“Pablo was a good brother to me. He was always kind and friendly. At school he helped all his friends with their homework. Pablo was very intelligent. I always knew one day he would become a great business man. He never smoked cigarettes and hardly drank alcohol. His dream was to become the President of Columbia” – Roberto Escobar, Pablo’s Brother.

January 12th, 1949 marked not only the birth of a child but the birth of a new era. No one could have foreseen the colossal impact that the newborn baby would have on the world. A boy was born who would later grow up to dominate the international drug scene, manipulating the focus of politics on a global scale. This boy was Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria.

Born to a hardworking small farmer and a school teacher, Escobar was humbly raised in the suburbs of the Columbian city of Medellín. His family was devoutly Catholic and religion was an important part of his upbringing. Escobar is remembered as a kind and compassionate child who loved animals. The importance of family was instilled in him from an early age, a value which stayed with him throughout his entire life. Despite this seemingly normal childhood with religious influences, Escobar grew up to be one of the world’s most notorious criminals.

The years between 1948 and late 1950’s were a dark time in Columbia’ history. This decade is remembered as La Violencia, a time of rampant and unchecked violence sparked by the two rival political parties in Columbia at that time – the Liberals and the Conservatives. Theft, kidnapping, drug trafficking, and murder were all common aspects of everyday life in Columbia, and the nation-wide death toll during La Violencia is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands. La Violencia made it easy and almost inescapable for Escobar to enter into a life of crime at an early age. He was expelled from high school and became involved in petty crimes, starting with the stealing and reselling of tombstones. He soon graduated to car theft. In 1974, Escobar was arrested for stealing a Renault. Escobar even hired himself out as a contracted killer during his teenage years. During the 60’s, Escobar ran numerous scams on the streets of Medellín, such as selling fake lottery tickets. Realizing Medellín’s enormous drug industry potential, and already a avid abuser of Columbia’s potent marijuana, Escobar entered the world of drug dealing, becoming a small-time marijuana dealer in order to make some easy cash. Even as an adolescent, Escobar manifested qualities of a shrewd, astute, and lucrative businessman. These qualities served to enhance and solidify his position as a drug lord in the cocaine industry.

In 1976, Pablo Escobar married Maria Victoria Henao. He was 26 and she was 15. The couple appeared to be very much in love, and had two children together – daughter Manuela, and son Juan Pablo. Through the turmoil and the spoils of his position, Pablo and Maria stayed together. Escobar’s widow is currently engaged in a legal battle over the fortune Escobar left behind.