If you’re a serial Netflix binge-watcher, then you’ve definitely seen Narcos (or at least heard of it). The show’s main story is about notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar and his rise and fall from power. Season 2 dives deeper into his life as a family man but viewers still wonder: Who are Pablo Escobar’s children in real life?
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The Life Of The World’s Most Infamous Criminal
Pablo Escobar was born in Rionegro, Colombia near Medellín. After dropping out of university, Escobar turned to a life of crime. He started out with selling fake lottery tickets and stealing motor vehicles, and it wasn’t long before he moved on to larger crimes like drug dealing and kidnapping for ransom.
By the 80s, his drug network was shipping about 80 tons of cocaine from Colombia to the U.S. every month. At the prime of his career, he was earning about $US6-million a day – Forbes even named him the 7th Richest Man In The World. With all this notoriety and money, Escobar spent an insane amount of money for his family: a zoo full of exotic wildlife in their home, a go-kart race track, a mechanical bull, and servants to cater to their every need.
Pablo Escobar: A Family Man?
Even with his criminal background, the drug lord was never considered an evil person in Colombia because of how much he gave back to the poor. He also seemed to have a soft spot for his family; he had a wife, son, and daughter whom he loved very much. However, after his death, his children were forced to distance themselves from their identity.
Pablo Escobar’s daughter chose to live a life away from the spotlight, she’s rumoured to have changed her name to protect herself.
But Pablo Escobar’s son chose to go public with his life story in the 2009 documentary Sins of my Father and his very own book Pablo Escobar: My Father. Both works are biographical and tell of his experiences living as the kingpin’s son, from his luxurious early childhood to his tragic and fearful escape from his home country.
The Escobar Children Today
To most of the world, Pablo Escobar was a dangerous and notorious drug lord! But to his family, he was a provider, and a loving husband and father. He loved his family so much that it’s rumoured that he burned $US2-million in cash just to keep his daughter warm – if that’s not love, we don’t know what is!
But if he was such a family man, why did his kids change their names in order to let go of their past? What happened to Pablo Escobar’s family that made them turn his legacy away?
Juan Pablo Escobar
After his father’s death, Juan and his family had to change their names to be able to flee Colombia. And while some people still call him Juan Pablo Escobar, or Sebastian Escobar, his new legal name is Sebastián Marroquin.
“The airlines didn’t want to sell any plane tickets [to us] to travel and to [help us] get away from violence,” he says in an interview. “We stayed in Colombia for a year waiting for somebody to help us after my father’s death. We asked the Vatican [and] the United Nations and nobody wanted to help us so it was our last option if we wanted to stay alive.”
What started out as a life of luxury turned into a life of hiding and fleeing officials. After his father died, all of his assets were seized by the cops, leaving the family with nothing and forcing them to start from scratch.
Now, Sebastián is trying to make amends for his father’s mistakes. While many thought that he would take over the family business at the age of 16 (especially after he promised to avenge his father’s death!) he’s now distanced himself from the life of crime. He participated in the Argentinian documentary Sins of My Father which has provided closure not just to Sebastián but to the victims of his father as well.
Manuela Escobar
Unlike her brother, there’s not much information about Manuela Escobar. After fleeing Colombia with her mother and brother, she has chosen to live a quiet and peaceful life away from the spotlight. It’s been reported that she currently lives with her brother and his wife and has a career in public relations.
Unfortunately, the life of a drug lord’s daughter has left its mark on her. While she has maintained a low profile since fleeing Colombia, her brother mentioned that she developed severe depression and has tried to take her own life in the past. If you search Manuela Escobar on Instagram or any other platform, nothing shows up – it looks like she avoids social media at all costs!
Other Member Of The Pablo Escobar Family Tree
When it comes to business, Pablo preferred to keep his family separate from work with the exception of one of his siblings. His brother, Robert Escobar, served as his main accountant for his drug cartel. But besides that, not much is known about his other relatives as they chose to remove themselves from the legacy of their criminal brother.
Is Pablo Escobar Alive?
There are some conspiracy theorists that assume that the infamous drug lord is still alive! But the facts are clear: Pablo Escobar died on the 2nd December 1993. But he does live on in the memories of his loved ones.
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