Pablo Escobar, born on December 1, 1949, died on December 2, 1993.
At the height of the cocaine trade in the mid-'80s, Pablo Escobar was one of the richest people alive with a net worth of $30 billion.
Escobar has dreamed of becoming president of Colombia since childhood.
Escobar was initially popular among Colombians for his philanthropy and was worshipped as a deity by the populace. But later, his campaign of terror led to the murder of thousands of people, turning public opinion against him.
Escobar was killed by Colombian law enforcement on the roof of a community in Medellín on December 2, 1993.
Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria, a Colombian drug dealer who eventually controlled more than 80 percent of the cocaine shipped to the United States, making him one of Forbes magazine's 10 richest people in the world.
Escobar entered the cocaine trade in the early 1970s, working with other criminals to form the Medellín cartel organization.
He gained popularity by sponsoring charity projects and football clubs, but the terror campaign that later led to the murder of thousands of people turned public opinion against him.
Escobar was born on December 1, 1949 in Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia. His family later moved to the outskirts of Envigado.
Escobar came from an ordinary family: his father was a farmer, while his mother was a teacher. From an early age, Escobar had a unique ambition to elevate himself from a humble starting point.
Escobar reportedly began his criminal career early, stealing tombstones and selling fake diplomas. It didn't take long for him to start stealing cars and then into the smuggling industry.
Escobar's early fame was during the Marlboro War, when he played a high-profile role in controlling the Colombian smuggled cigarette market. This incident proved to be a valuable training ground for future drug agents.
In 1976, Escobar married 15-year-old Maria Victoria Hénau. The couple had two children: a son, Juan Pablo, and a daughter, Manuela.
Today, Escobar's son is an inspirational speaker named Sebastian Maroquin. "
Maroquin studied architecture and published a book in 2015, Pablo Escobar: My Father, that tells the story of growing up with the world's most notorious drug tycoon. He also claimed that his father had committed suicide.
"My father was not a man to be imitated," Maroquin said in an interview with France's Agence France-Presse. "He shows us the path we must not take as a society, because it is a path to self-destruction, a loss of values, and a place where life is no longer important.
Colombia's dominance of the cocaine trade is no accident. From the early 1970s onwards, the country became a major smuggling ground for cannabis.
But as the cocaine market booms, Colombia's geographic location is proving to be its biggest asset. Located at the northern tip of South America, between the thriving coca growing centers of Peru and Bolivia, the country dominates the country's global cocaine trade with the United States, the largest market for the drug, which can be reached north on a short trip.
Escobar moved quickly to take control of the cocaine trade. In 1975, Fabio Restrepo, a drug dealer from the Colombian city of Medellín, was murdered. His murder is believed to have been at the behest of Escobar, who immediately seized power and extended Restrepo's actions to something the world had never seen before.
Under Escobar's leadership, large quantities of coca paste were purchased in Bolivia and Peru, processed and shipped to the United States. Escobar collaborated with a small group of people to form the infamous Medellín Cartel.
By the mid-1980s, Escobar's net worth was estimated at $30 billion, and he was named one of the 10 richest people on the planet by Forbes. Cash was so common that Escobar bought a Lille jet for the sole purpose of getting his money flying.
At the time, Escobar controlled more than 80 percent of the cocaine smuggled into the United States; More than 15 tons of smuggling are reported every day, netting $420 million a week for the Medellín cartel.
As Escobar grew richer and more famous, he dreamed of being seen as a leader. In some ways, he positioned himself as a Robin Hood-esque figure, which was echoed by many locals as he paid to expand social programs for the poor.
As a young man, Escobar told friends and family that he wanted to become president of Colombia. However, in his view, his path to wealth and legitimacy lies in crime.
In 1982, Escobar was elected alternate to the Colombian Congress. But reasons for his wealth could not be concealed, and two years after his election, he was forced to resign. The attorney general, who exposed Escobar's notorious background, was later killed.
Escobar was responsible for killing thousands of people, including politicians, civil servants, journalists and ordinary citizens.
When he realized he had no chance of becoming president of Colombia, and as the United States pushed for his arrest and extradition, Escobar unleashed his anger on his enemies, hoping to influence Colombian politics. His goal is not to extradite the clause and amnesty for drug lords in exchange for abandoning trade.
Escobar's terrorist campaign has claimed the lives of three Colombian presidential candidates, a justice minister, dozens of judges and more than 1,000 police officers. In addition, Escobar was implicated in the planning of the 1989 Colombian jetliner bombing, which killed more than 100 people.
Escobar's terror eventually turned public opinion against him and led to the dissolution of the Union of Drug Traffickers.
In June 1991, Escobar surrendered to the Colombian government of President César Gaviria.
In return, the threat of extradition was lifted and Escobar was allowed to build his own luxurious prison, called "La Catedral," guarded by people he had carefully selected from among his employees. The prison lives up to its name and features a casino, spa and nightclub.
However, in June 1992, when authorities tried to transfer him to a more standard detention facility, Escobar escaped. The manhunt for the drug lord lasted 16 months.
During that time, the monopoly of the Medellín cartel deteriorated rapidly, and the cartel began to disintegrate during Escobar's imprisonment as police raided the office and killed its leader.
Escobar's family unsuccessfully sought refuge in Germany and eventually found refuge in a hotel in Bogotá.
Escobar himself was not so lucky: on December 2, 1993, Colombian law enforcement finally caught up with the fugitive Escobar in a middle-class neighborhood in Medellín.
An exchange of fire ensued, and as Escobar tried to escape over a series of rooftops, he and his bodyguards were shot dead.
On December 2, 1993, Colombian police and troops stormed the roof and drug lord Pablo Escobar was shot dead while security forces exchanged fire with Escobar and his bodyguards.
Escobar's death hastened the demise of the Medellín cartel and Colombia's central role in the cocaine trade.
His ouster was celebrated by the government and the rest of the world. His family is protected by the police.
Despite this, many Colombians mourn his killing. More than 25,000 people attended Escobar's funeral.
"He built houses and cared for the poor," one attending the funeral said in a new-York Times report at Escobar's funeral. "In the future, people will go to his tomb and pray, just as they pray to the saints.