“…Medellín sat at the center of the Columbian cocaine industry. When the Medellín traffickers called a meeting, every dope dealer in the country showed up. And when law enforcement wanted to spot new trends in cocaine, Medellín was the place to look. The Medellín cartel was open for business” - Gugliotta and Leen 95

"The entire economy benefits from drug money; those who traffic and those who do not. If a drug trafficker builds a house, the peasant who cuts the wood for it benefits from that."

– Pablo Escobar

Columbia has been referred to as the “drug capital of the Western Hemisphere”. It is known for the production and export of marijuana, opium, heroin, and mainly cocaine. Cocaine is an alkaloid made from coca plants. It is an addictive stimulant that produces in its users a euphoric high and an increase in energy. Cocaine has been prevalent in American and European society since the 1800’s. Coca leaves were first mixed with wines in order to enhance the effect of the alcohol. Around 1885, cocaine as we know it started being manufactured as a drug, in cigarette, powder, or a liquid form which could be directly injected into veins. Cocaine was prohibited and considered illegal in the United States as of 1914.

Pablo Escobar first became involved in Medellín’s lucrative cocaine industry when he was in his early-twenties. His started out driving coca paste from the Andes Mountains to cocaine production labs in Medellín. Quickly realizing the vast amount of money to be made in the cocaine industry, Escobar lost no time graduating to smuggling. At the age of 26, Escobar made his first flight, carrying Columbian cocaine to the U.S. Cocaine, which cost about $2,000 to produce in Columbia, was easily sold for a cool $35,000 a kilo on the streets. With such a great profit margin, Escobar was a multimillionaire before his 30th birthday. With his first millions, Escobar bought his ranch and main residence, the luxurious Hacienda Napoles. Throughout the 70’s, Escobar continued to create a trafficking empire. With his proceeds, he bought numerous small airplanes and hired American pilots, who were willing enough to join Escobar’s smuggling ring due to the possibility of earning up to one million dollars a flight.

In 1979, an infamous partnership was made between Pablo Escobar, and Columbian-American Carlos Leder. Together, this duo pushed the cocaine trafficking industry to new heights. They bought a portion of Norman’s Cay in the Bahamas, and began using larger planes to make huge cocaine shipments to their island, where they stored their goods and then sent them over the United States using smaller, harder to detect, planes. As the size of Escobar’s shipments grew to 400 kilos, the money made from the smuggling flights also grew. Profit margins were astronomical, with one plane delivery yielding about $10 million. By the time he was 32, Escobar was earning an astounding half a million dollars a day.

While Medellín was the home to many small cocaine smugglers and dealers, there were only a few other kingpins who could rival Escobar’s power and wealth. Escobar realized that even greater profits could be achieved if the main Medellín drug lords unified. In 1981, Escobar and Leder went into business with the three Ochoa Brothers, and Jose Rodriguez Gatcha. With their consolidation, Medellín’s cocaine business became an even more profitable and booming industry. These seven men became known as the bosses of the Medellín cartel. The Medellín cartel was only rivaled by the Cali cartel, operating out of Cali, Columbia. Each cartel had its own domain in the United States. The Medellín cartel claimed Miami, while the Cali cartel set up shop in New York. Los Angeles was split between the two.

Pictured from left to right: Gacha, Escobar, The Ochoas (Jorge, Fabio, and Juan), and Leder
Image obtained from: http://filebox.vt.edu/users/tyjones/COLOMBIAWEBSITEPROJ/MEDELLIN.htm

Escobar set up his cartel in such a way to minimize potential lost, in case of a drug bust or a plane crash. The Ochoas, Gatcha, and Escobar would each contribute a third of every shipment made to the United States. As the Medellín cartel’s wealth amassed, they undisputedly became some of Columbia’s most powerful, important, and influential men. No one questioned their business, not even the Columbian government. The United States paid them no heed for the most part, as the Drug Enforcement Agency at the time was concentrating mainly on Mexican marijuana and heroin, even though the cocaine market in the U.S. was vast, and cocaine was very popular, appealing to everyone from teens who enjoyed experimenting and were looking for a good time to the upper echelon of society, including lawyers, judges, and celebrities. The 1980’s were a golden age for Escobar and his cartel. Fifty percent of the cocaine in America was the product of Escobar and his men. At the height of his operations, Escobar was making about 5 flights a week, and reaping in an estimated one million dollars a day. During these times, the Medellín cartel was reportedly earning $25 billion a year. Escobar, whose mind was constantly churning, and being the intelligent businessman that he was, always exported much less cocaine than was demanded in order to keep prices and his profits high. While Escobar’s business was conducted mainly in the Americas, he is also known to have trafficked to different countries as far away as Asia. He was in possession of an entire fleet of transporting vehicles, including numerous helicopters, planes, boats, and even a small submarine. He was involved in business deals with politicians and the wealthy all around the world.

Escobar and his colleagues jointly built a laboratory deep in the Columbian jungle for the sole purpose of producing cocaine on a large scale, and named it Tranquilandia. This lab was equipped with its own landing strip and army of guards. Tipped off by the American DEA in 1984, the Columbian government raided Tranquilandia. They unearthed 14 tons of cocaine, worth over a billion dollars, making it the largest drug bust in history.

With more money than they could have imagined, the leaders of the Medellín cartel became fearlessand appeared invincible. They could afford to bribe everyone, from government officials to police officers, and anyone who refused to cooperate or stood in their way was violently tortured or murdered. Such was the legacy of the most powerful drug cartel.