Table Of Content
- Hacienda Nápoles After Escobar’s Death
- Welcome To Hacienda Nápoles — Pablo Escobar’s Legendary Estate
- Early life
- Life Without Light: Creatures in the Dark With Sarah McAnulty
- This Is What Happened To Pablo Escobar's Colombia Estate
- Our night at Casa Malca had been a memorable one. And the morning was off to a gorgeous start.
It was staged under the auspices of Medellín, Abraza Su Historia (Medellín, Embrace Your History), a branding campaign launched by Gutiérrez. The Monaco also served as the starting or ending point for many of the city’s popular narco tours—including one led by Escobar’s brother. The mansion in La Isla Grande, now government owned, has steadily fallen into ruin. Like some kind of coke-fueled Xanadu, the sprawling complex is already being reclaimed by nature. Stepping into the main mansion—it had been decorated with white tile and marble—the cracked walls still show the 1980s color schemes of pastel blue and coral pinks. The lobby leads to an immense courtyard, shaded with palm trees overlooking the Caribbean sea.
Hacienda Nápoles After Escobar’s Death
Everyone needs a place to get away, and violent cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar was no exception. The spot he chose was on the shores of the Peñol Reservoir in the idyllic resort town of Guatapé. There, Escobar built a lavish estate called La Manuela (named after his daughter) that would be the scene of one of the most dramatic episodes in his downfall. Beyond the swimming pool, a series of broken-down chalets overlooks the ocean. As with the larger structures, the individual chalet apartments have long since begun to deteriorate at the hands of the relentless Caribbean trade winds, while for the people of Isla Grande, life carries on much as it did before Escobar arrived. My guide Jesús put a cautionary hand on my arm signaling me to be quiet.
Welcome To Hacienda Nápoles — Pablo Escobar’s Legendary Estate
The noise of dynamite on a sunny day blew out a host of buried memories, welcome and otherwise, among those who’d survived Medellín’s long years of violence. Aurelia Puyo, a female guerrilla who’d grown up upper-class before running away to join the guerillas, allegedly targeted the place in an effort to strike at the heart of the establishment. Escobar had phoned and threatened Horacio not to allow certain politicians into the restaurant.
Early life
But alas, the luxury estate was not to last — because its owner would soon be dead. While Hacienda Nápoles wasn’t Pablo Escobar’s only house, it was clearly his favorite. And since he was bringing in millions of dollars each day, he had plenty of cash to ensure that the property was outfitted with every single amenity he could ever dream of.
Also at the lunch were the widow and children of Colonel Valdemar Franklin Quintero, the murdered commander of the Antioquia state police department. In 1989, when police were being picked off right and left, Colonel Quintero was a symbol of fearless incorruptibility. Eventually, however, Quintero concluded that his days were numbered, so he dismissed his bodyguards, telling them there was no reason their families should lose their fathers. One of his sons and a nephew also participated in the Medellín ceremonies. Medellín has Pablo problems in all strata of society, not just the poor neighborhoods. The current mafia headquarters, the Oficina de Envigado, is located in the rapidly growing nearby town of Envigado, where Escobar grew up.
Newly refreshed, we decided to get a closer look at all the art.
But more than 25 years after Mr. Escobar’s death, the six-story building with a penthouse had still caused heated debate, as city officials weighed the potential tourist draw of the site against the urge to move on from a painful past. I was a 21-year-old Peace Corps volunteer when I fell in love with Medellín and the lush countryside that surrounds it. While there, I helped build a school near what would become one of Escobar’s hideouts, and in 2005 I founded the Marina Orth Foundation, an educational foundation for underserved kids. Today, we teach STEM, robotics, English, and leadership in 21 schools. I was just as thrilled (and surprised) when, during the ceremony, I was awarded a medal of courage from Gutiérrez as part of a group of Valientes who stood up for the city during its long ordeal.
This Is What Happened To Pablo Escobar's Colombia Estate
Attorney Roger Schindler bought the home from the U.S. government in 1990 for $915,000. In 1987, U.S. authorities confiscated the property, along with $20 million in properties the Colombian drug dealer owned across Florida. Escobar bought the mansion in March 1980 for $762,500, according to Miami-Dade County public records.
Death
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During one of his prison stays, he was partially blinded by a letter bomb that exploded in his face. Roberto’s blue eyes are now covered with a transparent, gray film, and he occasionally takes out a small bottle of artificial tears to moisten them. Escobar is said to have dedicated much of his energies into making the isolated plot of land in the wilderness his own private playground.
Our night at Casa Malca had been a memorable one. And the morning was off to a gorgeous start.
According to The New Yorker, Escobar had roads paved, installed artificial lakes, and a private zoo with hippopotamuses, giraffes, zebras, and more. There was also a bull-fighting ring, swimming pools, stables, and a fleet of speedboats. By the time of his death, Brittanica reported that Escobar had collected around 200 animals for his private zoo, many of them native to Africa. The explosion was the centerpiece of a two-day, city-wide ceremony last February 21 and 22, aimed at changing perceptions among both Medellín’s residents and its rapidly growing contingent of some 90,000 annual foreign visitors.
But he also carefully cultivated a Robin Hood image with the working classes of Colombia. He built deluxe soccer fields in the barrios, and organized teams and leagues for the children. The street vendors of Cartagena, las Palenqueras sell t-shirts bearing the face of El Patron alongside replica jerseys of the Colombian hero and Real Madrid forward James Rodriguez.
His stock piling of cash was such that his brother Roberto Escobar estimated they were spending around $1,000 a month just on rubber bands to wrap around the never ending piles of money. His policy for smuggling cocaine into the US was based on what he called “plata o plomo,” meaning “silver or lead”; that is, accept the bribe money or face the bullets. By 1989 he was worth an estimated $30 billion, with Forbes magazine listing him as one of the world’s ten wealthiest men. And Escobar was as ruthless as he was rich; from his stronghold fortress in Medellín, he fought a deadly drug war with the rival cartel de Cali, the Colombian government and the CIA. In recent years, Colombia has undergone a marked renaissance, especially where tourism is concerned. After his death, the Hacienda Napoles fell into the hands of the Colombian government.
In the 80s, more than 600 police officers were murdered after Esobar offered a bounty of over 2 million pesos for each one. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. While there have been some efforts to erase the drug lord’s name from the park, tourists still flock to the region because of him.
The museum has a small curio and souvenir store carrying key chains, mugs and Escobar memorabilia. Most taxi and Uber drivers know of the Casa Museo Pablo Escobar as well as where his grave is located. “This symbol, which is a symbol of illegality, of evil, will be brought to the ground,” said Federico Gutiérrez. The mayor vowed to topple the building by next year and to put a park remembering victims in its place. Recently, however, attention to the building has returned, piqued by scores of international books, telenovelas and movies about Mr. Escobar.
His opulent home in Puerto Tiunfo, the Hacienda Napoles came complete with his own zoo of rhinoceros, giraffes, elephants, and a dinosaur park made with genuine prehistoric bones. He bankrolled his beloved football team, Atletico Nacional to the extent they became the first Colombian team to win the South American club championship, the Copa Libetadores. As detailed in the 2010 ESPN 30 for 30 documentary, “The Two Escobars,” corruption and bribery dominated Colombian soccer, and it is alleged many match officials were bought off in the process.
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