Pablo Escobar built his fortune by founding and leading the Medellín Cartel, which at its peak in the 1980s controlled as much as 80% of the world’s cocaine supply, particularly massive shipments into the United States. With that power came extraordinary wealth, extreme violence, and deep corruption. Escobar relied on bribery and intimidation—famously summarized by the phrase “plata o plomo,” meaning “money or lead”—to protect his operation from law enforcement. At the same time, he funded socia