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 of the richest men in history - and one of the deadliest.

In this first episode of our Escobar series, Gordon Corera and David McCloskey explore Escobar’s early years: petty crime in Medellín, his first forays into smuggling, and the moment cocaine transformed from a fringe luxury into a multi-billion-dollar industry.

From stolen cars to international drug routes, this is how Escobar built the foundation of the Medellín Cartel - and how the war to bring him down began.

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Producer: Callum Hill

Senior Producer: Dom Johnson

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