Once considered the most dangerous city in the world due to drug cartel violence, by the early 2000s Medellin had reinvented itself. But gentrification is allowing criminal gangs to reap large profits from a shadow economy powered by the tourist boom.
Oct 2024
The Cartel That Went to War w/Pablo Escobar: The Gentlemen of Cali
As Colombia's cocaine industry exploded in the 1980's, Pablo Escobar's Medellin cartel became the dominant player, capturing headlines across the world. But there was a second cartel rising up, one that operated more in the shadows and would soon grow more powerful - and more pro ... Show More
56m 45s
Aug 2025
74. The Hunt for Pablo Escobar: Rise of a Drug Lord (Ep 1)
Colombia in the mid-20th century was a place of beauty and bloodshed - where jungle mountains sheltered rebels, the cities were ruled by oligarchs, and outlaw legends became folk heroes. Into this world stepped Pablo Escobar. Charming, calm, and calculating, he would become one o ... Show More
58m 56s
Sep 2022
2. A priest, a drug lord, and a journalist
At the end of the 1980s, Colombia had become one of the epicenters of drug trafficking in the world. But a change of government in 1990 opened the possibility for peace and the Colombian government began telephone negotiations with Pablo Escobar for his surrender and an end to th ... Show More
17m 40s
Apr 2019
“The Cocaine Godmother” Pt. 2: Griselda Blanco
After a DEA investigation forced Griselda Blanco to flee New York City in 1975, she returned to her hometown of Medellin, Colombia to run her cocaine operation from the shadows. There, she met a protege who would soon become her deadliest rival: Pablo Escobar. Parcasters - The US ... Show More
42m 28s