Pablo Escobar at the White House: The Story of This Photo

Pablo Escobar at the White House in Washington, DC, is a famed photograph of the Colombian drug lord. Pablo Escobar’s son, Juan Pablo Escobar Henao, is the small youngster alongside him in this photograph. This photo was likely taken around 1981 by Escobar’s wife, Maria Victoria. Escobar was able to enter the United States and stand in front of the White House with his family probably through counterfeit passports. The purpose of this White House photo for Escobar was to establish his credibility as a national politician in Colombia.

The Story of Escobar’s White House Photograph

In this photo, Escobar and his son are seen on the sidewalk next to Pennsylvania Avenue, which was open to traffic in 1981. In fact, in the 1980s, a similar picture could be taken of any passerby walking down the street. The North Portico of the White House is in the background of this photo. Around this time, Escobar was making an effort to portray himself as a political Colombian figure while leading the Medellín Cartel with a net worth of US$30 billion.

At the time this photograph was taken in 1981, the Medellín Cartel was headed by Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria, who was just 32 years old. Pablo was so wealthy that he was known as “the king of cocaine.” Despite the fact that tours were still being provided, there is no evidence that Escobar ever set foot inside the White House other than standing in front of it.

Escobar’s photo in front of the White House was included in the 2010 HBO documentary “Sins of My Father,” which recounts Escobar’s life through his son Juan Pablo Escobar’s perspective. He is now known as Sebastian Marroquin.

A Trip to Disneyland

A vacation in the United States with the family was planned back when Escobar was Colombia’s wealthiest. After or before this picture at the White House, Escobar brought his family to Disneyland on the same trip in 1981. This whole holiday was likewise of the highest quality for the family.

It is unknown how long he stayed in the United States in 1981; however, he allegedly did rent a house close to Disneyland specifically for this trip. There was a lot of wasteful expenditure on the Disney vacation. The Escobars bought a bunch of relics and filled their bags to capacity.

Pablo even used a local adviser and a driver so he could enjoy his time seeing this park. To make his son Juan Pablo happy, he even braved his dread of roller coasters to share the adventure with Juan, who was a shy 4-year-old boy and his only child at the time.

Escobar frequented the amusement park and even rode a few attractions. The cost of this US trip was not a problem for him. Every 8 out of 10 cocaines sold in the world was from Escobar, which allowed him to make US$2.5 million every hour.

Why Did Escobar Photograph Himself at the White House?

In 1981, Pablo Escobar was attempting to prove himself as a respectable political figure in Colombia by joining the Medéllin City Council and then being appointed as a replacement Congressman. These pictures helped legitimize his reputation by showing him with his family on vacation.

How Was Pablo Escobar Able to Take a Photo in Front of the White House?

It’s quite unlikely that Escobar used a commercial airline for this US trip. As a smuggler, he was familiar with the methods necessary to enter a nation underhandedly. However, even if the CIA and FBI had prior knowledge that Escobar was entering the United States, they probably lacked the manpower to prevent the entry of every person from South America.

In fact, the FBI began paying real attention to Pablo Escobar only in 1983–1984. Escobar’s son also thinks the CIA was working with the cartels during this period. Due to its anti-communist stance, the CIA often interfered with the DEA. But suspicion was first raised about Escobar in the 1980s due to his familiarity with phone surveillance. His climb from poverty to prominence was interesting, even for the CIA.

To be able to take a photo at the White House, Pablo exerted great effort to bribe public servants in his home country of Colombia. It’s not hard to envision how he might have entered the United States undetected by law enforcement had this ability extended to, say, obtaining phony passports that wouldn’t have been flagged at the border. This would have been simple because of his political and criminal contacts.

Escobar Was Not a Top Priority for the US in 1981

The United States authorities at the time had an incomplete picture of Escobar’s criminal career and drug-dealing participation. At the time this White House picture was taken, Escobar was trying to turn himself into a respectable political man. He even had ambitions of running for mayor of Medellín and was already a member of the municipal council in 1982. Escobar was considering continuing his illegal operations in the United States.

By the 1970s, Pablo Escobar had already developed crucial smuggling routes to the United States and was in control of a large share of the cocaine trade in Colombia. In spite of his wealth, the authorities were unable to locate any legitimate means. He was already detained in 1976 for importing cocaine, and his mugshot from a Medellín arrest in 1977 shows that he had been on the police’s radar since the late 1960s.

Despite the widespread availability of cocaine in the United States in the 1980s, Pablo Escobar and the Medellín cartel were mostly unknown at the time. Nixon started the so-called “War on Drugs,” but it was Reagan who really made an effort. Even though Escobar didn’t become a well-known criminal until the mid-1980s, his growth corresponded with CIA actions in Central and South America.

Although Escobar was probably on the radar of intelligence services following Reagan’s emphasis on drug enforcement, he was not deemed a major priority. After the Avianca incident in 1990, he became a public figure and was eventually put on the US target list. But the fact that Escobar may have been able to enter the United States freely using a diplomatic passport still calls into question the reliability of law enforcement at the time.

His son Sebastián Marroquín has published a book in which he alleges his father was a CIA agent. It seems that the CIA prolonged their connection with Escobar until his influence grew too great. Because Escobar’s end goal was to become a state inside a state. According to Sebastián, the CIA employed Escobar’s drugs in their struggle against communism in Central America.

After the debacle at La Catedral, Escobar’s personal prison, his capture was out of the question. As late as the mid-1980s, the CIA wanted him dead. His death did not stop the drug trade, which was carried on by other gangs such as Cali and the Ochoa brothers.

The Spot Where the White House Photo Was Taken

This famous photograph was taken on the north Portico of the White House. So, Escobar and his kid, who was 4 years old at the time, were on the sidewalk outside of the government buildings. Any passerby might have stopped for the same picture while strolling down the street. The avenue was accessible to cars since it was still years before Oklahoma City attack and the 9/11.

Escobar’s Life Prior to the Famous White House Photo

Beginning with the sale of illegal cigarettes and counterfeit lottery tickets, Escobar’s life changed when he participated in other unlawful operations. He moved on to more severe crimes, including auto theft, and finally became a major player in the illegal drug trade. By 1976, he had founded the Medellín Cartel, a cocaine trafficking organization responsible for establishing supply lines into the United States. His fortune was reported to be approximately US$30 billion when he was put down.

Pablo Escobar, by then already a notorious drug lord, started his political career in the 1980s. Escobar desired to become a lawful political leader in Colombia. By joining the political arena, he could avoid being extradited to the United States and gain some credibility.

He was elected as an alternative Liberal Party deputy to the Colombian Congress in 1982. With this job, he was entitled to parliamentary immunity and a diplomatic passport, according to Colombian law.

Pablo worked as a city councilman in Medellín before he was elected to Congress. This move was part of a plan to win over voters. Building housing complexes, parks, football stadiums, hospitals, schools, and churches, this drug lord invested millions in some of Medellín’s poorest neighborhoods.

As a result of the community initiatives he oversaw, he became well-liked in the local communities. At the end, his time in politics was brief. Both the Colombian and American governments worked together to stop Escobar. Officials removed him from Congress on the grounds that he had connections to the country’s drug cartels (duh!).

He killed the Justice Minister in 1984 after being disqualified from running for Congress. However, he continued to publicly reside at Hacienda Napoles until 1987, when the Colombian government issued an arrest order for him.

But even after the end of his career, Escobar’s influence in Colombia remained, all due to his role in the Medellín Cartel and his participation in local politics and community charities. Escobar was assassinated on the rooftops of Medellín, Colombia, in 1993, twelve years after the White House picture was taken. Over 25,000 people showed up for his funeral because he was well-liked by the locals.

Escobar was able to smuggle up to 15 tons of cocaine per day during the height of his drug enterprise. In the 1980s, he specifically bought two submarines for the purpose of smuggling cocaine from Colombia to the United States. Off the coast of Colombia, one of Pablo Escobar’s submerged cocaine smuggling vessels was found. Cocaine was shipped from Colombia to Miami and Puerto Rico.