Medellin after Pablo

After so many years of turning the TV on to find bombs and massacres and kidnappings in the evening news, the Colombian folk heard the news it had waited on for years: Pablo is dead. With him, the drug cartels in Colombia went down in flames, leaving fear, hate, and money behind. Drug related real estate and investments were confiscated by the government, and many rotten holes were uncovered, tarnishing the names of high officials in the police, army, navy, air force, and all three branches of the government. Even presidential candidates had received drug money. As this happened, drug dealers, traffickers, and growers were forced to conceal their operations in jungles and mountains, taking violence with them to the most remote places of our country. The main cities were cleared for the most part, and Colombians started to hear less and less from the mafia and the drug cartels. Today, after roughly ten years of this whole ordeal, it wouldn’t be accurate to say that there is no more drug production in Colombia, or anywhere in the world for that matter. The war against drugs is like the war on terrorism: it will have no end, and there will always be those who are willing to make easy money beyond the reach of law…until the law hits back that is.
Medellin has seen many changes in infrastructure, culture, and living standards. Beautiful works of art by prominent artists have been donated to the city, more parks have been built, and the economy has gotten back up from the big hit it took when drug money was taken off the streets, fashion has had a huge boost, public transportation has improved, and people are smiling now more than ever before. Medellin is the leader in Colombia in textile production, steel production, automotive assembly, and technological development just to name a few industries, and possesses some of the most prominent educational institutions in the country. It also offers an extremely active nightlife, diverse cultural events, and countless public parks with varied designs, from Zen inspired bamboo forests (Parque de los pies descalzos), to the biggest aquarium in South America.