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WORK TITLE: Pablo Escobar: My Father
WORK NOTES: trans by Andrea Rosenberg
PSEUDONYM(S): Marroquin, Sebastian
BIRTHDATE: 1977
WEBSITE:
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY: Argentina
NATIONALITY: Colombian
Colombian; became Argentine citizen * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebasti%C3%A1n_Marroqu%C3%ADn * https://www.bustle.com/articles/183723-where-are-pablo-escobars-kids-now-manuela-juan-pablo-are-living-relatively-quiet-lives * http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/01/world/pablo-escobar-son-tells-all/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1977, in Medellín, Colombia; son of Pablo Escobar.
EDUCATION:Earned degree.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Architect and writer. Also owner of the Escobar Henao clothing line.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Juan Pablo Escobar is a Columbian architect and writer, born in 1977 in Medellín, Colombia. He is better known as the son of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. Also known by the name Sebastián Marroquín, Escobar recalled in an article in the London Independent that “drug trafficking destroyed my family. . . . It gave us the world, and then it took it away.” Ever since he was threatened at gunpoint to give up his grudge against those who killed his father and leave the country, Escobar has come to understand the problems of drug trafficking in a way that few could ever imagine. He has worked to reform drug laws and has also made efforts to reconcile with the Colombian people and surviving family members of many of his father’s victims.
Escobar talked about this in an interview in F3, where he discussed the 2009 documentary Sins of My Father, which he was involved in making. He admitted that the hardest part about making the documentary was “writing the letter of apology and participating in the two subsequent meetings with the children of Galán and Lara [people Pablo Escobar had ordered to be assassinated]. It was a real challenge, but I’m proud of having been part of this project because it demonstrates that Colombians can achieve peace through dialogue, forgiveness and reconciliation as effective means for a healthy coexistence in society.” In the same F3 interview, he also talked about his decision to come out of hiding and speak publicly about his father’s life and to try to make amends for it in some way. Escobar insisted: “It seemed selfish to me, just keeping to myself a solitary pacifist legacy of this violent story. I wanted to share with young people what I have learned about the serious consequences of participating in the cruel game of drug dealing. I am just doing what I believe is right. If I can prevent even a single young person from entering that world, then it will be worth it.”
Escobar recalled in an interview in the Harvard Political Review that “something I am grateful for today is that my father had the strength to recognize and tell me about his activities instead of selling me a fabricated story. I think that helped us build a relationship based on trust. I think it also helped him to talk about his activities, almost in a confessionary manner, when he talked to the press about the bombs he had placed, the people he had kidnapped, or other activities of that type.”
He continued: “So, in a way, my father reached a certain degree of sincerity that I became [sic] to know and I would even say appreciate because I would have rather had my father treat me like this rather than as an idiot that would never have any idea about what was happening around us.” In the same interview, Escobar pointed out: “No one prepares you at 7 years of age to have your father tell you he is a criminal—you are still a kid and you are thinking about playing and having fun, things that have little to do with reality. This forces you to grow and mature before due time.”
Escobar’s memoir, Pablo Escobar, Mi Padre, was translated by Andrea Rosenberg and published in 2016 as Pablo Escobar, My Father. The personal account looks into the rise of the Medellín cartel boss, his career, the terror he wrought upon others, and the most-wanted label that cemented his notoriety. Escobar treats his father from two sides: that of a loving parent and that of a violent drug lord. He attempts to come to terms with that dichotomy in the memoir and also to shed light on the impact his death had on the family and the peculiar childhood he endured while living an isolated but privileged upbringing.
In an article in the Latin Post, Escobar was recorded as saying that “it’s not a book that apologizes for drug trafficking nor does it look to justify my father’s actions, and I think he looks worse than what is even known.” In an interview with CNN, Escobar talked with Moni Basu about his perceptions of his father. He confessed that “not all of my father’s history and its acts are full of evil,” adding that “I have to live with both truths. . . . The love I feel for him is not negotiable—he was an excellent father. It’s not easy to admit to the world the great cruelty of my father.” Basu also noted that the “book comes at a good time. Both the series and the movie have helped resurrect Escobar’s notoriety, which faded outside Colombia along with the collapse of his Medellín Cartel.”
A contributor to Publishers Weekly commented that “the matter-of-fact prose serves the material well,” adding that for as “surreal” as his life is, “there’s no need for embellishment.” In a review in the Washington Post Book World, Konstantin Kakaes concluded that “Pablo Escobar consciously aimed to portray himself as a sort of Robin Hood-esque figure, erratically dispersing alms around Medellín and surrounding areas. Ought that real, if scattershot, charity atone for some share of his numerous sins? This indolent and immature book sheds little light on this question. A smattering of chintzy truisms about peace, forgiveness and reconciliation fail to obscure the basic truth that this book is an exercise in trading on Pablo Escobar’s celebrity that implicates the author in his father’s crimes, an accessory after the fact.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Harvard Political Review, October 9, 2016, Humberto Juárez Rocha, author interview.
Independent (London, England), September 6, 2015, Paul Imison, author interview.
Latin Post, December 29, 2014, Yara Simon, author interview.
Publishers Weekly, June 27, 2016, review of Pablo Escobar: My Father, p. 78.
Sun (London, England), September 20, 2016, Corey Charlton, author interview.
Washington Post Book World, September 30, 2016, Konstantin Kakaes, review of Pablo Escobar.
ONLINE
Bustle, https://www.bustle.com/ (September 27, 2016), Caroline Gerdes, author interview.
CNN Web site, http://edition.cnn.com/ (September 1, 2016), Moni Basu, author interview.
F3, http://f3magazine.unicri.it/ (March 17, 2017), author interview.
Sebastián Marroquín
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Sebastián Marroquín
Born Juan Pablo Escobar
1977 (age 39–40)
Medellín, Colombia Colombia
Nationality Colombian
Other names el pacito miguelito escobar
Occupation Architect, author
Known for Being the son of Pablo Escobar
Notable work Pablo Escobar: My Father (2014), Sins of My Father (2009)
Parent(s) Pablo Escobar and Maria
Sebastián Marroquín (born Juan Pablo Escobar in 1977[1][2] in Medellín, Colombia) is a Colombian architect, author, and the son of slain Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.
Contents
1 Death of his father
2 Subsequent life
3 Sins of My Father
4 Pablo Escobar: My Father
5 Clothing line
6 References
Death of his father
On December 2, 1993, police located, caught, and then killed Pablo Escobar (aged 44), when Medellín's most infamous criminal made a phone call to his son. Escobar's location was tracked due to his excessive telephone usage, and he was seen through an open window, talking on a telephone, as police surrounded the building where he was hiding out in Medellin. The bearded Escobar fled to the rooftops, where he was shot dead by the police.
Subsequent life
Escobar, his mother, and his sister at first fled to Mozambique, then traveled on tourist visas to Argentina, where they ultimately remained and became citizens in exile from their native Colombia. Juan Pablo chose the name "Sebastián Marroquín" from the telephone book and adopted it as his new name.
Although he and his family continue to make money on the rights to Pablo Escobar's name and likeness (such as selling clothing bearing his likeness for extra income), and have tried three times (unsuccessfully) to register Escobar's name as a brand,[3] Marroquín prefers not to be linked with his father, which includes mention of his previous name; he is also determined to dissociate himself from the Medellín Cartel and the illegal drug trade in Colombia.
Marroquín graduated from college with a degree in architecture, now lives in Palermo Soho, Buenos Aires with his wife and daughter, and works as an architect. He has since met with some of his father's victims. (See Sins of My Father (the 2009 documentary).)
Marroquín has returned to Colombia twice for visits: to pay his respects at his father's grave and for the documentary's premiere. He was not allowed to enter Hacienda Nápoles for a return visit to Escobar's 20-square-kilometre (7.7 sq mi) estate 180 kilometres (110 mi) east of Medellin, confiscated by the Colombian government after Escobar's death and now managed by the municipality of Puerto Triunfo as a public park, campground, and museum of Escobar's crimes.[4]
Sins of My Father
Sins of My Father (2009), an Argentine movie documentary five years in the making, "followed Marroquín as he apologized to the sons of victims his late father ordered assassinated during a decade of terrorizing Colombia during his time as a major drug lord."[5] The film promoted reconciliation and ending hatred.[4]
Pablo Escobar: My Father
Using his birth name, Juan Pablo Escobar, Marroquin authored the book Pablo Escobar: My Father (2014).[6][7]
Clothing line
In addition, Marroquin has established his own organic line of clothes, "Escobar Henao",[8] using items from his father's life as clothing highlights. The clothing line has yet to turn a profit. Marroquin had stated part of the money from his business ventures will go to his father's victims and Colombian charities.[citation needed]
Where Are Pablo Escobar's Kids Now? Manuela & Juan Pablo Are Living Relatively Quiet Lives
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By Caroline Gerdes
Sep 27 2016
I've noticed that, frequently, while marathoning Narcos on Netflix, I whip out my phone or laptop to Google a character or scene to see how closely the show mirrors reality. I always try to find out just enough without spoiling the show, but, while doing that, I totally miss what is going on and end up having to rewind to actually read the subtitles. This game/history lesson is a huge part of the show’s appeal. And, while I know what happened to Escobar, I'm curious to know about the realities of his family life, which is examined more closely in Season 2. Who are Pablo Escobar's children in real life?
The second season of Narcos chronicles Escobar’s final days and depicts him at home with his family while he is in hiding. After so many hours of television, viewers finally see Escobar as a father and husband. Although Narcos is inspired by the story of Escobar's life, it's still a fictional show, which made me curious about his real children and what they are doing now that they have grown up. While Escobar’s daughter has lived a pretty private life, his son has recently been part of some pretty big projects regarding his father, but more on that in a minute.
In real life, Escobar's children Juan Pablo Escobar and Manuela Escobar were born in 1977 and 1984, respectively. Articles about Manuela are dated and scarce, usually regarding her inheritance or a story that her father once allegedly burned $2 million because she was cold, according to her brother. Time magazine reported that, after Pablo's death, Manuela, her brother, and her mother traveled to Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, South Africa and Mozambique before they ultimately sought refuge in Argentina. El Tiempo reported that Manuela now lives under an assumed name, and has stayed out of the spotlight.
Escobar’s son, an architect in Argentina, has been vocal about his father, though he has changed his name from Juan Pablo Escobar to Sebastián Marroquín. In 2009, Marroquín was the focus of Argentine director Nicolás Entel’s documentary Sins of My Father, which chronicled Marroquín seeking reconciliation with children of politicians Escobar had killed and denouncing his father’s violence.
In an interview with UK publication Latino Life, Marroquín explained that he participated in the documentary after turning down many projects that he said were “the opposite message to the lifestyle that [he had] chosen to lead.” But, Sins of My Father is about forgiveness and ending violence. He further explained:
“Kids enter the game as if nothing has ever happened before and I can see generation after generation clashing, and we’re in the same situation. I want the violence to stop, not just for me but for Colombia … There is also the necessity to ask for forgiveness for my father’s actions. They aren’t mine but I have to say to you that society has persecuted and punished us as if we were Pablo Escobar. The film allows a minute’s silence to hear our voices and to say ‘this is our story, this is how we live, please understand that to be someone’s son doesn’t mean they are also an accomplice … The documentary is a way for us to send this message to society that they separate us as individuals and not as cartel members. We are members of the boss’ family, but we aren’t the cartel.”
In 2014, Marroquín released the book, Pablo Escobar: My Father, under the name Juan Pablo Escobar. According to the Latin Times, proceeds from the book were donated to various Colombian charity projects and Marroquín was quoted about his work, saying, “It's not about trying to wash away guilt, but contributing to the well-being of the country from whatever place I can.”
Source: LUIS ACOSTA/AFP/Getty Images
Marroquín recently spoke out about Narcos, calling out the series with a list of 28 things that he claims the show got wrong. You can read his full list of alleged inaccuracies on The Telegraph. Bustle has reached out to Netflix for comment on Marroquín's claims, but has not yet received a response.
It seems that while Narcos has led viewers to question what happened to Escobar's now-adult children, it seems his son has a few questions for the show.
Ruthless drug lord or loving father? Escobar's son lives with two truths
Moni Basu-Profile-Image1
By Moni Basu, CNN
Updated 1137 GMT (1937 HKT) September 1, 2016
The "Jurassic Park" simulation includes dinosaur statues.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
The "Jurassic Park" simulation includes dinosaur statues.
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Visitors in 2009 examine what was left of Escobar's mansion, including the swimming pool. The mansion has since been demolished.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
Visitors in 2009 examine what was left of Escobar's mansion, including the swimming pool. The mansion has since been demolished.
Hide Caption
7 of 11
The house featured exhibits about the life of Escobar, who built a multibillion-dollar empire dealing cocaine. Along the way, he ordered the deaths of thousands of people, among them politicians, judges, journalists and rival traffickers.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
The house featured exhibits about the life of Escobar, who built a multibillion-dollar empire dealing cocaine. Along the way, he ordered the deaths of thousands of people, among them politicians, judges, journalists and rival traffickers.
Hide Caption
8 of 11
Escobar was killed in 1993 in a gunbattle with authorities. His son, Sebastian Marroquin, says the forensic report and a photo of the body led him to believe that while his father was badly wounded by police, he killed himself in the shootout.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
Escobar was killed in 1993 in a gunbattle with authorities. His son, Sebastian Marroquin, says the forensic report and a photo of the body led him to believe that while his father was badly wounded by police, he killed himself in the shootout.
Hide Caption
9 of 11
Escobar also collected cars; their rusted-out remains were on display at the ranch-turned-park in 2009.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
Escobar also collected cars; their rusted-out remains were on display at the ranch-turned-park in 2009.
Hide Caption
10 of 11
The Colombian single-engine airplane Escobar used to send his first cocaine shipment to the United States was incorporated into the park's entrance.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
The Colombian single-engine airplane Escobar used to send his first cocaine shipment to the United States was incorporated into the park's entrance.
Hide Caption
11 of 11
Pablo Escobar and his family lived in Hacienda Napoles, a vast and tony ranch in Colombia about 100 miles east of Medellín. The ranch, which included three zoos full of exotic animals, has since been turned into a theme park.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
Pablo Escobar and his family lived in Hacienda Napoles, a vast and tony ranch in Colombia about 100 miles east of Medellín. The ranch, which included three zoos full of exotic animals, has since been turned into a theme park.
Hide Caption
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Escobar's ranch included 27 artificial lakes, swimming pools, an airstrip, a gas station, 1,700 employees -- and four hippos the drug kingpin bought from a US zoo. They have since bred and now number in the dozens.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
Escobar's ranch included 27 artificial lakes, swimming pools, an airstrip, a gas station, 1,700 employees -- and four hippos the drug kingpin bought from a US zoo. They have since bred and now number in the dozens.
Hide Caption
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As a theme park, the site includes a "Jurassic Park" simulation as well as exotic live animals, including this tiger.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
As a theme park, the site includes a "Jurassic Park" simulation as well as exotic live animals, including this tiger.
Hide Caption
3 of 11
The park also features an African museum.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
The park also features an African museum.
Hide Caption
4 of 11
In 2011, a 30-year-old female rhino named Vera -- weighing 3½ tons -- was transferred from a Medellín zoo to Hacienda Napoles.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
In 2011, a 30-year-old female rhino named Vera -- weighing 3½ tons -- was transferred from a Medellín zoo to Hacienda Napoles.
Hide Caption
5 of 11
The "Jurassic Park" simulation includes dinosaur statues.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
The "Jurassic Park" simulation includes dinosaur statues.
Hide Caption
6 of 11
Visitors in 2009 examine what was left of Escobar's mansion, including the swimming pool. The mansion has since been demolished.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
Visitors in 2009 examine what was left of Escobar's mansion, including the swimming pool. The mansion has since been demolished.
Hide Caption
7 of 11
The house featured exhibits about the life of Escobar, who built a multibillion-dollar empire dealing cocaine. Along the way, he ordered the deaths of thousands of people, among them politicians, judges, journalists and rival traffickers.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
The house featured exhibits about the life of Escobar, who built a multibillion-dollar empire dealing cocaine. Along the way, he ordered the deaths of thousands of people, among them politicians, judges, journalists and rival traffickers.
Hide Caption
8 of 11
Escobar was killed in 1993 in a gunbattle with authorities. His son, Sebastian Marroquin, says the forensic report and a photo of the body led him to believe that while his father was badly wounded by police, he killed himself in the shootout.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
Escobar was killed in 1993 in a gunbattle with authorities. His son, Sebastian Marroquin, says the forensic report and a photo of the body led him to believe that while his father was badly wounded by police, he killed himself in the shootout.
Hide Caption
9 of 11
Escobar also collected cars; their rusted-out remains were on display at the ranch-turned-park in 2009.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
Escobar also collected cars; their rusted-out remains were on display at the ranch-turned-park in 2009.
Hide Caption
10 of 11
The Colombian single-engine airplane Escobar used to send his first cocaine shipment to the United States was incorporated into the park's entrance.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
The Colombian single-engine airplane Escobar used to send his first cocaine shipment to the United States was incorporated into the park's entrance.
Hide Caption
11 of 11
Pablo Escobar and his family lived in Hacienda Napoles, a vast and tony ranch in Colombia about 100 miles east of Medellín. The ranch, which included three zoos full of exotic animals, has since been turned into a theme park.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
Pablo Escobar and his family lived in Hacienda Napoles, a vast and tony ranch in Colombia about 100 miles east of Medellín. The ranch, which included three zoos full of exotic animals, has since been turned into a theme park.
Hide Caption
1 of 11
Escobar's ranch included 27 artificial lakes, swimming pools, an airstrip, a gas station, 1,700 employees -- and four hippos the drug kingpin bought from a US zoo. They have since bred and now number in the dozens.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
Escobar's ranch included 27 artificial lakes, swimming pools, an airstrip, a gas station, 1,700 employees -- and four hippos the drug kingpin bought from a US zoo. They have since bred and now number in the dozens.
Hide Caption
2 of 11
As a theme park, the site includes a "Jurassic Park" simulation as well as exotic live animals, including this tiger.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
As a theme park, the site includes a "Jurassic Park" simulation as well as exotic live animals, including this tiger.
Hide Caption
3 of 11
The park also features an African museum.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
The park also features an African museum.
Hide Caption
4 of 11
In 2011, a 30-year-old female rhino named Vera -- weighing 3½ tons -- was transferred from a Medellín zoo to Hacienda Napoles.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
In 2011, a 30-year-old female rhino named Vera -- weighing 3½ tons -- was transferred from a Medellín zoo to Hacienda Napoles.
Hide Caption
5 of 11
The "Jurassic Park" simulation includes dinosaur statues.
Photos: Escobar's ranch is now a theme park
The "Jurassic Park" simulation includes dinosaur statues.
Hide Caption
6 of 11
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01 Pablo Escobar mansion
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Story highlights
Pablo Escobar's son had to come to terms with the fact that he loved his father but hated what he did
Sebastian Marroquin realized he had to do all he could to make sure his father's life was never repeated
His book about his father was published this week in the United States
(CNN)The acknowledgments in Sebastian Marroquin's book consist of one sentence: "To my father, who showed me what path not to take."
That is probably the highest compliment Marroquin could pay his father. What can you say about a man who was a monster?
Perhaps that's why Marroquin stayed silent for two decades after the 1993 death of Pablo Escobar, the Colombian drug lord who built a multibillion-dollar empire dealing cocaine. Along the way, he ordered the deaths of thousands of people, among them politicians, judges, journalists and rival traffickers.
Escobar was ambitious and brutal enough to become one of the world's wealthiest and most violent criminals of all time. The stories of his absurd riches were well known, including one about burning $2 million in cash to keep his daughter warm while they were in hiding. He became the stuff of legend, like Al Capone or Bonnie and Clyde.
Drug baron Pablo Escobar's son changed his name to Sebastian Marroquin and lived in silence for many years. He finally wrote a book about his notorious father, published this week in English.
Drug baron Pablo Escobar's son changed his name to Sebastian Marroquin and lived in silence for many years. He finally wrote a book about his notorious father, published this week in English.
After he died, Escobar's family was forced to flee Colombia for their own safety. Marroquin -- born Juan Pablo Escobar -- lived incognito in Buenos Aires under his new legal name. He began piecing himself back together after spending the first 17 years of his life in his notorious father's shadow.
Marroquin, now 39, was forced to come to terms with a staggering contradiction: He adored his father but hated what he did.
Escobar gave as extremely to his family as he took away from his enemies. He showered his wife and children with unconditional love and ostentatious luxury. He also cultivated a Robin Hood image by donating money and housing to Medellin, Colombia's, poor.
"Not all of my father's history and its acts are full of evil," Marroquin says.
At the same time, he inflicted terrible suffering on so many people.
"I have to live with both truths," Marroquin says. "The love I feel for him is not negotiable -- he was an excellent father. It's not easy to admit to the world the great cruelty of my father."
This week, the English translation of Marroquin's book, "Pablo Escobar, My Father," was published in the United States, days before Netflix releases season two of "Narcos," the popular series about Escobar. Also out is "Infiltrator," a movie starring Bryan Cranston that focuses on a US Customs special agent who helped bust Escobar's money-laundering organization.
Marroquin's book comes at a good time. Both the series and the movie have helped resurrect Escobar's notoriety, which faded outside Colombia along with the collapse of his Medellin Cartel.
A few months after his son's birth in 1977, Pablo Escobar began to profit from trafficking drugs and moved his family to a swankier part of Medellin.
A few months after his son's birth in 1977, Pablo Escobar began to profit from trafficking drugs and moved his family to a swankier part of Medellin.
Marroquin describes his book -- first published two years ago in Spanish -- as an intimate investigation into his father's life. Not judgment, not absolute truth, but a son's sincere journey to learn more about his father. And he published it under his given name: Juan Pablo Escobar.
I spoke recently via Skype with Marroquin, who was visiting Colombia for further research on his father. Marroquin parked his car off the side of the road and strolled with his smartphone among tall trees in the homeland he had to abandon. After all these years, he can finally return to Colombia without fear or shame.
Sebastian Marroquin calls his book an intimate investigation into his father's life.
Sebastian Marroquin calls his book an intimate investigation into his father's life.
He is a soft-spoken man of gentle demeanor and hardly seems connected by blood to a narco gangster. He has chosen a life of peace and reconciliation to atone for his father's actions.
"I could easily have turned into Pablo 2.0, but I found out about the violence and the pain," Marroquin says. "We had no freedom. We were always hiding. We had millions but we could not go outside to buy a piece of bread."
Marroquin grew up with everything a boy could have wanted. The family lived in Hacienda Napoles, a vast and tony ranch with 27 artificial lakes, swimming pools, three zoos full of exotic animals, an airstrip, gas station and 1,700 employees.
By the time Marroquin was 11, he owned 30 high-speed motorbikes and 30 water scooters as well as ATVs, go-karts and dune buggies. When he was 13, he had his own bachelor pad with two large bedrooms, a zebra skin and a futuristic bar. Escobar took his son to Disney World, and there is even a photo of the two of them standing in front of the White House.
Marroquin remembers the tender side of the father who sang to him every night at bedtime, promising him the world.
Escobar took Marroquin to the White House in 1981.
Escobar took Marroquin to the White House in 1981.
Not surprisingly, the son idolized his father, but things started getting murky when, at 7, Marroquin began to discover Escobar's dark side. It was 1984 and Escobar had ordered the assassination of Colombia's then-justice minister, Rodrigo Lara Bonilla, who had launched an aggressive anti-drug campaign.
"That's when I understood my father was dedicated to other things," Marroquin says.
That was the same year Escobar was expelled from the Colombian Congress, a move that shattered Escobar's dreams of becoming president one day. For the next few years, he waged a bloody war against the government in a series of assassinations and terrorist attacks, including the 1989 bombing of Avianca Airlines Flight 203 that killed 110 people.
A lot of people wanted to see Escobar dead, and his family lived in constant fear.
Marroquin says he and his mother repeatedly confronted Escobar and tried to persuade him to abandon his violent ways. But Escobar relished his life as a bandit.
"He had no intention of changing his life," Marroquin says, though Escobar never pressured his son to help run his drug empire.
"He told me if I wanted to be a doctor, he would give me the best hospital," Marroquin says. "He never wanted me to follow in his footsteps."
The legacy of his father haunted Marroquin for years as he settled into a new life as an architect, industrial designer and writer in Buenos Aires. Then in 2008, he returned to Colombia for the first time, with bodyguards and in an armored car, to meet Lara's son as well as the three sons of Carlos Luis Galan, a popular politician and presidential candidate who was also assassinated under the orders of Escobar.
"How do you write to a family that your own father hurt so much? How do you open a conversation?"
That's how Marroquin opened the letter he sent to the sons of Escobar's most prominent victims, asking to meet them.
Escobar got into politics in 1982 and was elected to Congress.
Escobar got into politics in 1982 and was elected to Congress.
"Absolute silence slowly kills us all," Marroquin wrote.
He wished them to know that he was not his father, and yet he felt compelled to assume moral responsibility for their suffering and ask for forgiveness.
He was humbled by the meeting he finally had with the sons of Lara and Galan, depicted in the 2009 documentary "Sins of My Father."
They told him it was not emotionally easy to speak with the son of their fathers' killer. They also told him this: "We are all victims. We have nothing to forgive you because you are not Pablo Escobar."
Marroquin tells me he doesn't know if he could have been as compassionate if he were in their position. "I don't know if I could have reacted the same way."
In our Skype conversation, I ask Marroquin why he decided to write his book, to tell all in such a public way.
He wanted the loved ones of his father's victims to have access to truth about Pablo Escobar, he tells me. He wanted his own son, now 3, to know that truth and not learn about his grandfather from outsiders.
He often feels gangster lifestyles are glorified on screen and in popular art.
That's one reason he despised "Narcos," the Netflix series.
"I am not worried that the image of my father is bad. What worries me is the image of him that says, 'It's cool to be a narco trafficker.'"
He criticizes the producers for not consulting him or his mother.
"It's my opinion that 'Narcos' is a way for the United States to implant their version of drugs in the world," he says.
And in a way, he says, it was Americans and their cocaine habits that fueled Escobar's actions. By the end of the 1980s, Escobar was said to have been supplying 80% of the world's cocaine, smuggling 15 tons of it into the United States every day.
The last time Marroquin spoke with his father was on December 2, 1993. Normally, Escobar never spoke for long on the phone; he was always in hiding from police and his enemies and did not want his calls to get traced. But that day, it didn't seem to matter. He seemed defeated.
"Papa, don't call anymore," Marroquin told his father. "They are going to kill you."
But after a while, Escobar called again, got halfway through the conversation and then said, "I'll call you right back."
The United Nations hosted Marroquin and screened "Sins of My Father" to mark the 2010 International Day of Peace.
The United Nations hosted Marroquin and screened "Sins of My Father" to mark the 2010 International Day of Peace.
The next time the phone rang, minutes later, it was the police telling Marroquin that his father had been killed, taken down in a shootout with security forces at a Medellin shopping center.
Distraught, a weeping Marroquin told the police he would avenge the death of his father. But 10 minutes later, he retracted his statement to a journalist and said he would contribute to building peace in Colombia.
"Two paths appeared before me: becoming a deadlier version of my father, or setting aside his bad example forever," Marroquin writes about his critical moment of reflection.
Escobar had told Marroquin that the day he came face-to-face with his enemies, he would fire 14 of the 15 rounds in his Sig Sauer pistol, saving the last one for himself.
In his book, Marroquin writes that he was not one for stirring controversy but that he studied the forensic report and a photo of his father's body. Escobar's Glock was still in its holster, but his Sig Sauer was lying nearby and clearly had been fired. Marroquin believes his father was badly wounded by Colombian security forces. But he also believes his father was the one who fired the fatal bullet into his right ear, exactly where he had always said he would fire it.
I ask Marroquin if he thinks his violent father would be proud of him today, of his work to promote reconciliation.
"Yes," he answers. "I have always been the same person. I have never changed."
Escobar told Marroquin that he would dedicate his surrender to him. That was evidence enough of his father's regard.
Marroquin says he had one last reason for writing his book: "I wanted to leave a message for the youth of today that the life my father led should never be repeated."
The son no longer lives in the darkness cast by his father.
CNN's Elwyn Lopez contributed to this report.
An interview with JUAN PABLO ESCOBAR
(now Juan Sebastian Marroquín Santos)
I was born into a world fertile for violence. With this as my legacy, my only choice is to search for peace.
When deciding to expose your identity you probably evaluated the risks involved, but most likely your courage was driven by an objective which prevailed over the fear. Why did you decide to once again become the son of Pablo Escobar for the rest of the world?
It seemed selfish to me, just keeping to myself a solitary pacifist legacy of this violent story. I wanted to share with young people what I have learned about the serious consequences of participating in the cruel game of drug dealing. I am just doing what I believe is right. If I can prevent even a single young person from entering that world, then it will be worth it.
As you explain in the documentary, during your childhood you lived a life of luxury, interspersed with fear and violence. In your childhood you probably experienced several times the fear of losing your family because of drug trafficking, and you witnessed the violence inflicted on others by your father. Do you think that your decision to end the cycle of violence had been made even before the killing of your father?
I always expressed to my father, when he was alive, my disapproval of any form of violence and rejected his actions. Maybe that was why he dedicated his surrendering to justice to his 14 year-old pacifist son. It is very difficult to get out of the cycle of violence when you are being attacked from all sides, but finally a “spirit of goodness” prevailed. We can’t change the past, but we can change the present and the future.
escobar_03Despite your father having been one of the most dangerous drug dealers, nobody can deny he was a father to you. He once said: I can replace things, but I could never replace my wife and kids. In the end he condemned himself to death when he wanted to reach your family by phone. You are living with a heavy burden and with the big contradiction of loving a person and at the same time condemning what he has done to the rest of the world. Many poor young people in Colombia cultivate the dream of becoming Escobar. Do you have a message for them?
The message is: imitate only the good things my father did, like his sensitivity towards the poor and the needy. Violence and revenge only lead to more violence. Drug trafficking money will lead you to self-destruction and war. I don’t know of any retired “bosses”! Making money is hard work both legally and illegally, but if you do it legally you will be able to really enjoy it. We must recover the human values lost in war.
Why do you think that you felt a need to seek absolution for the acts of your father?
I feel I have a moral responsibility for my father’s actions. The least I can do in order to pay my respects to the victims of his violence is to apologize for his actions.
How much did the work of Nicolás, the director of the documentary, contribute to the reconciliation process with the sons of Rodrigo Lara Bonilla and Luis Carlos Galán?
Nicolas was not only a director, but also a great mediator between the parties. He did an excellent job and was very respectful towards the children.
What was the hardest part of making the documentary?
Writing the letter of apology and participating in the two subsequent meetings with the children of Galán and Lara. It was a real challenge, but I’m proud of having been part of this project because it demonstrates that Colombians can achieve peace through dialogue, forgiveness and reconciliation as effective means for a healthy coexistance in society.
The documentary lasts 90 minutes and covers a long period of time, presumably some issues were excluded during editing. Are there any other points or issues which you wanted to include in the documentary?
It is difficult to explain 44 years of history in 90 minutes. The only thing to be highlighted is the joint responsibility of many sectors of society, which created a suitable atmosphere for someone like my father to be able to go so far. Without the corruption and complicity of so many states, my father would not have progressed an inch.
You identity and your face have now been disclosed because of the documentary. Has your life changed?
I don’t believe in the culture of fame. My life is like that of any other architect living in Argentina. I have to work for a living. The only thing that has changed is that now I receive much more affection from people, and countries that in the past didn’t welcome us are now generous because they believe in this message of peace.
escobar_04Have you been in contact with any of the people who used to work with your father? What do you think their opinion would be of the film and your actions to seek reconciliation?
Most of them are dead. Actually, there are not many people to talk to. The interesting thing is that this documentary appeals to the “human” and makes no distinction between uniforms. I have received expressions of solidarity from both children of drug dealers and the anti-drug police, and also from many relatives of my father’s direct victims. We are all sick of violence. Now drug dealers ask their children to watch the documentary so that history is not repeated.
How do people tend to react when they find out about your past?
After watching the documentary I get the most noble and pleasant affections from people around the world. So far no one has “thrown a shoe at me.”
You had the courage and the will to try to close the wounds of the past, of which you have also been a victim, obliged to live as a fugitive and fully aware of the fact that you will never be a normal citizen. Do you have any life long goals that can help you to escape from the burden you are carrying?
For 17 years I have been living on extra-time. I live one day at a time. My goals are to continue respecting the lives and liberties of all, hoping for the same in return.
Do you think that you will ever be able to return to Colombia permanently?
Returning is not a concern of mine. I would like that every Colombian who has abandoned their land because of the violence, one day regains the right to choose to return.
In analyzing the situation of your country over the last decade, and the spiral of violence that drug trafficking has generated, do you think that this burden should also be shared by the consumer countries of the drug trade? What do you think is in store for Colombia in the future? Do you think the Colombian people will eventually achieve widespread peace? And is this possible with the continued existence of the cocaine trade?
The problem exists because the consumer has never stopped buying, and it continues because it has been managed as a military issue instead of a topic of public health. This ensures the profitability and violence among producing groups, fighting for the control of territories and drug trafficking routes. I am not saying drugs are good, but they are made worse and more deadly because of the ban. In fact, alcohol is the worst of the drugs, yet it seems that it has a license to kill just because it is under taxation. I think that if tomorrow pizzas were banned, there would be a war because of it. You don’t educate your children by forcing them. Nobody learns math at gunpoint. Education is the most powerful tool against drugs. Any other attempts will fail. Peace is possible even in the worst and most absurd of wars. Colombia will finally live in peace when these things change.
These questions were written by Paul Doherty, Andrew Dornbierer and Marina Mazzini.
Pablo Escobar's son: Why I gave up my vow of revenge and work to reform drug policy
'Drug trafficking gave us the world, then took it away'
Paul Imison
about a year ago
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The Independent US
In 1994, the most powerful drug traffickers in Colombia gave Sebastian Marroquin, the 17-year-old son of Pablo Escobar, a choice: leave the country forever, or face certain death.
The meeting occurred months after Escobar was gunned down in a standoff with Colombian security forces on a rooftop in Medellin, the city where his international drug trafficking empire was founded. “After my father was killed, I vowed revenge against everybody responsible,” Mr Marroquin, now 38, told The Independent. “I retracted that promise with a gun pointed to my head. Later, my mother, my sister, and I left for Argentina, never to return.”
At just 17, Mr Marroquin, who changed his name from Juan Pablo Escobar, was effectively heir to the largest drug trafficking empire in history. Born in 1977, his childhood coincided with the rise of Escobar as public enemy No 1 in both Colombia and the United States. But there was more to the fateful decision than simply fear of reprisals.
“Drug trafficking destroyed my family,” Mr Marroquin insists. “It gave us the world, and then it took it away.” Softly spoken and articulate, Mr Marroquin does not come across as the son of the world’s most legendary gangster. Speaking to The Independent at a quiet, and smart, restaurant in Mexico City, he arrives to the interview dressed casually and chooses a table as far away as possible from prying ears.
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Rather than revelling in his father’s legacy, he fears it. According to Mr Marroquin, his recent autobiography, Pablo Escobar: My Father, a bestseller in Latin America, has once again put him in danger. “My father still has many enemies,” he says. “Rivals from the drug trade, of course, but also ‘decent people’ who helped him get to the top – politicians, police commanders, military officials.
“My father was killed, but many of them are still alive and walking free,” he adds bitterly. “They will never be punished for what they did.”
Now an architect and public speaker, as well as a devoted husband and father, Mr Marroquin has spent the past 20 years trying to escape the Escobar shadow. After years of silence, he participated in a 2009 documentary about his father’s life and decided to write a book giving his side of the story. “It’s a story that needs to be told,” he says, “so that Colombia and other countries don’t repeat the same mistake.”
They include Mexico, which he believes is headed in the same direction as Colombia in the 1980s. “History is repeating itself,” he says. “In my father’s day, the Mexican drug lords were servants to the Colombians. Now, they are the ones that wield the power.”
As a boy, Mr Marroquin lived the dream of sudden and seemingly endless wealth. His father’s luxurious 20-square-kilometre ranch, “Naples”, included swimming pools, vintage cars, house servants, and a zoo filled with millions of dollars’ worth of exotic animals. “I’ve never been to Michael Jackson’s Neverland ranch,” he jokes. “But I doubt it had anything on Naples.”
The fantasy would soon be shattered. In 1984, Pablo Escobar was expelled from the Colombian congress where he had ambitiously launched a political career. That same year, he assassinated his foremost critic in the government, Justice Minister Rodrigo Lara. “Running for office was my father’s biggest mistake,” he explains. “For years, the country’s elite tolerated him. But after he meddled in politics, they decided to destroy him.”
For the next decade, Escobar waged a bloody war of attrition with the Colombian government that included terrorist attacks, political assassinations and the 1989 downing of Avianca Flight 203. Thousands of Colombians died in the violence. Mr Marroquin insists he does not apologise for his father’s crimes. “I try to separate the man everyone knew from TV and newspapers from the man I knew as a father. They were two very different people.”
The family also found themselves targeted. When Mr Marroquin was 11, a car bomb planted by the rival Cali Cartel tore apart their luxury apartment in Medellin. “My mother and I begged him many times to abandon the violence,” he insists. “But he had reached the point of no return.”
Making peace, both with himself and others, has become a hallmark of Mr Marroquin’s adult life. He now travels the world giving talks on drug policy reform, violence prevention and the importance of reconciliation in conflict resolution.
In 2009, he met the children of the late Justice Minister Rodrigo Lara and former presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galan, both murdered by his father, to ask for forgiveness. “I was surprised when they agreed to sit down with me,” he admits. “Reconciliation is not usually part of a Colombian’s vocabulary.”
He was particularly moved when they told him: “You were also a victim of Pablo Escobar.” He says: “I don’t know if that’s true. But if so, I’m the last person in Colombia who deserves any sympathy.”
HEIR TO A DRUG EMPIRE Pablo Escobar’s son reveals how he toured cocaine factories aged eight and ate from solid gold dinner sets as his father earned $420 MILLION a week
Sebastian Marroquin, now 38, spent his childhood surrounded by cocaine - and the extravagant wealth it created
By COREY CHARLTON
20th September 2016, 9:46 am
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THE son of murderous drug lord Pablo Escobar has revealed how he was introduced to narcotics and toured cocaine factories when he was just eight years old.
Sebastian Marroquin, 38, described a childhood surrounded by drugs, while his father – then thought to be earning £322million a week – repeatedly warned him of their dangers.
At the height of his powers, Pablo Escobar was earning $420million a week
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THE son of murderous drug lord Pablo Escobar, above, has revealed how he toured cocaine factories when he was just eight years old
Escobar pictured with his son Sebastian when he was just a boy
Rex Features
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Family snap of Escobar, who was earning £322million a week, watching TV with his son Sebastian
Now in his late 30s, Sebastian has revealed he toured a cocaine factory aged just nine
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Sebastian, now 38, told how he grew up with unimaginable riches – and ate from a 24-piece gold dinner set worth £300,000
At the height of his powers in the 1980s, Escobar ran Colombia’s Medellin Cartel with brutal efficiency.
Some 7,000 people are thought to have died during his bloody war with the Colombian government, while he amassed as much as £23billion by importing drugs into the US.
Escobar was finally caught and killed by Colombian special forces in December 1993 – after spending more than a year on the run with his family.
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Sebastian, born Juan Pablo Escobar, was aged just 16 at the time.
He told MirrorOnline that his father explained to him he was a professional criminal when he was aged just seven.
“I was eight when he laid out all the types of available drugs on a table in front of me and sat me by his side and told me everything about them – what they were called, what effects they had, what they looked like.
“When I was nine he took me to one of his cocaine factories. He wanted me to be very clear of the dangers of drugs, impressing on to me that he who doesn’t try them is the brave one.”
Sebastian also told of growing up with unimaginable riches.
Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was responsible for thousands of murders
Getty Images
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Colombian Cartel boss Pablo Escobar was responsible for thousands of murders during his bloody war with the Colombian government
The family would send parcels of food to friends at Christmas time via helicopter, flowers were delivered to the house by private jet and they ate from a 24-piece gold dinner set worth £300,000.
He explained that during his father’s time on the run, the pair were hidden in an abandoned home in Medellin while cops searched all the surrounding properties.
“All we had left was millions of dollars in cash but we were dying of hunger. We couldn’t leave the house even though we could have bought an entire supermarket.”
Pictured is Escobar's hacienda in Medellin, Colombia, where today his pet hippos have since escaped their enclosure and roam the countryside
Getty Images
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Escobar’s estate in Medellin, Colombia, where today his pet hippos roam the countryside having escaped their enclosure
The estate was purchased during the height of his power and when he was earning $420million a week
Getty Images
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The estate was purchased during the height of his power and when he has amassed a £23billion fortune
During his time at the head of the cartel, Escobar was earning so much cash he was unable to launder it all.
It ended up being stored in farms, houses and warehouses – where billions are thought to have been lost.
His brother and accountant Roberto wrote in his book: “Pablo was earning so much that each year we would write off 10 percent of the money because the rats would eat it in storage or it would be damaged by water or lost.”
In another instance, Escobar torched £1.5million in bank notes to keep his family warm while they were on the run.
Interviews | October 9, 2016 at 5:26 pm
“Narcos” and Reality: Interview with Juan Pablo Escobar
By Humberto Juárez Rocha
Sebastian Marroquin, born Juan Pablo Escobar, is the son of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and at one time was heir to the largest drug trafficking empire in history. He has been featured in one documentary, Sins of My Father (2009), and has written one book, “Pablo Escobar: My Father” which was published in 2014. He is an architect and engages in motivational talks to encourage peace and reconciliation.
escobar-hijo Harvard Political Review: From watching Narcos, I always see that when you are together with your father and sister there always seems to be a moment in which you guys are interrupted by Escobar’s guards and sicarios (hitmen) and I wonder, did you ever have an uninterrupted moment or a one-on-one with your father?
Sebastian Marroquin: Well, I would say, and as I have said before, the series [Narcos] does not demonstrate real happenings but rather events that the screenwriters, in their own taste, believe depict the way we lived. In reality, my father always interrupted others to be with his family. My father’s priority was always the family. I would go to the office to visit my father and regardless of who he was meeting, he would drop everything to receive me in his office. In the series, the priorities that my father demonstrates are completely inverted and untrue.
HPR: From reading your book, I read that when you are only 7 years old you realize what your father truly did for a living. How does one react to that when one is 7 years old?
SM: I will answer that question but I also wanted to add something to the last question. Throughout the series, I appear younger and younger – I don’t know why that is particular to Netflix, to show the evolution of Pablo Escobar’s children in that manner.
When I was 7 years old and my father tells me “my profession is that of a bandido (a bandit) that is what I do” – these are the words he tells me after the assassination of the Minister of Justice ordered by my father himself in 1984 – it’s very difficult to react to that when you are only 7 years old because you don’t realize the significance of the word bandido. Sure, at that age you may have seen movies with guns and crime but by then I also knew something strange was happening in my family because it all changed drastically after the killing of Rodrigo Lara. Clearly, something I am grateful for today is that my father had the strength to recognize and tell me about his activities instead of selling me a fabricated story. I think that helped us build a relationship based on trust. I think it also helped him to talk about his activities, almost in a confessionary manner, when he talked to the press about the bombs he had placed, the people he had kidnapped, or other activities of that type. So, in a way, my father reached a certain degree of sincerity that I became to know and I would even say appreciate because I would have rather had my father treat me like this rather than as an idiot that would never have any idea about what was happening around us. No one prepares you at 7 years of age to have your father tell you he is a criminal – you are still a kid and you are thinking about playing and having fun, things that have little to do with reality. This forces you to grow and mature before due time.
HPR: I was reading your post “28 Things Narcos gets Wrong” and from what you are telling me I am interested in something. You write that when you would watch the news with your father, he would tell that he planted that bomb and then you write that you would “argue” about the event. How were those types of discussions?
SM: I argued constantly with my father because I never liked all the violence that he created. I was perhaps one of the few people that were not part of his group of yes-men because I was not a direct beneficiary of the violence that his actions generated. I did not like his actions because I did not think it was right to have bombs placed in a non-discriminatory fashion throughout the entire country. I would argue with my father about his violent attitude and I would tell him to stop his violent ways and to think about peace as an alternative, especially given the many problems he was having. However, he would reply almost immediately by telling me “you are forgetting that the first bomb that exploded in Colombia was an attempt against you, your sister, and your mother – I did not invent narcoterrorism, narcoterrorism was first used against my family.” Thus, it was very difficult to go farther than that in the arguments with my father because he would always have a story or a justification to tell you, which I never considered valid because there is not an excuse for violence. I think these discussions with my father even gave the label of pacifist, particularly with my father, and he mentions this when he turns himself in to prison at La Catedral when he dedicates his action to his 14-year-old pacifist son. I did not begin to talk about peace when my father died nor did I begin to criticize him at that point – I did this when I had him in front of me, I was one of his harshest criticizers and I never applauded his violence. Why? Because for every stone that he threw, he would get many thrown back at him and us, his family, because we were the most vulnerable. In these types of extreme situations, we learned about the consequences of violence and that is why we did not go down the same path.
HPR: Do you think your father ever had an opportunity, or a moment, in which you could have told him or he himself may have stopped his ways?
SM: Well, I think he wasted an incredibly opportunity which was when he stayed at the prison he made, La Catedral. It was the one chance that the government and the people of Colombia gave him to confess his illicit activities and to remain in one place with very favorable conditions. Sadly, he ended up throwing away the one opportunity he had. I naively thought, as a son and as many other Colombians, that he would take this opportunity to make amends with the country. Regrettably, to deactivate an entire cartel also proved to be a difficult task for my father and with all the enemies he had, even more. I am not saying this to serve as a justification for the things he did, but rather to demonstrate the context of his situation and the reason for his actions, for which only he is responsible for. I think it was very difficult for him to try to bring down the very criminal organization that he had created and by the time he wanted to stop, he was unable to.
HPR: On that note, do you think that once one has entered the drug trade, can one get out?
SM: I believe so. I am convinced that we all have the decision to act on a daily basis. I am a good man and I behave well on an everyday basis. It was not a decision of waking up one day and saying “I will be a good person today, problem solved”, no, it has to be an everyday thing. I think it’s a myth that one cannot leave any organization once you’ve entered one. I think one has to be aware that a change needs to be made to improve one’s life and then there will always be alternatives and choices that can lead you away from a life of violence. It’s important to learn from the past and people’s experiences, not only from my father’s as a drug dealer, but from others that have ended just the way he did. I am surprised that many people disregard the fact that the end for almost all drug dealers ends up being the cemetery or the jail cell, we do not know of any case where a drug dealer has “retired”.
HPR: What would you tell the children of other drug dealers, particularly those who live glamorous lifestyles and show it on social media?
SM: The only thing I would tell them would be to look at my life as an example and to learn from it. When one is that powerful and one think life will last like that forever, it is simply the most ephemeral thing. I don’t think these sons and daughters of drug dealers are contributing to a lasting peace nor to human values that add to our society. They’re delivering the message of riches and power that comes at the cost of people’s lives and health and they incentivize young people to follow this model.
Of course, I think this is something that Netflix does much better. If you analyze the enormous amounts of effort and attention that has been given to my father’s image due to Narcos, I am sure of one thing: if I did the same exact thing that Netflix does with my father’s image, I would be killed, do not doubt it for a second. The pictures I have been sent that display my father in places around the world such as the metro in Barcelona or downtown Los Angeles, I cannot understand the amount of publicity that has been given to my father in addition to the message that is spread because of this. If I were paying to display images of my father [like Netflix does] in the United States, I am sure I would face legal sanctions and I would even be killed for doing it. And Netflix receives applause instead of criticism for it.
HPR: Do you feel free today or do you feel that you are under your father’s shadow?
SM: I would tell you that I am a free man but only partially so relative to other people in society. Why do I say “partially free”? Because there is only one country in the world that denies me entrance because of who my father was and that is the United States. I am not allowed to enter American territory simply because I was born the son of Pablo Escobar and apparently that implies that I inherit my father’s crimes. Not that I want a visa now, I don’t care anymore, I have been to the United States before. But what I criticize is the message that the United States is sending to the youth of the world – to those of us who invite people to leave the ways of violence and the drug trade, we are not given a visa but those that sell drugs and weapons, yes. It’s a shame to see drug dealers enter and leave the United States as if nothing in addition to those that purchase weapons and firearms.
HPR: You often tell the story of when your father called you the day he was killed. Once you learn he has been killed, you tell the press that you would “avenge” your father and 10 minutes later, you take this back. What happened in those 10 minutes?
SM: I was talking to my father via phone from my hotel room when he said “I will call you right back” before he hung up. 10 minutes pass and the phone rings again. I thought it was him but it was a journalist telling me my father had died. I knew something was wrong that day, he made the mistakes he had never committed throughout the last 10 years as the most wanted man in the world in one day. He never used the phone, he only did the day he was killed. He always told me that the day he used the phone would be his last day, something I had very clear while I was talking to him. I reacted violently, the journalist did not tell me she was recording me, an underage kid, and I told her that I would “kill every single one of you sons of bitches”, forgive the words, but these were the exact words I told her. I was only 16 years old and I was still the son of the most wanted, dangerous and feared drug kingpin of all time. My whole life I had seen my father solve every problem he had through the use of violence. Those 10 minutes of reflection made me think about all those times I had argued with my father, all those times I had asked him to stop the violence. And when I started thinking about plans to avenge him, I realized I was only going to become someone worse than him, someone worse than the person I had so often criticized. I was going against my own principles. And yes, people tell me that it was a tremendous life decision in the span of 10 minutes but I just say, what else was there to think of? My whole life I saw how the violence my father created had come back to my family and I thought that I would only make things worse for my mother and my sister if I sought to avenge my father. I had to dare to take a path of peace.
HPR: How is the relationship between you and the rest of your family?
SM: My sister, my mother and I are great friends. We have always valued our immediate family immensely, something we learned from my father. Unfortunately, on my father’s side we have a nonexistent relationship. But my mother and sister and I live very closely, we remain in the same city and we see each other every day. We love our father’s image because the only thing we received from him was love and affection. We recognize that our father made incredible damage outside of the home but we ask for reciprocity because the only thing he ever gave us within the household was love. It’s very difficult to resort to hating [Pablo Escobar] when all he gave you his entire life was love and all the best he ever had.
HPR: Is returning to Colombia an option?
SM: I am in Colombia at the moment. But I know what you mean by returning, by staying and to be quite honest my country still shows that it can be intolerant especially with the victory of the NO in the last peace plebiscite last week. I really wonder what is happening to us as a country and as a society. Do we want a future where we are constantly at war with each other? That’s what Colombians voted for last week and it worries me a lot. We approved vengeance and violence and said no to peace and reconciliation. What we experience in Colombia is fratricide, we fight ourselves and it demonstrates the priority of hatred over peace and reconciliation. If people in Colombia despise the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), then I can understand how people would despise my image and my father’s persona. My father’s image amongst the poorest of people, those forgotten by the state, still remains a respected image. Whether we like it or not, my father was an important figure who filled a vacuum left by the state amongst the lower social classes. Yes, of course my father harmed and caused a lot of damage but both stories are true. He did things to help and destroy Colombia, both are true.
HPR: What would you think your father would say about what you’re doing now?
SM: He would be proud, he would hug me and he would be sitting front-row at all the events where I talk to the youth about not repeating [Pablo Escobar’s] story because I am a consequence of what he did and I have not changed my stance on violence since we talked about it.
Son of the leader of the Medellín cartel, Pablo Escobar, JUAN PABLO ESCOBAR is an architect, industrial designer, lecturer, pacifist, drug policy reform advocate, and writer. He was a subject of the award-winning documentary Sins of My Father and lives in Argentina.
'Pablo Escobar: My Father' Becomes Bestseller in Latin America; Escobar Jr. Says Father Helped Stigmatize Colombians
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By Yara Simon (staff@latinpost.com)
First Posted: Dec 29, 2014 01:34 PM EST
Pablo Escobar
Pablo Escobar(Photo : Twitter/Sebastian Marroquin)
Juan Pablo Escobar has written a book about his infamous father, Pablo Escobar.
"Pablo Escobar: My Father" has become one of the best-selling books in Latin America for December, according to El Economista.
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Escobar's son, who now goes by Sebastián Marroquín, spoke to Noticias Argentina about how his father continues to affect Colombians 21 years later.
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"I have no doubt that my father was one of the biggest figures that contributed to the stigmatization of Colombians," he said to NA. "We are 46 million people in Colombia, and the delinquents are in the minority. But those who have committed crimes have done it in such a spectacular scale that it seems as though the entire society is immersed in this way of thinking and in violence, but it's not like that."
The book is dedicated to his father, notes Diario Uno.
"To my father, who showed me the path that should not be taken," the front of the book reads.
Marroquín explained if he had been asked to write the book two years earlier, he wouldn't have done it. He adds that the book isn't the absolute truth because it is made up of anecdotes his father told him in the last year of his life.
"It's not a book that apologizes for drug trafficking nor does it look to justify my father's actions, and I think he looks worse than what is even known," Marroquín said.
To write the book, Marroquín visited where his father grew up, lived and went to school. He asked his mother for more details, and he worked with a Colombian journalist who covered Escobar.
Marroquín also had his own thoughts on the current state of the drug trade in Colombia. He said that it is in a much larger scale than when his father was around, and he added he doesn't think enough is being done.
"It means there are two things happening," he said. "First, the fight against drugs is failing and second, the way that they are handling the problem is helping it grow."
Pablo Escobar: My Father
263.26 (June 27, 2016): p78.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Pablo Escobar: My Father
Juan Pablo Escobar. St. Martin's/ Dunne, $27.99 (368p) ISBN 978-1-250-
10463-2
In this surprisingly dispassionate account, Escobar examines the meteoric career of Pablo Escobar, a notorious Medellin cartel boss. To the world, the senior Escobar was a supervillain; to the author, he was Dad, and the son attempts to set the record straight about a man who had become myth long before his violent death. As a young criminal, Pablo Escobar stumbled into cocaine trafficking just as the demand for the white powder reached new highs in the U.S. Ruthlessness and business acumen gave him a lion's share of the growing market. He often said that if he didn't earn a million pesos by the time he was 30, he'd kill himself; in fact, by 30, he'd earned billions. For drug dealers, however, notoriety is the kiss of death; a bullet finished him on a Medellin rooftop in 1993, but not before he helped drag Colombia into chaos. His son grew up in a world of incredible privilege that included a private zoo on the family estate. Yet he also lived in isolation, his playmates a coterie of bodyguards. While focusing largely on his father, Escobar also includes the grim repercussions the cartel boss's career had on his family. The matter-of-fact prose serves the material well--when one's daily life is a surreal blur of excess and danger, there's no need for embellishment. Escobar, now an architect in Argentina, certainly has an agenda, but he's not. oblivious to the lives cut short by his father's death dealing. As the closing acknowledgement states: "To my father, who showed me what path not to take." (Aug.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Pablo Escobar: My Father." Publishers Weekly, 27 June 2016, p. 78. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA456900958&it=r&asid=5345313fd1262f97c4f65b18cadc089e. Accessed 25 Feb. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A456900958
A son’s portrait of his murderous drug lord father, Pablo Escobar
Juan Pablo Escobar as a boy with his Colombian drug king father. The son describes his father as “my friend, my guide, my teacher.” (Family photo)
By Konstantin Kakaes September 30, 2016
Konstantin Kakaes is a fellow at New America and author of “The Pioneer Detectives: Did a Distant Spacecraft Prove Einstein and Newton Wrong?”
If this book were an isolated undertaking, it would be simple enough to ignore it. But even if it becomes only a marginal cultural artifact in the United States, it was a bestseller across Latin America. It is reflective of a more generalized whitewashing of the celebrity drug lord Pablo Escobar. There is a thriving business in Escobar-tourism in Medellin, the Colombian city that served as his stronghold. “Narcos,” a television series on Netflix that parallels many of the stories in the book, portrays Escobar as a lovable rogue. That show is an insult to the dead; suffering as entertainment only enables brutality.
Now the drug kingpin’s son Juan Pablo Escobar, who also uses the name Sebastián Marroquín, has written this moral train wreck of a memoir of his father’s life and times. Published in Spanish in 2014, “Pablo Escobar: My Father” has been newly translated into English. It is reasonable to ask why. The younger Escobar dwells on the indignities of his own life, and revels in the luxuries of his adolescence (a $10,000 wristwatch he wore when he was 13), although he claims not to want to brag. He glides over the deaths his father orchestrated; if Juan Pablo, the man, feels the tragic weight of his inheritance, Juan Pablo, the writer, lacks the skill to convey it.
Juan Pablo Escobar’s father made the Forbes magazine list of the world’s richest people on the strength of his expertise in cocaine arbitrage. That expertise was realized in the form of an organized campaign of violence against rival drug traffickers, the Colombian state and the Colombian people. The elder Escobar was killed in a shootout with Colombian police in 1993. Nobody, to my knowledge, has tallied up the total death toll that he was personally responsible for. Any reasonable estimate would reach into the tens of thousands.
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Rodrigo Lara Bonilla, a Colombian minister of justice, was killed at his orders. So, too was Luis Carlos Galán, who probably would have been elected president had he not been gunned down in 1989. Avianca Flight 203, from Bogota to Cali, was bombed at his orders, killing more than 100 people on board. His men detonated a truck bomb outside of Colombia’s Administrative Department of Security, a sort of analogue to the FBI, killing dozens. More than 100 people, including nearly half of Colombia’s 25 supreme court justices, were killed in a 1985 attack by M-19 guerrillas against the Palace of Justice. During Escobar’s years of peak influence in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Medellin became one of the most violent cities on Earth. Not all of this violence can be blamed on Escobar. But by everybody’s account — including his son’s — he was central to it.
"Pablo Escobar: My Father," by Juan Pablo Escobar (Thomas Dunne)
Juan Pablo Escobar delineates his view of his father in the opening pages of the book: “From the day I was born till the day he died, my father was my friend, my guide, my teacher, and my trusted advisor.” This does not square with his ostensible intention to honor the memories of his father’s victims, “with all my heart.” There is no honor in this book; sprinkling pro forma clichés of regret into the text at random intervals is a lazy, abortive attempt at absolution.
The younger Escobar was 17 when his father died. Although that couldn’t have been easy, it is not an excuse for the narrative decision he made as a grown man to segue directly from a promise to honor his father’s victims to a blow-by-blow account of a dispute with his father’s siblings about his inheritance. This acute dislocation recurs repeatedly in the book. He complains that after his father orchestrated Lara’s assassination, “we moved to an old, damp, stifling house in the historic section of the city. It was awful. . . . For the first week, the only thing we ate was chicken from KFC.”
It may be true that, after his father kidnapped half a dozen journalists and prominent Colombians, it was annoying that he kept changing the channel on the television, looking for news of his hostages. But it is difficult for the reader to share the younger Escobar’s relief when his father resolves the situation by buying a television with picture-in-picture functionality: “That way, he could watch multiple channels and turn on the sound for whichever program he wanted.”
The scant virtues of the book are limited to a few passages when the Escobar family, on the run, is at its most beleaguered. Mostly, the narration of these times is suffused with cloying self-pity. But now and again, a note of lyricism stumbles through. At one birthday party, in hiding, “the food tasted like uncertainty.” The party took place after the family fled from the authorities: “Our relationship with the rain was different than that of most people. For us, the rain was a protective blanket that allowed us to move through the city. In the rain, we traveled more easily. Often, rain became a signal that it was time to leave.”
Pablo Escobar consciously aimed to portray himself as a sort of Robin Hood-esque figure, erratically dispersing alms around Medellin and surrounding areas. Ought that real, if scattershot, charity atone for some share of his numerous sins? This indolent and immature book sheds little light on this question. A smattering of chintzy truisms about peace, forgiveness and reconciliation fail to obscure the basic truth that this book is an exercise in trading on Pablo Escobar’s celebrity that implicates the author in his father’s crimes, an accessory after the fact.
Pablo Escobar
My Father
By Juan Pablo Escobar
Thomas Dunne. 353 pp. $27.99