former gangster now lives in a $ 2.7 million home, drives a Porsche, gives interviews to Vanity Fair, and lectures at universities.

Shinobu Tsukasa

Shinobu Tsukasa, 74, runs a yakuza clan called the Yamaguchi-gumi. Fortune has included the Yamaguchi-gumi in the list of the five most powerful mafia groups in the world with an annual profit of $ 6.6 billion. Yamaguchi was founded in the port city of Kobe more than 100 years ago and has 23,400 members. Most of the income comes from selling drugs, as well as gambling and extortion.

Shinobu Tsukasa is the sixth clan leader in history. In the 1970s, he was sentenced to 13 years for murder with a samurai sword. In 2005, he went to prison for 6 years for possession of a firearm. In 2015, a split occurred in the Yamaguchi-gumi. According to the Tokyo Reporter, most of the group remained with Tsukasa, with 3,000 members forming a new clan led by Kunio Inoue.

John Gotti

New York Gambino boss John Gotti has received two nicknames from the press. “Teflon Don” - for being invulnerable to justice for a long time. And also "Don the Dandy" - for expensive bespoke suits (Brioni for $ 2000 and hand-painted silk scarves for $ 400), meticulous hairstyle, black Mercedes 450 SL and lavish parties.

Raised in the South Bronx, Gotti joined the Gambino clan in the 1950s, a powerful syndicate of gambling, extortion, usury and drugs. The US government suspected that on the way to the post of head of the Gambino Gotti in 1985 removed his predecessor, Paul Castelano. The FBI agent who worked on the Gotti case said that "he was the first don for the media, never tried to hide that he was a superboss." And his wide lifestyle and outward gloss have always provided food for articles in the tabloids.

According to the New York Times, Gotti earned between $ 10 and $ 12 million annually, while the Gambino clan earned more than $ 500 million a year in the 1980s. Justice got to Gotti only in 1992, 10 years later he died in prison.

These drug lords are no longer dangerous. Someone in prison, someone in the next world. But their work, alas, lives on and flourishes.

1. Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela

Source: cocaine.org

Nickname "Chess Player". One of the most famous drug lords in the world. In the early 1990s, he controlled up to 80% of the world's cocaine smuggling. Orejuela's brothers, Gilberto and Miguel, once ran the Colombian drug cartel Cali, once the most powerful crime syndicate in the world. He competed with the infamous Medellin drug cartel. Arrested in 1995. At the time of their arrest, the brothers' annual income was $ 8 billion. Extradited to the United States in 2004.

2. Joaquin Guzman Loera

Source: wordpress.com

Nickname "Shorty". This Mexican billionaire drug lord is ranked 24th most influential people in the world. He is the author of the widely used technology of transporting cocaine across the Mexican-American border through underground tunnels. In 1993 he was arrested and convicted. However, in 2001 he managed to escape from prison through bribery. At the moment, after the assassination of Osama bin Laden by American special forces, he is considered the most wanted criminal by American justice.

3. Oziel Cardenas

Nickname "Friend-killer". One of the most brutal Mexican drug lords. In February 2010, he was sentenced in the United States to 25 years in prison. In court, he confessed to drug dealing, money laundering, attempted murder and attacks on US federal agents. Prior to his arrest in 2003, he led a "smuggling empire" in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, smuggling tons of cocaine into the United States every year. He was known for his special cruelty towards enemies and competitors.

4. Amado Carrillo Fuentes

Source: mysanantonio.com

Nickname "Lord of Heaven". Received it for the fact that he often smuggled drugs to the United States by air on planes. One of the founders of the Juarez drug cartel. Some experts consider him to be the largest drug dealer in the history of mankind. According to some reports, shortly before his death in 1997, he came to Moscow to meet with the leaders of the Russian drug mafia. Died of a lethal mixture of painkillers while trying to change his appearance.

5. Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria

Colombian drug cartels are a huge octopus that has entangled not only Colombia, but also neighboring countries with its tentacles. Local residents obey them more than the authorities, and fear them more than the special services. In their arsenal - kidnapping, torture, murder. Few people know about their structure, business and income - the members of the cartel are used to keeping their mouths shut on pain of death. But some of the secrets of the drug lords of Colombia still became known to the general public.

Colombian drug cartels have their own fleet

The main source of income for Colombian drug cartels is drug smuggling into the United States. This business brings crazy profits, but, as you know, no business will develop well if you do not invest in it. And the Colombians have something to invest in the business. Since overland delivery of goods is not only dangerous, but also fraught with large losses due to vigilant customs officers and border guards, Colombians, competing with each other, are actively looking for new ways to deliver contraband to the huge American market, trying to grab additional market share at every opportunity ... Therefore, Colombia's most powerful drug cartels have their own small fleet, which includes not only speedboats, but even submarines! Such submarines are able to covertly approach the coast in secret places, immediately delivering huge loads of goods.

Colombians successfully corrupt US Drug Enforcement Administration employees

Of course, the supply of drugs and human goods is more convenient if you are covered by those who, on duty, must fight against your activities. And Colombians are sparing no effort in this direction. Recently, the United States was rocked by a scandal when a former D.C. police officer announced that from 2005 to 2008, he hosted Prostitute parties for DEA agents, funded by Colombian drug cartels. And everything took place right in the office apartments of the fighters against drugs! Another police officer confirmed the information, saying that he attended parties as a security guard who monitored the integrity of the weapons and personal belongings of police agents. In addition, he added, in addition to prostitutes, drug cartels supplied federal agents with money and made expensive gifts, including weapons. ”Yes, in such an environment, drugs are clearly impossible to overcome!

Drug cartels earn extra money by illegal pumping of oil

Recently, as reported by journalists, drug cartels are developing a new business - highly profitable and popular. This is their approach: they try to get their hands on anything that brings high income. In this case, we are talking about oil - the main source of income for Mexico, which actively supplies oil to the United States, which is considered its main buyer. Already, according to press reports, drug cartels are actively engaged in illegal pumping of oil from Mexican wells, while actively seeking ways to crush the highly profitable business. It is even possible that in the coming years, the fire of criminal wars, which has long been blazing in Colombia, will spread to Mexico if the cartels decide to get down to business seriously.

Drug cartels have experience in taking over government buildings

In 1985, the Colombian drug cartel and its fighting link, the M-19 rebel movement, took over the Palace of Justice in the Colombian capital Bogota. The bandits under the command of Pablo Escobar himself seized the building, taking several dozen people hostage. It took the involvement of Colombian military forces, including tanks and helicopters, to regain control of the Palace of Justice. The attackers were killed, but dozens of innocents also died. Pablo Escobar needed this operation to intimidate: he did not want the Colombian government to obstruct him, and in such a cruel way decided to show that it was better to live in friendship with him.

Colombian drug lords never disdained to betray their

Despite the strict laws of silence adopted by the Colombian drug cartels, any member who is caught transporting a large consignment of cocaine is almost always ready to turn in accomplices in order to escape a life sentence. The leaders of the cartels know this - and have no pity, trying to nip the treachery in the bud. The almighty drug lord Pablo Escobar was famous for his particular cruelty towards his own people. Escobar had bouts of paranoia, complicated by insomnia - and at these moments, as biographers say, treason seemed to him everywhere. One could fall under suspicion for the slightest reason, or even for no reason at all. Pablo ordered the suspect to be brought to his place for interrogation, beat him, brutally tortured, and often killed him, without ever knowing that this man was not in any way responsible for him. The problem was aggravated by Escobar's irascibility, which prevented him from thinking clearly and making the right decisions - including about the fate of his associates.

Colombian drug cartels launder dirty money around the world

Colombian drug cartels are distinguished by their outstanding skills not only in the field of making illegal money, but also in terms of turning it into legal, solid capital. To do this, they involve financial institutions around the world. Some drug cartels launder their money in Hong Kong, allegedly buying goods there through trusted firms and transferring money to Hong Kong banks for allegedly existing products. To understand the scale of the phenomenon, let's remember one story. In 2014, the US Federal Court found Daniel Barrera guilty of money laundering. According to the prosecution, the money laundering went through a Chinese bank in Guangzhou, and the amount was $ 5 billion! For some countries, this is an entire annual budget. And for Colombian drug lords - just one portion of funds, laundered in just one country in the world.

Colombian drug cartels involved in human trafficking

An investigation in 2013 found that thousands of Colombians fall victim to modern day slave traders every year. People simply disappear without a trace - and local authorities and law enforcement agencies already know what this means. The Colombian police do what they can to save people, but the forces, alas, are unequal: in addition to the Colombian drug cartel, dozens of criminal communities around the world are involved in human trafficking. Typically, the victims of modern traffickers are girls supplied for the sex industry and slaves of coaquin plantations who are used by drug cartels as free labor. The US authorities have estimated the annual turnover of the modern slave market in America at $ 30 billion. Not surprisingly, Colombian drug lords have entered this business - they are attracted to everything that promises easy money.

Colombian drug lords stage terrorist attacks

Participation in terrorist attacks for drug cartels in Colombia is in the order of things, and the deaths of hundreds of innocent people do not bother them at all. On November 17, 1989, Avianco Airlines Flight # 203 was supposed to fly from El Dorado International Airport in the Colombian capital Bogota to one of the cities of California. At 7 am the plane took off from Bogota, but just a few minutes later exploded in the air. The speed of the Boeing 727 at that time was about 350 kilometers per hour, the height above the ground was about 6,000 meters. The plane fell to the ground, killing all on board - 107 passengers and crew. After the tragedy, Pablo Escobar did not even hide that the explosion was his handiwork, just as he did not hide his goal - to prove to the government that the power belongs to him. The lives of innocent people, from his point of view, were worthless.

Kidnapping is a favorite tool of the Colombian drug cartel

The cartel does not hesitate to use any means to get what it wants. Kidnapping innocent people and using them for trade is his favorite method. In 1991, members of the Medellin drug cartel kidnapped the famous journalist Diana Terbey. She was deceived, allegedly lured into a meeting with one of the leaders of the cartel - but instead of the drug lord, a group of bandits was waiting for her at the meeting place, who grabbed the journalist and took her away in an unknown direction. Terbey was later killed in an unsuccessful attempt by Colombian police to rescue her. The kidnapping of the journalist was only a small part of the drug cartel's global plan - to kidnap as many government officials and journalists as possible in order to prevent the adoption of the law on the extradition of criminal elements. However, Colombian lawmakers nevertheless passed a law allowing the country's authorities, when searching for Escobar and other drug lords, to extradite them to the United States, placing them under the jurisdiction of an American court.

Medellin drug cartel - the terrible legend of Colombia

Before his death at the hands of agents of the US Drug Enforcement Administration in 1993, Pablo Escobar ran one of the largest and most brutal Colombian drug cartels - the Medellin Cartel. This organization, engaged in smuggling and drug trafficking, was founded in the Colombian city of Medellin. In the 1970s and 1980s, the cartel was headquartered in Bolivia. The Medellin Cartel is considered one of the most successful organizations in the history of the drug trade. According to rough estimates, the cartel earned from $ 50 billion to $ 100 billion annually on drug trafficking. However, in the 1990s, after Escobar's death, the cartel was destroyed by competitors. By this time, the Medellin cartel had earned such hatred from them (stemming from, presumably, envy) that the rival Cali drug cartel is credited with as much credit for its destruction as the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

Colombian authorities are acting at the behest of drug cartels

An interview given by the Mayor of Bogota, Gustavo Petro in 2014, came across as a bomb. In it, the mayor admitted for the first time that drug cartels had long since paved their way to the highest echelons of state power. For years, Colombian lawmakers have shown an odd reluctance to take steps to cover up the country's illicit cocaine export, which has already become a national disaster. Regarding the situation in the country because of this, Gustavo Petro said: “I am sure that in order to achieve peace, we must change the political model, integrate the country's population into public life and democratize Colombia ... But for this we need to find courage and solve the problem of illegal drug trafficking These problems go hand in hand: it all starts with the fact that people are on the sidelines of life, this generates violence - and as a result, we are faced with illegal drug flows, where drug traffickers use violence for their own purposes .. . If we do not solve the social problems that provoke violence, we will not solve the rest. Drug lords use violence to control the state, over the territory of Colombia. This makes the problem of drug trafficking insoluble. Drug lords have concentrated power over the country in their hands. "

The main killer of the Medellin cartel killed more than 3,000 people

Jairo Velasquez Vazquez, nicknamed Polpay, Pablo Escobar's favorite hitman, is rumored to have killed 300 people with his own hands and issued sanctions for the murder of another 3,000. The most incredible thing is that Popeye, having retired, published a memoir, telling about his life in the Medellin cartel - a terrible life that left behind thousands of corpses of innocent people. But Popeye talks about this in passing. The main theme of his memoirs is how all these years he managed to survive next to the paranoid tyrant Escobar. Popeye also confirms that during the best years the Medellin cartel kept a large part of the Colombian government on pay. In addition, he says that the huge sums of money helped Escobar also bribe the highest ranks of the Colombian intelligence and national security services. Popeye admits that he was involved in both bribing government officials and their abductions and torture, and also took part in the bombing of an Avianca Airlines plane in 1989.

The Cali Cartel is the brutal successor to the Medellin Cartel

The Cali cartel, led by brothers Rodriguez Orejuela and José Santacruz Londoño, split from Pablo Escobar's Medellin cartel in the late 1980s. His base was located in the south of Colombia, in the city of Santiago de Cali. When the Medellin cartel lost its head, the Cali cartel quickly took its place in the drug market. In their prime, the Rodriguez Orejuela brothers and their men controlled up to 90% of the world's cocaine traffic. US Drug Enforcement Administration officials compared the Cali cartel to the Soviet KGB and called it "the most powerful criminal syndicate in recent history."

"Group 400" - a secret criminal union

A subdivision of the Cali cartel, the "400 Group" was led by the famous mafioso Jorge Alberto Rodriguez, nicknamed Don Cholito. It was a fellowship of 400 of the world's most talented criminals, backed by government officials. Rodriguez was famous for smuggling millions of dollars worth of cocaine into the United States even before he was 18. He was brought into the Cali cartel by his father, Jorge Alberto Rodriguez, Sr. Subsequently, Don Cholito was called the most powerful drug dealer in the United States. In 1990, Rodriguez was arrested and sentenced to several decades in prison. However, according to rumors, after a few years Rodriguez was released and enjoys all the advantages that a multimillion-dollar fortune can give, somewhere in the United States.

Drug lords do not shun the murder of high officials

This film was filmed on August 18, 1989 in the city of Soacha, where Colombian presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galan was killed by gunmen of the Colombian drug cartel. On the recording, you can clearly hear automatic fires - these are the killers sent by Pablo Escobar. Escobar made the decision about his death immediately after Galan announced his intention to participate in the presidential elections in 1990. The murder took place during a meeting of Shalan with voters and became the loudest and most audacious action in a series of numerous murders, assassinations and kidnappings, the purpose of which was to control the government. The cartel needed assurances that the newly elected president would suit him - and to ensure that the candidacy needed by the kings of drug trafficking, they stopped at nothing.

Pablo Emilio Escobar is a famous Colombian drug lord and leader of one of the most powerful powerful criminal organizations that has ever seen the light of day. At the peak of power in the 1980s, he turned his drug cartel into a real empire, which terrified not only competitors, but also entire states, and its field of activity stretched across the entire globe. According to contemporaries, Escobar made billions of dollars in drug trafficking, kidnapping and contract killings, and he had an army of soldiers recruited from hardened criminals and equipped no worse than many national armies of that time.

But despite his wide field of activity, Pablo Escobar still went down in history under the title "Cocaine King" or, if closer to the original, "King of Coke". So far, no one has surpassed it in the scale of cocaine trafficking. According to the US intelligence services, more than 80% of the total volume of cocaine smuggling in the world was carried out by Escobar and his cartel. According to the full inventory, which was made after the collapse of the Medellin cocaine cartel and the elimination of its key actors, the net worth of all assets, as well as movable and immovable property, was about $ 30 billion! And caches of money and jewelry, hidden in houses that once belonged to Escobar, are periodically discovered today.

Childhood and early years of the future "King of Coke"

Young Pablo Escobar

Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was born on December 1, 1949 in the small Colombian town of Rionegro into the family of a modest peasant and a school teacher. According to the recollections of those who were familiar with this quite respectable family, young Pablito was an ambitious boy and dreamed of a political career and even to all his friends and family he said that he wanted to become president. However, the unenviable financial situation of the family obviously put an end to these undertakings, and the boy, despite his age, understood this perfectly. Driven by the desire for a better life, he followed the path of the legendary Colombian "banditos", about whom numerous legends were then composed. So the criminal career of the future "King of Coke" began. Pablo Escobar earned his first money by reselling tombstones stolen from local cemeteries. Finding this work too difficult and ungrateful, he soon moved on to petty street theft and car theft. Here the young criminal acquired his first important acquaintances, which helped him get a job in a more serious business - smuggling. With an extraordinary mind and a natural commercial streak, he quickly established a business and took a strong position in the smuggled cigarette market.

According to historians, it was this period of his life that became the very training ground that tempered Escobar and gave him the experience and skills to further develop in the role of the future king of the drug mafia.

Medellin - the city where the "King of Coke" career began

Already by 1971, Escobar led a large gang, which was formed from the natives of the city of Medellin, where the future drug lord now spent most of his time. Along with the smuggling of cigarettes, they traded in murder and kidnapping. So, in the same 1971, Escobar and his assistants kidnapped and killed one of the largest Colombian industrial magnates Diego Echevario. Interestingly, the locals, most of whom were poor peasants, expressed great gratitude to Escobar and gave him their full support, despite the brutality with which the crime was committed. For the next 5 years, he devoted entirely to expanding his smuggling business and crushing the local drug market, which was then controlled by the Chileans.

Empire Formation - Plata about Plomo

The next striking episode in his life occurred in 1976, when, on the orders of Escobar, the police officer and the judge who issued the warrant for his arrest were eliminated. This happened after he was caught smuggling nearly 40 pounds (18 kg) of cocaine. Shortly before that, on the orders of Pablo, a local drug lord named Fabio Restrepo was killed, and Escobar took his place, joining forces with three other influential drug dealers to create the famous Medellin cocaine cartel. According to the CIA, he took about 80% of the total cocaine turnover in the world, subjugating almost all competitors and imposing a 25-30% "tax" on them. At the same time, the cartel actually turned into a mini-state with its own intelligence service, armed forces, research laboratories and even an air and submarine fleet. This was a unique phenomenon, since before Escobar no one had ever used submarines to systematically smuggle drugs.

Young Escobar with his wife

Thus, by the beginning of the 80s, Pablo Escobar became perhaps the most influential person in Colombia, in fact, having complete control over all state bodies, including local authorities, Congress, police and courts. Thanks to this, despite all the evidence of the criminal origin of his wealth, no official claims were made to Escobar.

Photo taken at a police station in Medellin, August 12, 1981

However, many simply did not have a choice, because, taking advantage of the weakness of the state machine, Escobar acted rudely and harshly, giving his victims an ultimatum: "Silver or lead" ("Plata about Plomo"). Simply put, those who did not want to take money and provide assistance died a hard and painful death. Soon there were practically no people willing to resist. In 1982, Escobar was elected to the Colombian Congress. Since then, he has actually concentrated in his hands the economic, criminal and political power in the country, almost fulfilling his childhood dream.

Going underground and great terror

However, Escobar's triumph did not last long. By January 1984, Justice Minister Rodrigo Bonia still achieved the exclusion of the odious congressman from parliament, and then Escobar, who was deprived of a significant share of political power and, most importantly, the dream of the presidency, organized a large-scale terror to show who the real master of Colombia is ... The first step was to eliminate the main culprit of Escobar's exclusion from politics - Rodrigo Bonia, who was shot in his car. After this event, the failed politician and also the bloodiest gangster in Colombia was placed on the "Most wanted" list, and the police received an official arrest warrant.

Once underground, Escobar was no longer shy in choosing methods to counter his opponents and began to openly support the terrorist group Los Extraditables. Over the next two years, they managed to send to the next world more than five hundred police officers alone, while the total number of victims was estimated at thousands. These included both competitors and public figures, journalists and everyone else who dared to stand in the way of the drug mafia.

The point of no return and the decline of the empire

By this time, the atrocities of the cartel began to annoy not only Colombians, but also their closest neighbors, and the scale of Escobar's activities caused concern even among the United States, which was literally flooded with cheap cocaine from Colombia. The Reagan administration acted decisively and the two countries quickly signed an agreement on cooperation and joint fight against drugs, which had one important point - all the drug lords caught must be extradited to the United States to serve their sentences there. At first, corrupt and intimidated officials, under pressure from bandits, tried to push through the Supreme Court a law banning this treaty, but Colombian President Verhilio Barco imposed his veto, and the all-out struggle against drug cartels continued with renewed vigor. As a result, Escobar lost his right arm - Carlos Leder and several other loyal assistants. The Medellin cocaine cartel suffered heavy damage, and the drug lord's revenge for this turned out to be really terrible.

Pablo Escobar with his son in front of the White House

After an unsuccessful attempt to conclude a truce with the country's authorities in exchange for guarantees that it would not be returned to the United States, Escobar ordered his killers to execute the politician Luis Galan, who demanded that the government take even more harsh measures to combat drug cartels, Supreme Judge Carlos Valencia and Police Colonel Voldemar Contero. From 16 to 18 August 1989, all three were killed.

But Escobar and this was not enough. Reveling in his power and impunity, he, with the help of Los Extraditables, carried out 7 terrorist attacks that killed 37 people (about 400 more were mutilated). Further (November 27, 1989), by order of Escobar, an airplane with more than a hundred passengers on board was blown up. And although the main goal of the drug lord was César Trujillo, the future president of Colombia (by coincidence, he never took this flight), this method was deliberately chosen to make the Colombian government even more fearful and force it into a deal.

A week later, Escobar's killers attempted the assassination of secret police chief Miguel Marquez. The most bloody method of murder was also chosen - detonation with a bomb. As a result, 62 people died and about a hundred were injured. But by this Escobar caused a completely opposite effect - if before the indicated events there were still a lot of people willing to come to an agreement in the power corridors, then after he was already considered as a dangerous terrorist and a real raid was organized on him.

As a result of just one of the operations, the government confiscated nearly a thousand mansions and farms, 710 cars, 367 aircraft, 73 boats and more than 1,200 weapons. A large shipment of cocaine weighing 4.7 tons already being prepared for sale was seized.

But, according to historians, Escobar made one of his most unforgivable mistakes later, when he began to compensate for the losses, trying to impose a huge tribute on the cartels under his control and take away the share of competitors, ruthlessly exterminating them. If initially Escobar's "tax" was 25-30%, then he tried to increase it to 65-70%, having lost many loyal allies.

A rare photograph of the smiling "King of Coke"

The last nail in the coffin of the "cocaine king" empire was driven by the war with the "Cali" drug cartel. Escobar tried to behead him by killing one of the leaders. But the killer did not cope with the task, and in response, the "Kali" cartel dealt with Escobar's cousin, Gustavo Gaviria. The cartel war that followed these events, although it claimed the lives of many innocent people, weakened the group so much that Escobar was actually backed up against the wall and was forced to surrender.

La Catedral - Escobar's last hope

It remains to be seen how much money was deposited into the required offices, but Pablo Escobar's lawyers managed to do the impossible. The fugitive who was imprisoned on all sides was not only not killed during arrest or executed by competitors (after recent events, many of them dreamed of trying on Escobar's "Colombian tie"), but also surrendered on his own terms, having bargained with the Colombian government for a ban on extradition to the United States ... In 1991, he was solemnly escorted to the La Catedral prison, which was built by him and, in fact, was a luxurious and well-fortified castle.

Inside La Catedral, gardens and decorative waterfalls were arranged, and the "prisoner" spent his free time in casinos, spa centers, bars and a nightclub, which were located right on the territory of the prison. However, if he wanted, Escobar could easily go to the city if he wanted to visit a cinema or a football match. He also retained most of his "business", negotiating on the phone through reliable people.

Moreover, having accumulated strength, Escobar even continued to attack competitors and insufficiently loyal partners. The most intractable were brought to him in La Catedral, where he personally tortured the unfortunate in specially equipped torture chambers. Moreover, according to the agreement, neither the police nor the army had the right to even approach the territory of the prison.

Escobar's fatal mistake, flight and death

Show Escobar a little more foresight, he had every chance to become the so-called gray eminence and reach a completely new level. His money and connections were more than enough to partially bring his “business” out of the shadows, creating a cover for him in the form of legal companies engaged in the production of various kinds of goods. This is exactly what Escobar's wiser and less greedy and arrogant competitors did. The latter was accustomed to absolute power and did not want to part with it, which ultimately led to his death.

Learning that the situation in Colombia has not changed at all, and that the drug lord, who caused so much trouble, continues his business on the same scale, the US government flew into a rage and harshly put pressure on the President of Colombia, demanding that the criminal be immediately extradited to the United States. And on July 22, 1992, such an order was issued. But Escobar was already aware of this and calmly left his "prison", hiding in one of the newly acquired mansions. An unprecedented amount of $ 10 million was assigned to his head. Even the president of a country would have needed to work at least two centuries to make that much money.

Despite the fact that Pablo Escobar was again in a state of siege, now his affairs were not so bad. And although he again incurred the ire of the government, lost the support of a significant part of the allies and stirred up old grievances of competitors, he had one important advantage - the absolute support of the common population, which Escobar generously "fed" over the years. Therefore, he had no problems finding new workers and militants for his personal army. But the “cocaine king” completely lost her, too, having made the wrong decision to repeat the Great Terror of the late 1980s.

Thinking that he would again be able to intimidate the government and persuade him to cooperate, Pablo Escobar again began a merciless massacre. On January 30, 1993, he organized an explosion in Bogota, as a result of which more than two dozen people died and more than 70 were seriously injured. And, worst of all, most of the victims were parents with children from ordinary working families. This terrorist attack finally ruined Escobar's reputation and deprived him of the support of the poor class, and the title "King of Coke" was replaced by a less euphonious - "Killer of Children". From that moment on, the days of the greatest drug lord were numbered.

In addition to the police, competitors and embittered former associates, Escobar began to be threatened by a new enemy - the Los Pepes organization. If you translate this name-abbreviation literally, it sounds like "people who suffered from Pablo Escobar." Considering that more than 10 thousand people said goodbye to their lives because of the bloodthirstiness of the main boss of the Medellin drug cartel, there were a lot of them. Each of the victims had relatives, relatives and friends who now yearned for revenge.

The very next day after the bloody event in Bogota, Los Pepes tracked down the place where Pablo Escobar was hiding and burned his house to the ground. After that, all the relatives and friends of the drug lord, as well as his closest associates, were hunted. Moreover, unlike the police, Los Pepes acted very cruelly, terrifying the bandits.

Participants in a raid on Escobar near his body, December 2, 1993

The denouement came on December 2, 1993. The former "Cocaine King" and now the "Killer of Children" was blocked in one of the houses of the Los Olibos quarter by joint detachments of Colombian security forces, local police, Los Pepes and American agents from the NSA. The drug lord and his bodyguard still tried to shoot back, but this time the forces were uneven. After trying to escape, Escobar climbed onto the roof and was shot by a sniper.

Escobar's phenomenon

How did the famous drug lord, who in his cruelty could well be compared with many bloodthirsty dictators of the 20th century, managed to stay free for so long, enjoying the unprecedented support of the majority of the population? Historians believe that this phenomenon is associated with the exceptional talent for manipulation that Escobar possessed. He felt well the socio-political situation that reigned then in Colombia and relied on the widest stratum of the population - poor workers and farmers, who were ripped off to the bone by trade and industrial magnates and corrupt officials.

Escobar tried to create for himself the image of the "Colombian Robin Hood", or the canon "banditos" from urban legends, who rob the rich and gifted the poor. He coped with this task brilliantly, buying the love of people in Medellin for many years. During this time, millions of dollars have been spent building parks, schools, sports stadiums, churches and even housing for the poor. His strategy worked and provided him with an endless flow of loyal servants, but only until the moment when he did not betray them too, making these people the victims of his terror against the state.

The only ones to whom Escobar remained faithful to the very end were his wife Maria Victoria and children. With them, he was always very kind and affectionate, trying to protect from any dangers associated with his "profession". According to the testimony of the drug lord's son, Juan Pablo, once he and his father had to flee from home in a hurry, fleeing from government agents and hiding in the highlands for some time. Then, without much regret, he burned $ 2 million to melt the hearth and prepare hot food for the freezing.

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Guzman, known worldwide as "El Chapo", is the leader of the Sinaloa cartel and one of the most powerful kings of Mexico. This group is reported to be the source of the largest percentage of drugs imported into America each year. The group imports marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin per ton.

El Chapo came to power in the late 1970s while working for other drug smugglers in Mexico. By the late 1980s, he created the Sinaloa Cartel.

In 2014, he was charged with drug dealing, but famously escaped from his Mexican prison in June. He was eventually found in January by the Mexican authorities and is under guardianship.

The drug lord has a net worth of over $ 4 billion.

One of the most famous drug lords ever was Colombian Pablo Escobar. The leader of the Medellin cartel has been dubbed "the world's greatest criminal."

Escobar mercilessly controlled four-fifths of the global cocaine market during the 1970s and 80s, shipping an estimated 15 tons of cocaine a day. By 1989, he was the seventh richest man in the world.

During his reign of terror, he was responsible for over 4,000 deaths before he died in 1993, while being pursued by the Colombian authorities.

Andres PARRA (Pablo Escobar)

Don't be fooled into thinking that drug dealing is a man's game; Griselda Blanco, also known as La Madrina (godmother), proved otherwise.

Having worked in Miami for most of his career, Blanco is believed to be responsible for more than 200 murders, including the murder of a two-year-old child. She reportedly was a mentor to Pablo Escobar as she helped transport cocaine from Colombia to South Florida.

In 1985, she was arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison, but continued to conduct business while behind bars. She was released in 2004 and deported to Colombia, where she was shot and killed in front of a butcher shop by a killer in 2012.

In pop culture, it has become the center of the popular "Cocaine Cowboys" documentaries.

Frank Lucas

Frank Lucas was one of the largest drug dealers and organized crime bosses in New York City during the 1960s and early 1970s. Lucas, who was known as "Super Fly", operated from Harlem and traded heroin from the South Pacific, smuggling it inside the coffins of dead American soldiers.

In an era when most of the organized crime in the city was carried out by Italians, Lucas was one of the first African American crime bosses in the city and the most dominant. By the early 70s, he was earning $ 1 million a month before his arrest in 1975.

After his arrest, he was sentenced to 70 years in prison, but the sentence was commuted when he became a government informant. After serving 15 years, Lucas was released in 1981.

In 1984, he was arrested again in connection with a drug-related incident and served seven years in prison. In 1991 he was released from prison and returned to Harlem, where he saw how his drug business affected his neighborhood.

In 2007, Denzel Washington portrayed him in American Gangster.

Larry Hoover

Larry Hoover, who was known as "King Larry", was the leader of the black gangster nation in Chicago that controlled the south side of the city's drug trade.

From the late 1960s to the early 70s, Hoover reportedly earned over $ 1,000 a day in drug profits. By 1973, he was sentenced to 150-200 years in prison. While behind bars, it was revealed that he was still running a crime syndicate.

In 1995, after a five-year undercover investigation by the federal government, he was charged with drug conspiracy. In 1997, he was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to six life sentences.

He is currently serving his sentence in a maximum security prison in Colorado.

Hoover's story was immortalized in 2010 with rapper Rick Ross' song "BMF".