Pablo Escobar the drug lord

It is amazing how the drug lord developed a prosperous, strategically sound enterprise after viewing the Netflix series Narcos about his life. Unquestionably, the empire was built on the illegal drug trade, corruption, and violence (Aldrich, 2011, p.2). According to reports, Pablo's narcotics network supplied an estimated 80% of the cocaine that was trafficked into the US at the height of his career (United States). By the early 1990s, Pablo was dubbed "The King of Cocaine" and had a net worth of 30 billion US dollars, which is equivalent to 55 billion 2016) by the early 1990s. Moreover, this incredible achievement enabled him to be categorized among the wealthiest entrepreneurs.

Pablo Escobar was raised in Medellin, Colombia. He studied in Medellin at Universidad Autonoma Latino Americana. However, his education at Universidad was brief, and as a result, Pablo left without a degree. It was after this that he began engaging in criminal activities, which involved the sales of fake lottery vouchers and contraband cigarettes. Also, he was involved in the theft of motor vehicles. Later around the 70s, he joined and started to work for contraband smugglers in which they would hold people for ransoms (Logic, 2017). Afterwards, he began distributing cocaine for himself. In 1975, Escobar established his first smuggling route into the United States. Due to an increase in the demand for cocaine in the US, his infiltration to the drug market grew exponentially. According to critics, it was valued that approximately 70 tons of cocaine were smuggled into the United States per month by the 80s. Escobar’s drug network or cartel was referred to as the “Medellin Cartel," which at most rivaled with both domestic and foreign cartels. This resulted in massacre and the death of numerous locals, police officers, prominent politicians, and judges.

Also, Escobar political career began in 1982 where he was elected as part of the Liberal Alternative Movement as an Alternate Member of the Representative Chamber in Colombian. This made him responsible for the establishment and construction of football fields and houses in the West of Colombia. He gained outstanding fame through this among the residents of the towns which he visited. With the increase in murder late, Colombia became a world’s murder capital, and Escobar was disparaged by both the American government as well as Colombian governments. It is believed that Pablo Escobar died in 1993 after being shot in his hometown by the Colombian National Polices. His achievement, however, portrays a villain entrepreneur who never settled for less.

The Early Life of Escobar

Pablo was the third son, born in a family of seven children. He was born in 1949 December first in Rionegro. His parents were Abel Escobar and Hermilda Gaviria. Pablo is said to have started his career in crime as a teenage boy in the nearby city of Medellin stealing grave monuments and reselling them to smugglers. However, according to his son, Sebastian Marroquin, Pablo’s venture into crime started with the sales of forged high school diplomas in which he was successful.

Eventually, Pablo Escobar together with Oscar Aguirre got involved in various criminal activities. They engaged mostly in the sales of fake lottery tickets, contraband cigarettes, stealing cars and running petty street scams. Before joining the drug trade in the early 70s, Escobar acted as a bodyguard and a thief. His earning was allegedly 100,000 US dollars through kidnapping and ransom from holding a Medellin executive. Escobar had a childhood ambition of having one million COL dollars by the age of twenty-two. This made him work for Alvaro Prieto – a contraband smuggler with operation at Medellin. By the age of twenty-six, Pablo Escobar is said to have deposited 100 million COL dollars in his bank account.

Cocaine Distribution

Pablo was perfect in marketing his products. His brother (Roberto Escobar) in the accountant story outlines the techniques through which Pablo Escobar rose to be one of the wealthiest men in the world from a middle-class obscurity and simplicity (Logic, 2017). Pablo began establishing his cocaine operations in 1975. He would fly planes severally between Panama and Colombia and eventually into different states in the US. Later, he managed to buy fifteen bigger planes which included six helicopters and a Learjet.

Pablo was a risk taker in his career. In 1976 together with several of his worker, Pablo was detained after being caught in possession of 18 kilograms of white paste while endeavoring to return from Ecuador. He was initially unsuccessful after attempting to bribe the judges in Medellin who were building a case against him at the moment. Later, he ordered the murder of two officers who had arrested him. This led to the dropping his case after months of legal wrangles. This point is identified as the time when Pablo started his dealings with the authorities either by murder or bribery.

As an entrepreneur, Pablo is identified to be keen in opportunity identification. According to his brother, Pablo succeeded in the business of smuggling drugs just because it was becoming risky to operate other forms of contrabands (RAMoS, 2014, p.143). With only few drug barons and no drug cartels, Pablo identified untapped opportunity or territory that he wished to own. Pablo Escobar began buying cocaine paste in Peru and then refine it at Medellin in his laboratory (Palacios, 2016, p.14). He purchased 14 kilograms (30 pounds) of paste in his initial trip. This marked as his initial move toward the establishment of his empire. Depending on the quality smuggled per flight, a pilot could return with as much as 500,000 US dollars. One of the tactics he employed in transporting was the use of old planes tires.

Pablo Ascend to Prominence

Pablo had the resources and workforce that his empire needed. Moreover, with his entrepreneurial skills, he was able to manufacture, pack, and distribute the powder locally before eventually smuggling it to the US drug market (Romero, Romero, and El Alami, 2014 p. 2-10). He was ready to grow his business into an empire. When the demand for cocaine skyrocketed in the US, Escobar had to organize more routes, smuggled amount and distribution channels in California and South Florida as well as other states. Pablo, together with Carlos Lehder (cartel co-founder) collaborated in developing a new shipment point on an island referred to as Norman’s Cay in the Bahamas – located 350 km (220 miles) southeast of the coast of Florida. Pablo did not collaborate with Lehder in the establishment of Norman’s Cay shipments. Most of the facilities were an individual project of Lehder. However, in collaboration with Robert Vesco, Pablo bought most parts on the island including a one-kilometer airstrip, a hotel, boats, aircrafts, houses, a harbor and constructed a refrigerated warehouse for cocaine storage. This island became the central smuggling route from 1978 to 1982 for the Medellin Cartel. Later, Escobar managed to purchase land in Antioquia (7.7 square miles) on which he constructed the Hacienda Napoles. This house contained a lake, a private bullring, a sculpture garden, a zoo, and other divisions for the cartel and his family.

At a given point, it was valued that more than 70 tons of the drug smuggled to the US came from Columbia on a monthly basis. In the height of his power around the mid-80s, Pablo was alleged to be shipping more than 11 tons of cocaine per flight in jetliners. In addition to utilizing the planes, his brother claimed that Pablo had employed submarines to move the enormous loads.

The Establishment of Drug Networks

Escobar joined politics and was voted in 1982 as part of a movement referred to as the Liberal Alternative as an alternate member of Colombia’s Chamber of Representative. Moreover, due to his parliamentary seat, Pablo Escobar became the official representative of the Colombian government in the swearing-in of Felipe González of Spain. This made it possible to extend his operations to Spain

As his cartel network achieved notoriety, Escobar rapidly became known internationally. His cartel was controlling a significant amount of the drugs smuggled in Spain, the US, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. Similarly, the cartel had to alter the process of production due to competition from Peru and Bolivia. The Medellin cartel’s product (coca) was beginning to be viewed as of low quality as compared to the neighboring nations’ product. With the demand for cocaine accelerating to new levels, Pablo started his collaboration with Roberto Suarez, as an assistance to advance the movement of the coca to other nations in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

The Cartels’ Height of Power

In the height of the cartel's operation power, it managed to bring in more than 70 million US dollars per day – equivalent to 26 billion dollars per year. With the cartel smuggling each day more than 15 tons of cocaine, which was valued to be more than half a billion dollars, it was forced to spend over 1000 US dollars on a weekly basis in the purchases of the rubber bands that were used to wrap the money (Jackson, 2015). These wraps were stored at their numerous warehouses in Colombia. However, approximately more than ten percent of the stacks had to be written off on a yearly basis due to spoilage from rats that nibbled on the bills, which they managed to reach.

When Pablo Escobar was questioned about the essence and or the success of the cocaine business, his response was that, “in the business of cocaine; you simply have to bribe someone here, another one there and pay a banker to assist in bringing the cash back.” According to Forbes magazine in 1989, Pablo Escobar was estimated to be among the world’s 227 billionaires with a net worth of approximately 3 billion US dollars. Moreover, the Medellin cartel controlled roughly eighty percent of the world’s cocaine industry and market. According to critics, it is alleged that Pablo Escobar was the primary sponsor of the Medellin’s Atletico National team that triumphed the Cop Libertadores – 1989 South America’s most prominent tournament.

Many Medellin’s citizens – especially the poor, viewed Escobar as a hero even though he was perceived as an enemy by the Colombian government as well as the US government. At public relation, Escobar was a natural and strived to maintain goodwill among the Colombian people (Logic, 2017). He was a lifelong fan of sports, especially football. As an act of support, he built multi-sport courts and football fields as well as sponsored children football clubs. In western Colombia, Escobar was accredited for the construction of football fields and houses that made him gain popularity. He would at times distribute money through various civic activities and housing projects as a sign of protecting his image. This acts made him very popular among the residents of the towns that he visited frequently. People even assisted him to escape from being captured by the police by serving as lookouts and or hiding information from the authority. Similarly, during the peak of his operation, Medellin and other traffickers from various places would submit approximately twenty to thirty percent of their cocaine’s profits to Escobar. This is because the Medellin cartel managed to ship most of the Colombian cocaine to the US successfully.





Escobar’s Properties

Escobar had an entrepreneurial mind in which he had a mission of progressive growth. He also knew how to secure the future of his family and his business. After acquiring wealth, Pablo bought numerous safe houses and residences such as the Hacienda Napoles which gained significant notoriety (Logic, 2017). The Hacienda contained a zoo with different animals from different continents – such as hippopotamuses, exotic birds, elephants, and giraffes, a colonial house, and a sculpture park. Also, near the Hacienda Escobar hoped to build a Greek-style Citadel and although the construction had begun it never completed. Escobar being resourceful owned a residence in the United States under his name.

On the Isla Grande, Escobar had a massive Caribbean gateway. It was the largest among a cluster of twenty-seven coral cluster island that comprised Isla Del Rosario which was approximately twenty-two mile from Cartagena. However, the compound that is currently half-demolished and covered with vegetation, as well as habitat for wild animals, featured a helicopter landing pad, courtyards, a mansion, apartments, and a large swimming pool among other structures.

Conclusion

It is indisputable that Pablo Escobar had the entrepreneurial drive in him. He was very opportunistic and focused to prosper in the business of drug trafficking. Also, he is portrayed as a very supportive businessman. For instance, at a time of political distress in Colombia as he was beginning his smuggling career, Escobar came to the rescue of his community. His actions helped him in gaining massive support from the citizens especially the poor people. He always endeavored to help his community. As an example, he would hand out turkeys during Christmas. However, when one examined his career, it was clear that it was founded on crime and violence thereby making him a villain entrepreneur. As a businessman, Escobar knew that it was essential to build a good relationship with his customers and employees as well as have their loyalty. His obsession with achieving his goals came in handy in his business endeavors. Although he committed many crimes in his career, it is essential to understand that he portrayed many characteristics of an entrepreneur, which other entrepreneurs can learn from him.



References

Aldrich, H.E., 2011. Heroes, villains, and fools: Institutional entrepreneurship, NOT institutional entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship Research Journal, 1(2), p.2.

RAMoS, N.N., 2014. Communitarian Ecotourism in the Colombian Darién and Urabá Region: An Opportunity for Peace-Building and Peace, p.143.

Logic. (2017). Pablo Escobar – A True Entrepreneur - Logic. [Online] Available at: https://logic.com.au/blog/pablo-escobar-a-true-entrepreneur/ [Accessed 19 Oct. 2017].

Palacios, M., 2016. Public Violence, Land Grabbing and Legality: the case of Colombian businessmen operating deep in the jungle.

Romero, M., Romero, L. and El Alami, M., 2014. A tool to improve knowledge in future entrepreneurs. Pensee, 76(2).

Jackson, D.L., 2015. The other side: an alternate approach to the narconarratives of Bolivia, Colombia, and Brazil (Doctoral dissertation).