Title: How Pablo Escobar's Medellín Cartel Became The Most Ruthless In History
Headings: How Pablo Escobar’s Medellín Cartel Became The Most Ruthless In History
How Pablo Escobar’s Medellín Cartel Became The Most Ruthless In History
Though he's the face of the organization, there's so much more to the Medellín Cartel than just Pablo Escobar.
The Rise Of The Medellin Cartel
The Crimes
The Fall Of The Medellin Cartel

Content: In 1989, Escobar and the Medellin Cartel were responsible for the single deadliest criminal attack in Colombian history. In an attempt to assassinate presidential candidate Cesar Gaviria Trujillo, the cartel placed a bomb onboard Avianca Flight 203. Moments after it took off, the plane exploded over the town of Soacha, killing 107 people. In 1985, left-wing guerrillas from a movement known as M-19 stormed the Colombian Supreme Court in retaliation to the Supreme Court’s study of the constitutionality of their extradition treaty with the U.S. M-19 was paid by an unknown group of people to destroy all files on “Los Extraditables,” the group of cartel members who were under threat of extradition. Ironically, most of “Los Extraditables” were members of the Medellin Cartel, including Escobar himself. Though many of their crimes were well publicized, thousands of murders, kidnappings, and terrorist attacks went unreported, due to fear of retaliation or bribery to keep quiet. The Fall Of The Medellin Cartel
Getty Images A late 80s drug bust, turning up pounds of cocaine from Colombia. By the early 1980s, cocaine had become an epidemic and the War on Drugs had been declared. Crack cocaine, a cheaper and more addictive alternative to the pure powder had ravaged America’s inner cities and sparked the government to increase pressure on Colombia to capture the kingpins — namely Escobar and the rest of the Medellin Cartel. However, despite a formal extradition order from the U.S., and increased Colombian police presence, Escobar managed to evade capture.