The day Pablo Escobar was killed – level 3

02-12-1993

Pablo Escobar was born in Colombia. His criminal career started early when he was just a teenager. He was stealing cars, selling illegal cigarettes, and fake lottery tickets. Later, Escobar began to organize kidnappings of local politicians and their families. Finally, he entered the illegal drug trade.

At first, he and his brother were smuggling cocaine to the USA. The demand was huge, and Escobar’s business grew fast. After some time, Escobar had his own planes, helicopters, and even two small submarines, all smuggling cocaine to the USA. When Escobar was at his peak, his cartel made 70 million US dollars a day.

For his operations to run, Escobar bought many policemen, judges, and politicians. Those who tried to oppose him were simply killed. Escobar’s power was great and growing.

However, part of the Colombian government and police were also trying to take Escobar down. They even offered people money for information about his location. Escobar was on the run – he had to hide and change his locations. Using the telephone was his fatal mistake. On December 2, 1993, the police found out his location and killed him in a shootout. He was 44 years old. “The King of Cocaine” and his cartel died on that day.

Difficult words: smuggler (a person who smuggles – sells illegal things or moves them from one country to another), buy (to give people money to do what you want), take down (to end, to shoot), shootout (a battle when people shoot guns).

What were the long-term consequences of Escobar's death on the illegal drug trade?

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