The Crime baron who was King

There are few criminals in the world who can say they are as rich as Pablo Escobar was. In fact, none have come even close to the personal fortune of $30 billion dollars that he accrued. Escobar dealt with organised criminal activities from money laundering to extortion. However, he mainly provided cocaine. This was the source of his wealth. If he’d tried to deposit his funds in a regular bank today, he would soon fall foul of AML ID VERIFICATION such as those from W2 Global. However, Escobar was operating in the 1980s, a time when the white powder was starting to take hold on all levels of society in the USA, rich and poor.

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Escobar was the first man to create a drug cartel. It stomped on all the local competition, making it one of the most powerful private armies in Colombia. To make matters worse. He even had aspirations of political office. He was made a member of the Colombian House of representatives, despite it being well known that he was a criminal.

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This is where his legacy becomes confused. Whilst, thanks to his actions, Colombia became the murder capital of the world, Escobar also built social housing, playing fields and popular community projects in some of Colombia’s poorest areas. When he was killed, 25,000 people attended his funeral, and he was genuinely mourned. Prior to this, he was allowed to serve his jail time in a prison he had personally designed.

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