How Pablo Escobar Shaped the Future: A Legacy Timeline

A detailed timeline of the impact and legacy of Pablo Escobar across different fields.

Pablo Escobar, the 'King of Cocaine', was the leader of the Medellín Cartel, which dominated the cocaine trade in the US during the 1980s and early 1990s. He amassed immense wealth through his criminal activities. Escobar was a narcoterrorist and politician who became one of the richest criminals in history with an estimated net worth of $30 billion by the time of his death.

Sections (5)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Challenges & Struggles Controversies & Scandals Legacy & Impact

1995: Escobar's family flees Colombia

In 1995, Escobar's widow María Henao, son Juan Pablo, and daughter Manuela fled Colombia after failing to find a country that would grant them asylum.

July 2006: Virginia Vallejo Offers Testimony

On 4 July 2006, Virginia Vallejo, who had a romantic relationship with Escobar, offered her testimony in the trial against former Senator Alberto Santofimio, who was accused of conspiracy in the 1989 assassination of Luis Carlos Galán. However, the judge had decided to close the trial on 9 July, before the prospective closing date.

October 2006: Exhumation of Escobar's body

On 28 October 2006, Escobar's body was exhumed at the request of some of his relatives in order to take a DNA sample to confirm the alleged paternity of an illegitimate child. A video of the exhumation was broadcast by RCN, angering Marroquín.

2007: Hippo population growth

By 2007, the hippo population at Hacienda Nápoles had grown to 16, and the animals had taken to roaming the area for food in the nearby Magdalena River.

2007: Publication of Loving Pablo, Hating Escobar

In 2007, the journalist Virginia Vallejo published her memoir Amando a Pablo, odiando a Escobar (Loving Pablo, Hating Escobar), in which she describes her romantic relationship with Escobar and the links of her lover with several presidents, Caribbean dictators, and high-profile politicians.

2007: Announcement of Escobar films

In 2007, two major feature films on Escobar, Escobar (2009) and Killing Pablo (2011), were announced.

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2009: Release of Sins of My Father documentary

In 2009, Argentinian filmmaker Nicolas Entel's documentary Sins of My Father chronicles Marroquín's efforts to seek forgiveness, on behalf of his father, from the sons of Rodrigo Lara, Colombia's justice minister who was assassinated in 1984, as well as from the sons of Luis Carlos Galán, the presidential candidate who was assassinated in 1989.

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2009: Release of Escobar film

In 2009, the major feature film on Escobar, Escobar, was released.

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2009: Hippo escape and killing

In 2009, two adult hippos and one calf escaped the herd and, after attacking humans and killing cattle, one of the adults (called "Pepe") was killed by hunters under authorization of the local authorities.

October 2010: Sins of My Father premieres on HBO in the U.S.

In October 2010, the documentary film "Sins of My Father" premiered in the U.S. on HBO.

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2011: Release of Killing Pablo film

In 2011, the major feature film on Escobar, Killing Pablo, was released.

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2014: Hippo Population reaches 40

As of early 2014, 40 hippos have been reported to exist in Puerto Triunfo, Antioquia Department, from the original four belonging to Escobar.

2014: Sale of Escobar's Miami Beach mansion

In 2014, Christian de Berdouare, proprietor of the Chicken Kitchen fast-food chain, bought the dilapidated property, formerly owned by Escobar, in Miami Beach.

2014: Publication of Pablo Escobar, My Father

In 2014, Marroquín published the book Pablo Escobar, My Father under his birth name to resolve any inaccuracies regarding his father's excursions during the 1990s.

2016: Hippo population projection

As of 2016, without management, the hippo population size is likely to more than double in the next decade.

2017: Release of the movie Loving Pablo

In 2017, Virginia Vallejo's book inspired the movie Loving Pablo was released.

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June 2018: Accusation of money laundering in Argentina

On June 5, 2018, in Argentina, federal judge Nestor Barral accused Maria Isabel Santos Caballero (formerly María Victoria Henao) and her son, Sebastián Marroquín Santos, of money laundering with two Colombian drug traffickers. The judge ordered the seizing of assets for about $1m each.

2018: Environmentalist disagreement on hippos

In 2018, National Geographic published an article that found disagreement among environmentalists on whether the hippos at Hacienda Nápoles were having a positive or negative impact, but that conservationists and locals were mostly in support of their continued presence.

February 2019: Demolition of Edificio Mónaco

On 22 February 2019, Medellín authorities demolished the six-story Edificio Mónaco apartment complex in the El Poblado neighborhood where Escobar planned some of his most brazen attacks. Colombian president Ivan Duque said the demolition "means that history is not going to be written in terms of the perpetrators, but by recognizing the victims".