In an ironic twist, residents of the barrio started to become disturbed by drug dealers from other neighborhoods trying to sell to their kids.
Engaging in the type of business that he did, Escobar had many enemies and problems. He dealt with these obstacles in his life often in one way, murder. Escobar employed a private army of up to 1,000 gunmen (Watson). During his reign as the king of the cocaine trade Escobar killed many, many of those who got in his way. He did not discriminate when it came to his ordered executions. Rival gangsters, friends who betrayed the cartel, prosecutors, judges, politicians, good Samaritans, journalists, and police officers all shed blood by way of Escobar's bullets. It is estimated that Escobar and his men killed upwards of 400 people and his men are also suspected of downing a Columbian airliner carrying 107 passengers (Watson). Escobar's blood lust made him a fugitive and an even higher priority to US officials who worked tirelessly to get Escobar extradited to the United States. .
Despite Escobar's known involvement in a tremendously large drug cartel and homicide of hundreds of people, the government of Columbia struck a deal with him. In June of 1991 then Columbian president Ceasar Gaviria exchanged a reduced jail sentence and the guarantee that he would not be extradited to the United States for Escobar's surrender. A reduced jail sentence and no extradition to the US seemed like an incredibly lenient sentence for one of the worlds largest drug traffickers, but for Escobar it was about to get better. In an incredibly odd turn of events Escobar also earned the right to have his prison built for him. His "prison" was a steel and concrete structure with amenities such as a swimming pool, tennis courts, a sauna and pink baths. And since so many law enforcement and rival drug traffickers wanted to get to Escobar, the security system was designed to keep people out as opposed to keeping the prisoners in.
