Drug lords are quite fascinating, and many books and movies have been written about them. To apprehend a drug lord, one must meticulously penetrate their networks, often with the assistance of informants.
Most notorious drug lords of all time
1. Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria
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This drug kingpin from Colombia was dubbed the "World's Greatest Outlaw." He is regarded as the "King of Cocaine" and the most powerful drug lord in the world.
In 1989, Forbes magazine ranked him as the sixth richest man in the world, with an estimated $30 billion in personal wealth.
In 1986, Escobar attempted to enter the Colombian political scene as the leader of the most potent drug organisation, the Medellin Cartel. Due to his charitable work and willingness to kill anyone who stood in his way, he was referred to as Paisa Robin Hood.
2. Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán
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According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, Guzman is the most notorious drug lord of all time. Interestingly, he was quite short as his height was 5'6.
In the 1980s, Guzmán—the most infamous drug lord—was a part of the Guadalajara Cartel. He later founded the Sinaloa Cartel. Guzmán, the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, is responsible for the majority of drugs imported into the US. He was also responsible for thousands of deaths due to the drug war.
In the early 1990s, Guzmán smuggled cocaine into the US from Mexico using highly developed tunnels. In 1993, authorities seized a shipment of cocaine concealed within chilli pepper cans in Tecate, Baja California. That same year, the druglord responsible for the operation was arrested in Guatemala. Subsequently, in 1995, he was transferred to Puente Grande, a maximum-security prison. However, he bribed his way out of prison and hid inside a laundry van as it passed through the gates.
Arrested again in 2015, he made his second escape from a maximum-security prison on July 11. He slipped through a hole under the shower and escaped through a mile-long tunnel leading to a construction site. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto announced in January 2016 that Guzmán had been recaptured.
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3. Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo
Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, often called "El Padrino" or "El Jefe de Jefes," was the founder and former head of the Guadalajara Cartel, the first Mexican cartel. He distributed drugs for Escobar's Medellin Cartel and the powerful Cali Cartel.
Almost all the drug trafficking in Mexico and along the US border was under Gallardo's control. He meddled in politics and bought off officials to keep himself and his company safe. After arresting him in 1989, the Mexican government split up the trade he oversaw.
4. Amado Carrillo Fuentes
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Amado Carrillo is a prominent drug lord in Mexico who transported four times more cocaine to the U.S. than any other trafficker, generating a fortune of over $25 billion.
He used 22 private 727 jet airliners to transport Colombian cocaine to various Mexican airports and dirt airstrips. Carrillo was a member of the Guadalajara Cartel and worked for Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo.
5. Griselda Blanco
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Griselda Blanco, known as "La Madrina" or "The Godmother," was a notorious drug kingpin and mentor to Pablo Escobar. Her invention of girdles and bras to conceal cocaine smuggling gave her notoriety. She moved to Queens, New York, in the early 1970s after leaving Colombia, where she established a massive drug empire.
In the 1980s, Blanco made his way back to Colombia before leaving again for Miami, where she went on a killing spree. She killed her enemies through drive-by shootings. About 40 to 250 killings were instigated by her.
Blanco loved to be called a "godmother" who named her son Michael Corleone after a character in The Godfather. She was murdered by an assassin on a motorcycle, ironically using the same method she used to kill her enemies.
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