Before El Chapo, there was Pablo Escobar. Escobar’s exploits as one of the most notorious drug lords in history have been duly chronicled in pop culture. Between the movie-within-a-movie on Entourage and the current Netflix series Narcos, the life and atrocities of the famed Colombian are well documented. Not many people have seen the behind the scenes stage where his crimes were carried out. Well, a new Mashable report shows Escobar’s humongous hacienda outside Medellín where he lived the high life before fleeing police in the late 1970’s. It’s a stylish resort-esque home as many would expect based on his enormous net worth at the peak of his power, but <a href="https://mashable.com/2016/01/24/pablo-escobar-hacienda/" target="_blank"there are some crazy aspects too:
The entrance was decorated with a Piper airplane identical to the one used by Escobar to fly his first shipment of cocaine to the United States, and the grounds were populated with statues of dinosaurs and other creatures. The hacienda also boasted a robust zoo, complete with horses, elephants, rhinoceros, hippopotamuses and giraffes.
Escobar was caught and killed by law enforcement in 1993, and after his death the estate was seized and transformed into a public zoo and water park. As unconventional as that may seem, the photos prove how beautiful and welcoming the estate seems when it’s not the seat of power for a drug lord maniac. Not everything is fun and games however, as some of the wildlife is no longer inside the gates of the estate.
The hippos, meanwhile, have escaped to the surrounding jungle, and formed a sizable feral population.
The last thing you want in the wilderness of Colombia is a sizable feral hippo population. Sizable! The rest of the refurbished are truly gorgeous though, check out the rest of the photos and see for yourself. Remember, if you become an infamous South American drug lord, it could all be yours one day.
(via Mashable)
