Title: Kings of Cocaine: The Colombian Drug Cartels
Headings: Kings of Cocaine: The Colombian Drug Cartels
Kings of Cocaine: The Colombian Drug Cartels
The Rise of Colombian Cartels
The Medellin Cartel
The Cali Cartel
The Norte del Valle Cartel
The Future of Colombian Cartels
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Content: Some of the most notorious, elite, and violent cartels came to power during this period, including the Medellin’s, the Cali’s and the Norte del Valle cartel. The Medellin Cartel
The infamous Pablo Escobar led one of the most ruthless cartel divisions within the city of Medellin, Colombia throughout the 1970s and 1980s and destroyed anyone who interfered with his cocaine operations. Escobar, along with Rodriguez Gacha and the Ochoa brothers (Jorge, Juan, and Fabio), collaborated with a young marijuana smuggler named Carlos Lehder. It was Lehder who convinced the cartel that they could fly cocaine in small, private airplanes directly into the United States instead of the tedious suitcase smuggling of the past. This innovation of smuggling large quantities within a barely detectable airplane led to astounding profits, which the organization invested in more sophisticated production and transportation methods. During the climax of its existence, the cartel earned more than 60 million dollars daily, with some estimating the total profits some hundreds of billions of dollars. Gaining enormous social control, the Medellin cartel recruited the Colombian military, wealthy cattle ranchers as well as its own members into a private army known as Muerte a Secuestradores (MAS) – translating literally “Death to Kidnappers.” The MAS death squads protected against guerrilla kidnappings, extortion, and theft through the killing of hundreds of community leaders and innocent bystanders alike that stood in their way of money, land, and power. Increased success and power intensified the dark side of Escobar. As his sadistic violence amplified and became more commonplace, the cartel began to self-destruct.