Medellín Cartel
Former Colombian drug cartel
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| May 9 2025 |
Roberto Suárez Gómez
German news weekly 'Der Spiegel' reports on Roberto Suárez Gómez's collaboration with Klaus Barbie, revealing Barbie's role as chief of Suárez Gómez's security service.
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| March 31 2025 | Released by a court ruling that his 24-year prison sentence for drug trafficking had expired in 2019. |
| March 28 2025 | Flew from Germany to Colombia and was immediately arrested upon arrival at Bogotá airport. |
| December 23 2024 | Deported back to Colombia following his prison release. |
| December 3 2024 | Released from U.S. federal prison after serving most of his 30-year sentence. |
| May 2024 |
Rafa Salazar
Rafa Salazar's family sued Netflix producers for portraying him without permission in the Griselda biopic miniseries
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| 2022 |
Pablo Escobar
National Geographic produced the documentary 'Pablo Escobar: Man vs. Myth', highlighting the crimes committed by and for Escobar.
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| 2022 |
Pablo Escobar
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story featured a comedic portrayal of Escobar by Arturo Castro.
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| 2021 |
Pablo Escobar
The documentary 'Killing Escobar' was televised in the UK, detailing a failed 1989 assassination attempt on Escobar by mercenaries contracted by the Cali Cartel.
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| 2021 |
Miami drug war
DEA's deputy chief in Europe compares the drug situation in Antwerp to Miami's drug wars of the 1980s, describing Antwerp as a 'drug economy'.
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| October 2021 |
Pablo Escobar
The Colombian government initiated a chemical sterilization program to manage the growing hippo population.
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| 2020 |
Jhon Jairo Velásquez
Died while incarcerated.
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| 2020 | Lehder is released from prison in the United States after serving 33 years, becoming the first high-level drug trafficker extradited to the United States. |
| 2020 |
Pablo Escobar
Dubdogz released the song 'Pablo Escobar' featuring Charlott Boss, which garnered over 5.6 million views on its official music video.
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| June 15 2020 | Released from prison and escorted to Germany by US officials, with his daughter citing a relapse of prostate cancer as a reason for release. |
| May 1 2020 | U.S. federal prosecutors objected to his early release request, five years before completing his 30-year sentence. |
| February 6 2020 |
Jhon Jairo Velásquez
Died in Bogotá at the age of 57 from terminal esophageal cancer.
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| January 8 2020 |
Jhon Jairo Velásquez
Announced to have terminal esophageal cancer with only a few months left to live.
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| 2019 |
Jhon Jairo Velásquez
Velásquez performed in the film 'X Sicario – Pablo Escobar's Hitman', playing Simon, a feared hitman who worked for Pablo Escobar.
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| 2019 |
Miami drug war
DEA reports Florida as the US state with the largest amount of cocaine seized by weight, surpassing California, Pennsylvania, and Puerto Rico.
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| December 23 2019 |
Jhon Jairo Velásquez
Transferred from the maximum-security prison of Valledupar to La Picota prison in Bogotá due to health reasons after being hospitalized for a month.
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| July 2019 | Insight Crime characterized La Oficina as a complex coalition of mid-sized criminal organizations providing services to transnational drug traffickers, controlling territory and criminal activities in Medellín through strategic alliances with various gangs. |
| June 11 2019 | John Fredy Yepes (Clemente), who succeeded Tom as head of Oficina de Envigado and was described as 'Medellin's top mafia boss', is arrested. |
| May 24 2019 |
Pablo Escobar
Fox Telecolombia aired the TV series 'El General Naranjo', featuring Colombian actor Federico Rivera portraying Escobar.
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| May 8 2019 | John Eduard Barbosa, an ex-police officer and Oficina lieutenant, is captured while driving in Sabaneta, near Medellín. |
| April 3 2019 | Mauricio Zapata Orozco (Chicho), who led 'La Terraza' subgroup, is arrested at his parents' home in El Poblado. |
| March 23 2019 | Iván Darío Suárez Muñoz (Iván el Barbado) is arrested during a raid in Piedecuesta, Santander. |
| February 22 2019 |
Pablo Escobar
Medellín authorities demolished the six-story Edificio Mónaco apartment complex, which was originally built for Pablo Escobar's wife and was notorious for being the site where he planned many of his most audacious attacks. The demolition was part of an effort to shift the city's narrative away from Escobar's criminal legacy and honor the victims of the cartel violence.
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| 2018 |
Jhon Jairo Velásquez
Velásquez was featured in the premiere of the documentary series 'Dark Tourist'.
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| 2018 |
Pablo Escobar
National Geographic published an article exploring the environmental impact of the hippos, revealing mixed opinions among environmentalists and local support for their presence.
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| 2018 |
Pablo Escobar
Rap group Migos released the hit single 'Narcos' from their album Culture II, which references Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel.
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| 2018 | Harlys Becerra portrayed Ochoa Vásquez in the Spanish crime drama series Fariña. |
| June 5 2018 |
Pablo Escobar
Argentine federal judge Nestor Barral accused María Henao and her son Sebastián Marroquín Santos of money laundering, ordering the seizure of assets worth approximately $1 million each.
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| May 2018 |
Jhon Jairo Velásquez
Arrested on charges of extortion and criminal conspiracy, allegedly blackmailing former associates of Pablo Escobar who were still controlling some of Escobar's assets.
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| April 2018 | Sentenced to a 12-year prison term by a federal judge after being found guilty of auto fraud-conspiracy charges. |
| February 6 2018 | Sebastián Murillo Echeverri (Lindo/Lindolfo), son of Rodrigo Murillo, is arrested in El Poblado, Medellin, along with several high-ranking group members. |
| January 24 2018 |
Pablo Escobar
Netflix released the 68-minute documentary 'Countdown to Death: Pablo Escobar', directed by Santiago Diaz and Pablo Martin Farina.
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| 2017 | Insight Crime reported that La Oficina had recovered its strength and operational capabilities after the previous period of internal struggles. |
| 2017 |
Jhon Jairo Velásquez
Netflix released 'Surviving Escobar', a drama series based on a book written by Velásquez about his life and involvement with the Medellín Cartel.
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| 2017 | Portrayed by Fredy Yate Escobar in the film American Made. |
| 2017 |
Pablo Escobar
Two films about Escobar were released: Loving Pablo, starring Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz, and American Made, which featured Mauricio Mejía as Escobar.
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| 2017 | Alejandro Edda portrayed Ochoa Vásquez in the biographical crime film American Made, which centered around former TWA pilot Barry Seal. |
| December 9 2017 | Juan Carlos Mesa Vallejo (Tom/Carlos Chata) is arrested on his 50th birthday, charged with criminal association, illegal weapons, and use of false documents. |
| 2016 | Converted a vacant lot near his North Miami home into a community park named 'Love-Lock Park'. |
| 2016 |
Pablo Escobar
Juan Pablo Escobar published 'Pablo Escobar: My Father', a personal account translated by Andrea Rosenberg.
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| 2016 |
Pablo Escobar
Kanye West released the album 'The Life of Pablo', which was named after three Pablos, including Pablo Escobar.
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| December 2016 |
Jhon Jairo Velásquez
Velásquez was robbed by two men on motorbikes, who stole his glasses, two old bracelets, and an old mobile phone. He noted this was the second such incident.
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| December 12 2016 |
Jhon Jairo Velásquez
Velásquez filmed a controversial video in Medellín where he brandishes and fires a 9mm Pietro Beretta handgun, declaring himself in the streets of his 'beloved Medellín'.
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| September 2 2016 |
Pablo Escobar
Netflix premiered the second season of 'Narcos'.
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Pablo Escobar, Jorge Ochoa, Roberto Suárez Gómez, Miami drug war, Oficina de Envigado, Mickey Munday, Carlos Lehder, Jhon Jairo Velásquez, Fabio Ochoa Vásquez & Rafa Salazar, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.