Real Crime Specials Magazine

11 November 2020

The world of narcotics and drug trafficking is a brutal, bloody and dangerous one, where murder and unimaginable violence are commonplace. But if you're prepared to get your hands dirty - or have people willing to do it for you - it's also a world where you can make a lot of money. Pablo Escobar and Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán rose from humble beginnings in Colombia and Mexico respectively to become two of the richest, most powerful and most dangerous men the world has ever seen. While Escobar's Medellin Cartel died along with their boss in 1993, El Chapo's Sinaloa Cartel continues to dominate the narcotics business despite his life sentence in 2019. Inside we delve in the rise and fall of these drug-trafficking powerhouses, speak to Pablo Escobar's first-born son, meet some of the rival gangs and kingpins from Latin America and beyond, look back at how the illegal drug trade took over the world, and find out how the authorities are fighting back against the cartels with their own brutal tactics.