Roberto Escobar
{{Short description|Brother of Pablo Escobar}}
{{expand Spanish|topic=bio|Roberto Escobar Gaviria|date=September 2016}}
{{family name hatnote|Escobar|Gaviria|lang=Spanish}}
{{Infobox criminal
| name = Roberto Escobar
| birth_name = Roberto de Jesús Escobar Gaviria
| image = Roberto Escobar (cropped).jpg
| caption = Escobar in 2018
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1947|01|13}}
| birth_place = Rionegro, Colombia
| death_date =
| death_place =
| citizenship = Colombia
| occupation = Drug trafficker and smuggler, Co-Founder of the Medellín Cartel, Co-Founder of Escobar Inc, Co-Founder of dietbitcoin, Cyclist
| conviction_status = Released in 2006
| spouse = 2 including
Claudia Azcárraga
| children = 5 including:
Nicolás Escobar
José Roberto Escobar
Joseph Escobar Azcárraga
| parents =
| conviction = Drug trafficking and smuggling
| alias = El Osito
| conviction_penalty = 14
years in prison
}}
{{Medellín Cartel}}
Roberto de Jesús Escobar Gaviria (born January 13, 1947), nicknamed El Osito ("little bear" or "teddy bear"){{efn|Osito is used in Spanish as a term of endearment for men, and can either refer to a little bear or teddy bear in literal usage.|name=Osito}}, is the brother of deceased drug kingpin, Pablo Escobar, and the former accountant and co-founder of the Medellín Cartel,{{cite web | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-feb-25-et-rutten25-story.html | title='The Accountant's Story' by Roberto Escobar | author= Rutten, Tim | work=Los Angeles Times | date=February 25, 2009 | access-date=June 9, 2016}} which was responsible for up to 80 percent of the cocaine smuggled into the United States. In his early years he was active as a champion cyclist in Colombia's burgeoning cycling scene.
Early life
He was the oldest son of Abel de Jesús de Escobar and Hermilda Gaviria. Passionate about cycling since his youth, he obtained third place in the team event of the National Cycling Championship of Colombia, and obtained 37 victories in cycling in a single year, second place as athlete of the year of the department of Antioquia,{{cite web | url=http://www.excelsior.com.mx/adrenalina/2017/07/24/1177420 | title=El osito Escobar; una historia en bicicleta | date=24 July 2017 }} surpassed by Martin Emilio "Cochise" Rodriguez. He was also coach of the Colombian cycling team in international competitions.
Nickname
His nickname El Osito ("little bear" or "teddy bear"){{efn|name=Osito}} is due to the fact that during an arrival of the caravan in Medellín, with him leading the competition, a downpour fell on the uncovered highway that had already been transformed into a river of mud. The tires of his bicycle sent the mud to his face until it was completely covered, exposing only his eyes. When he reached the finish line, the radio journalist who was broadcasting the stage said: Ahí llega Roberto Escobar Gaviria, que más bien parece un osito. ("Here comes Roberto Escobar Gaviria, who looks more like a little bear/teddy bear."){{cite web | url=http://www.revistadonjuan.com/interes/asnu-es-la-vida-de-Roberto-escobar-el-hermano-de-pablo-escobar/8536260 | title=Así es la vida de Roberto Escobar, el hermano de Pablo Escobar | date=10 December 2010 | access-date=22 February 2022 | archive-date=24 December 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224015959/http://www.revistadonjuan.com/interes/asnu-es-la-vida-de-roberto-escobar-el-hermano-de-pablo-escobar/8536260 | url-status=dead }}
Imprisonment
For his part in the operations of the Medellín Cartel, Roberto Escobar succeeded his cousin Gustavo Gaviria, after he was imprisoned in 1991. He escaped with his brother in July 1992 but surrendered to authorities a year later. On December 18, 1993, while still in prison, he was blinded in one eye by a letter bomb which was sent by Los Pepes. The prison bombing also caused him partial deafness for life. He lost sixty percent of his hearing. {{Cite news |last=Tiempo de Colombia, GDA |first=El |date=2024-01-12 |title=Así es la vida de Roberto Escobar, el hermano de Pablo Escobar |url=https://elcomercio.pe/mundo/latinoamerica/roberto-escobar-la-vida-del-hermano-de-pablo-escobar-el-osito-cartel-de-medellin-colombia-narracion-historias-ec-noticia/ |access-date=2024-02-07 |work=El Comercio |language=es-PE |issn=1605-3052}}
Release from prison
After more than 10 years, he was released in 2006.{{cite web|url=http://travel.cnn.com/meet-drug-lords-brother-pablo-escobar-tour-132996/|work=CNN|title=Meet a drug lord's brother on the Pablo Escobar Tour|first=Justin|last=Calderon|date=January 8, 2013|access-date=2016-09-18}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/19/world/escobar-s-brother-injured-by-letter-bomb-in-prison.html|work=New York Times|title=Escobar's Brother Injured by Letter Bomb in Prison|date=December 19, 1993|access-date=2016-09-18}}{{when|date=September 2016}} In the 2009 book, The Accountant's Story, Roberto Escobar relates his story as head accountant of the cartel. The book contains numerous unusual facts, like that the cartel lost billions of dollars that was eaten by rats or damaged by water in storage, and that the cartel spent up to $2,500 per month purchasing rubber bands to hold stacks of money together.{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/pablo-escobar-and-rubber-bands-2015-9|title=Legendary drug lord Pablo Escobar lost $2.1 billion in cash each year — and it didn't matter|last=Macias|first=Amanda|website=Business Insider|access-date=2020-02-09}}
Escobar Inc
In 2014, he reincorporated Escobar Inc with Olof K. Gustafsson and registered Successor-In-Interest rights for his brother in California, United States.{{cite web | url=http://www.sos.ca.gov/cgi-bin/sii_search.cgi | title=California Business Portal: Successor-In-Interest | author= | date=April 28, 2015 | access-date=June 9, 2016 | archive-date=December 8, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161208233000/http://www.sos.ca.gov/cgi-bin/sii_search.cgi | url-status=dead }}{{Better source needed|reason=The citation is an archived version of a search engine.|date=November 2024}} On July 1, 2016, he sent a letter to Netflix regarding the Narcos TV series demanding $1 billion in payment for unauthorized usage of content.{{cite news | url=http://fortune.com/2016/07/07/drug-kingpin-netflix/ | title=Real-Life Drug Kingpin Wants Netflix to Pay Him $1 Billion for 'Narcos' | last=Ingram |first=Matthew | work= Fortune Magazine | date=July 7, 2016 | access-date=July 14, 2016}} In January 2019, he launched a GoFundMe fundraiser in an effort to impeach President Donald Trump.{{cite news | url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4826858/pablo-escobar-impeach-donald-trump-gofundme/ | title=Pablo Escobar's brother launched $50M GoFundMe to impeach Donald Trump | last=Scott | first=Katie | work= Global News | date=January 8, 2019 | access-date=January 11, 2019}}
In July 2019, Escobar started selling a propane torch made to look like a flamethrower and accused CEO of The Boring Company Elon Musk of intellectual property theft, alleging that The Boring Company's promotional Not-a-Flamethrower is based on a design that Escobar discussed in 2017 with an engineer associated with Musk. Via media Escobar publicly offered Musk to settle the dispute for $100 million, in cash or shares of Tesla, or alternatively to use the legal system to become the new CEO of Tesla, Inc.{{cite news|url= https://thenextweb.com/distract/2019/07/11/pablo-escobars-brother-escalates-flamethrower-feud-with-elon-musk-threatens-tesla-takeover/ |website= The Next Web |title= Pablo Escobar's brother escalates flamethrower feud with Elon Musk, threatens Tesla takeover |first= Tristan |last= Greene |date= 2019-07-11 |access-date= 2019-07-15}}
In December 2019, Escobar announced a folding phone, the Escobar Fold 1. The phone was priced at $349. Escobar said "I have told many people that I will defeat Apple — and I will". He claimed that it can only be destroyed by fire.{{Cite web|url=https://www.escobarinc.com/product/fold1/|title=Escobar Inc {{!}} ESCOBAR FOLD 1 – Foldable Smartphone 128 GB|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-14|archive-date=2020-04-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408115958/https://escobarinc.com/product/fold1/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.insider.com/pablo-escobars-brother-roberto-escobar-selling-foldable-smartphone-2019-12|title=Pablo Escobar's brother is selling a $349 foldable smartphone his company says can be destroyed only by fire|last1=Ankel|first1=Sophia|author2=Welt|website=Insider|access-date=2019-12-14}} Two months later, on February 10, 2020, the Escobar Fold 2 was released, which is reportedly a Galaxy Fold with poorly-added Escobar branding.{{Cite news|last=Smith|first=Chris|date=March 12, 2020|title=The $399 Escobar Fold is actually a Samsung Galaxy Fold with a sticker|work=BGR|url=https://bgr.com/2020/03/12/escobar-fold-2-review-its-all-a-scam-a-galaxy-fold-covered-in-gold/|access-date=March 17, 2020}}{{Cite web|title=The Truth About the Escobar Folding Phones!|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8FJSjy3bXA|last=Brownlee|first=Marques|date=March 10, 2020|website=YouTube|access-date=March 17, 2020}} Many customers, when ordering the phones, said that they never received them, with only tech influencers actually receiving products.{{Cite web|last=Kan|first=Michael|date=2020-04-17|title=Please Stop Buying the Foldable Phone From Pablo Escobar's Brother|url=https://uk.pcmag.com/smartphones/125695/please-stop-buying-the-foldable-phone-from-pablo-escobars-brother|access-date=2020-06-22|website=PCMag UK|language=en-gb}}{{Cite web|title=Pablo Escobar's brother is trying to sell refurbished iPhone 11 Pros for $499|url=https://www.engadget.com/roberto-escobar-smartphone-scam-iphone-11-pro-184539563.html|access-date=2020-06-18|website=Engadget|date=27 May 2020 |language=en}} It has also been alleged that Escobar Inc sent bogus product orders consisting of a book, allowing Escobar Inc to claim the phone had been delivered. In May 2020, the company released a refurbished version of the iPhone 11 Pro and allegedly sued Apple for $2.6 billion.
Bibliography
- {{cite book|last=Escobar Gaviria|first=Roberto|title=I Made Billions Selling Coke Now My Smartphones Will Destroy Apple and Samsung|publisher=Escobar, Inc|year=2020|isbn=978-0578636863}}
- {{cite book|last=Escobar Gaviria|first=Roberto|title=Pablo Escobar's dietbitcoin: After making $100 billion dollars, Roberto Escobar launches the dietbitcoin "DDX" cryptocurrency|publisher=Escobar, Inc|year=2018|isbn=978-1980576181 }}{{cite book | title=Pablo Escobar's dietbitcoin: After making $100 billion dollars, Roberto Escobar launches the dietbitcoin "DDX" cryptocurrency on Amazon.com Books| date= 16 March 2018| isbn=978-1980576181| last1=Escobar| first1=Roberto| publisher= Independently Published}}
- {{cite book|last=Escobar Gaviria|first=Roberto|title=My Brother – Pablo Escobar|publisher=Escobar, Inc|year=2016|isbn=978-0692706374}}
- {{cite book|last=Escobar Gaviria|first=Roberto|title=The Accountant's Story: Inside the Violent World of the Medellín Cartel|url=https://archive.org/details/accountantsstory0000esco|url-access=registration|publisher=Grand Central Publishing|year=2009|isbn=978-0446543699}}
Notes
{{Notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Escobar, Roberto}}
Category:20th-century criminals
Category:Colombian drug traffickers
Category:Colombian crime bosses