On Isla Grande, one hour outside of #Cartagena, #Colombia, lie the abandoned ruins of Pablo Escobar’s island mansion. I will be writing a post on #Escobar in Colombia soon, but for now I’ll say this:
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When I told people I was in Colombia, I got a lot of questions along the lines of “oh, how is it, drugs everywhere?” “Oh, is it just crazy drug parties all the time and narcos?”
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No, it isn’t. Colombia may be the number one cocaine producer, but drugs here are very much geared towards export to US, UK, and a handful of other countries, as well as gringo tourism. Colombians have quite low rates of coke use, partly because if there are any people who know first-hand the deadly cost of the illicit drug trade, it’s Colombians.
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“We have so many beautiful things here, and people still see Colombia as just coke and narcos”, one Colombian girl frustratedly said to me, and she was right. Escobar has been dead for 25 years, and the West still seems obsessed with him and his deeds, unnecessarily glamorizing his life and work. Simultaneously, Colombians have worked relentlessly, and in fact somewhat successfully, to reduce violence and clean up Escobar’s mess.
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Escobar was directly responsible for the murders of at least 5,000 people, and indirectly many more. He made his home base of Medellin the murder capital of the world with his dealings and exacerbated state corruption to unthinkable levels. He once blew up a plane of 107 people because he (mistakenly) thought his political enemy was on it. He was, by all accounts, a greedy, violent psychopath. And yet, he’s seen by some (even by very few people in Colombia he benefited directly) as some kind of strange folk hero, or just a glamorous kingpin, with less attention being paid to his gorier actions.
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Most Colombians I met are deeply troubled by this perspective. Escobar thrived in and helped create a dark time in Colombian history. And many have friends, relatives, acquaintances who became victims of the trade. To see Western tourists come in, seeking cheap cocaine (yes, it’s a thing) and admiring Escobar as some kind of thuglife kingpin, is a giant slap in the face to most Colombians. Be aware when you travel.
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