A Section of the Notorious Drug Lord's Property to be Awarded to Women Impacted by the Nation's Decades-Long Struggle

A segment of the infamous drug lord's previously opulent estate – a representation of the narco-trafficker's enormous wealth and residence to his infamous “cocaine hippos” – is being awarded to female individuals affected by the country's prolonged conflict, stated Gustavo Petro.

Escobar, the nation's most infamous narco-trafficker and former head of the powerful Medellín drug cartel, rose to become one of the most affluent people in the planet in the eighties, with assessments placing his fortune at around $25 billion.

The Extravagant Estate: Escobar's Ranch

He spent part of his riches in decking out his Hacienda Nápoles in northwest Antioquia. As well as filling it with classic cars and unusual wildlife – striped horses, giraffes, hopping marsupials and the hippopotamuses – he installed an landing strip, multiple pools and a large-capacity bull ring. Above the entrance gate, the drug lord also mounted a model aircraft, patterned after the one he reportedly used for his first cocaine shipment to the United States.

Following the Demise

Subsequent to his demise in a gunfight on a roof with law enforcement in the city of Medellín in the year 1993, his property was left deserted and deteriorated. Subsequently taken over by the government and rented to municipal officials, who temporarily transformed it as a amusement park.

Presently, a portion of the land has been repurposed again and given to survivors of the nation's long-standing civil strife.

“We have started to take back the ranch for the survivors,” the president stated in a social media message.

Granting Property

The government has stated that 120 hectares of the land has been awarded to local female farmers. A senior official, chief of the government land body, described the move “a historic victory for the female individuals who persistently struggled”.

“It is a great happiness to ultimately commemorate,” stated Millinery Correa, an awardee, in a footage distributed by the official property agency. “I feel very happy because at present there are women who have aspiration, who have land for life.”

Property Conflicts

Land disputes have long driven unrest in the country, with drug traffickers and armed groups expelling by force farmers to increase their land holdings and produce coca, the crop used to manufacture cocaine.

Laura Bonilla, assistant head of the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation, stated that Escobar “bought and seized” the land and sought to make it an “empire mostly autonomous from the country, with its distinct rules and even its distinct ecological system”.

Government Initiative

Earlier this year, Gustavo Petro, the nation's inaugural left-wing leader, put forward restoring a portion to farmers. “That hacienda has so many deaths that it must be returned to the people,” he stated, adding that the land's “genuine owners” were the agricultural workers.

Objections and Rallying

But a number of inhabitants and commercial operators objected to the initiative, claiming it threatened the local economy; the tourist attraction attracts more than one million tourists annually. A protest later saw around 1,500 people block the key roadway.

Moving Forward

In spite of the resistance, the plan has been implemented. “The action taken by the president was to return the land, and also the dignity, to those who had been deprived of all,” the expert said.

Ongoing Challenge

Despite the donation of the land, the expanding group of wild hippopotamuses still traverse, damaging agriculture and attacking nearby villages – a final remnant of Escobar's empire that has remains unmanaged.