Pablo Escobar's Son Reveals What Life Was Like Growing Up In New Documentary
In Escobar by Escobar, a new four-part series on Sky Documentaries, Juan Pablo speaks about what it was like growing up with a drug lord dad
Pablo Escobar's son has opened up about what it was like growing up with the world's most famous drug lord as his father, revealing in a new documentary that his lavish childhood was also one inevitably fraught with danger.
Colombian drug trafficker Pablo Escobar founded the Medellin cartel in 1976 and went on to control cocaine markets across the globe, in turn racking up a multi-billion-dollar empire - all while his family lived in the shadow of the extreme violence that came with it.
Juan Pablo Escobar Henao was well aware that his dad was 'one of the richest men' in the world, having been spoilt with gifts and designer goods as a child.
In Escobar by Escobar, a new four-part series on Sky Documentaries, we hear how the youngster would never wear the same clothes twice and had a 'different watch on every day', as he grew up alongside 'machine guns, cocaine shipments, prostitutes, amongst bags of money and millions of dollars, aeroplanes, yachts, luxury cars'.
In the first episode, Juan Pablo recalls how he had a fleet of motorcycles before he'd even become a teenager.
"When I was four, my dad gave me my first motorbike," he says.
"At 11, I already had 27, just 27!
"My father was one of the richest men on the planet."
Juan Pablo continues: "In my dad's golden age, this country had 200,000 acres planted with cocaine.
"[...] My dad had an average income of between 50 and 70 million dollars per weekend, just in Miami."
However, even from a young age, he also knew that there was a darker world that lay behind his family's wealth - which was something that would eventually land on his shoulders.
Juan Pablo, who is now 44 - the age his father was when he was killed - explains: "My father wanted to wreak havoc in Colombia, and he succeeded. He used terrorism as a weapon to subjugate the Colombian government and society to his own will."
He adds: "When you are born an Escobar, you have no right to happiness or calm."
In 1991, Pablo Escobar handed himself into authorities, but made a bargain with officials that meant he was allowed to be housed in his own self-built prison called La Catedral.
After escaping from the complex the following year, he convinced his family to go into hiding with him - when Juan Pablo was still just a teen.
"My father asked us to hide with him because we couldn't be safe outside," he says.
"We'd go to places blindfolded, we'd go to various hiding spots. We were in at least six different safe houses.
"[...] You didn't know where you were, but you were with him."
However, within a matter of months, the family realised that life in exile was not safe for anyone associated with the cocaine kingpin.
Juan Pablo - who now goes by the name of Sebastian Marroquin - continues: "My dad said: 'You're in danger with me'. Eight months went by until we decided to ask for the protection of the Colombian government, because dad's enemies had made a great effort to block any possibility of escape.
"I remember we were at Casa Azul, where we were hiding with my father at the time. Before we left, he came towards us, hugged me, he wanted to speak but he couldn't utter a word.
"It was the first time I saw him cry.
"When we were about to leave, I went towards the Altos building and my dad followed us in a car. We turned to go into the building, he honked a couple of times and carried on his way.
"That was the last time I saw my father alive. It was like a final goodbye."
Pablo Escobar was eventually shot dead in a shootout in 1993, 16 months after he escaped La Catedral, leaving his 16-year-old son a huge responsibility on his hands.
Juan Pablo explains how the death of their patriarch was not only a 'very sad day' for the family, but also the moment his own fate changed.
"All the weapons in Colombia were pointing towards me," he says.
With the leader of the infamous Medellin cartel dead, Juan Pablo found he could no longer escape his destiny.
In archive footage, he can be heard vowing to 'kill those b*****ds' who murdered his father, which were words that he would later regret.
"Those five seconds of threats ended up becoming 25 years of exile," he says.
The Escobars sought asylum in various countries but were turned down, eventually fleeing Colombia to Mozambique, then to Brazil, before settling in Argentina.
Watch Escobar by Escobar on Sky Documentaries and NOW TV.
Featured Image Credit: Sky
Topics: Entertainment, TV and Film, Pablo Escobar, Documentary
Jess Hardiman