He is also more strategic in his approach to the drug trade, and has been able to avoid capture for many years. By mid-1991, the government's campaign forced Escobar to negotiate a deal that allowed him to lock himself up in a jail of his own design in the highlands near Medellin. There's the fact Escobar was way more richer than Gallardo. It should also be noted that Escobar had two other brothers, Luis Fernando Escobar and Argemiro Escobar, but they were never in the spotlight. In 1984, Barnes testified against four men who made up the aforementioned "Council" - Guy Fisher, Frank James, Wallace Rice and Ishmael Muhammed - who all received life without parole. But in the waning hours of President Barack Obama's term, Guzman was shuttled out of jail near Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and onto a plane, emerging on Long Island, where US authorities took him to Manhattan and locked him up in one of the US's most secure facilities. Violence in Mexico has risen for several years, and some regions saw spikes in the months after Guzman's arrest, purportedly from fighting to fill the vacuum he left. In 1989, the cartel was even accused of planting a bomb on a domestic passenger flight, killing over 100 people on the airplane. Below, discover 19 facts about the infamous drug kingpin, from his stunning net worth to his pet hippos to the gruesome way that he died. Now Escobar was in Forbes list several years in a row with the final year estimate being somewhere between 25-30 billion dollars US. "No matter how much millions he had, the only thing I know is that when he died he didn't have even 2% of what Forbes ever made up about his wealth in order to sell prints," wrote Marroqun in a second email. Drug ledgers seized in Atlanta in June 2001 indicated that the Gulf Cartel generated more than $41 million in drug proceeds over a three-and-a-half-month period in the Atlanta area alone. In 1974, police officers discovered more than $130,000 USD in cash in Barnes's car, and claimed that he tried to bribe them. Pablo Escobar's cocaine empire, by the numbers Considered the wealthiest criminal in history, Pablo Escobar led the largest international drug cartel for decades. Tommy Cash Wore a NSFW Realistic Vagina to Fashion Week. Escobar was the hardest cocaine dealer to catch. Drug kingpin Joaqun"El Chapo" Guzmn is escorted to a helicopter at Mexico City's airport on January 8, 2016, following his recapture during an intense military operation in Los Mochis, Mexico. But which one was bigger? Im also a big fan of technology and Im always looking for new ways to use it to make the world a better place. Guzman has proven to be resilient and crafty, but his conviction in the US would seem to mark the end of the 61-year-old's long career, with US officials turning their attention to the $14 billion they say he stashed away. Both men have made it onto Forbes World's Billionaires . According to Atlas Obscura, however, people still sneak onto Hacienda Npoles grounds with a shovel hoping to dig up any money that Escobar hid. In addition to being one of the worlds wealthiest criminals, Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria amassed an empire through the production and distribution of drugs. "Any other, if you got 5 percent, you were doing good. He was considered a hero to the town of Medellin, after using his considerable wealth to build soccer fields, community centers, and homeless shelters. Escobar's income is hard to measure, but it's believed he was raking in $420 million a week by the mid-80s roughly $22 billion a year. In 1976, Frank Lucas was arrested and sentenced to 70 years in prison for his involvement in the heroin smuggling ring. Officially, Pablo Escobar had just one son: Juan Pablo Escobar Henao, who goes by Sebastin Marroqun today and lives in Argentina. He also ordered the bombing of a commercial airliner in order to kill a single person. According to The Daily Beast, "Dadeland did not just represent the years 37th and 38th drug homicides. Titelmedia strives to ensure that its Website services and content are accessible He is an international crime syndicate that is regarded to have been one of the strongest drug traffickers in the world. Escobar, brother and former accountant of the infamous drug lord, told us that he made a deal with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO to launch the device under the Tesla umbrella. I grew up being molded by Pablo to be his wife and the mother of his children, not to ask questions or challenge his choices, to look the other way, she wrote. Bouncing between pickpocketing and prostitution, early reports point to her kidnapping a wealthy young boy when she was only 11 years old. With Narcos season two premiering tomorrow on Netflix, here are five more notable drug lords you should be familiar with. As the head of the Sinaloa cartel, Guzman oversaw marijuana and poppy cultivation throughout Mexico and drew on South American suppliers to sate appetites in the US, Europe, and Asia. Warren Buffet, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are all richer than Escobar ever wasand have lasted longer in that position than he did. He is currently in custody at a high-security facility in Manhattan, awaiting charges against him. In an interview with The New York Times, Lucas double-downed on his original assertion, saying, "We had him make up 28 copies of the government coffins except we fixed them up with false bottoms, big enough to load up with six, maybe eight kilosIt had to be snug. He set up secret labs in Colombian jungles where he had hundreds of workers living and working to make cocaine. Viva Colombia! a Search Bloc soldier screamed after Escobar fell. Lucas became the target for law enforcement when detectives noticed that not only was he wearing a $100,000, floor-length chinchilla coat and matching $25,000 hat from two Midtown furriers, but he also had better seats than Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand and Vice President Spiro Agnew who were all in attendance at Madison Square Garden in March 1971 for a fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Pablo Escobars death was a long time coming. According to the New York Post, Juan Pablo said, Forensic investigators who performed the autopsy told us it was suicide but that they were threatened by the authorities not to disclose the truth in their final report.. Pablo Escobar was a wealthiest criminal in history.He was a narco terrorist who was shot and killed in his hometown by Colombian national police, one day after his 44th birthday.He was often called "The King of Cocaine" and was the wealthiest criminal in history, with an estimated known net worth of US $30 billion by the early 1990s .The "king of Submit a correction suggestion and help us fix it! Each newsletter contains an unsubscribe link. Pablo Escobar, pictured with his son at the White House in 1981. Amado died during his operation in 1997 and a pair of the physicians who operated on him were later tortured and murdered. YouTubePablo Escobar, pictured with his son Juan Pablo, his daughter Manuela, and his wife Maria Victoria Henao. But the Cali cartel fell in the mid-90s, leading to a kind of evolution in the country's criminal underworld. Having taken on a mythical status thanks to a number of daring prison escapes both in 2001 and 2016, he remains one of the most cited drug lords alongside Pablo Escobar. Although the market was flooded with product from Nicky Barnes and others with street nicknames like Tru Blu, Mean Machine, Could Be Fatal, Dick Down, Boody, Cooley High, Capone, Ding Dong, Fuck Me, Fuck You, Nice, Nice to Be Nice, Oh -- Can't Get Enough of That Funky Stuff, Tragic Magic, Gerber, The Judge, 32, 32-20, O.D., Correct, Official Correct, Past Due, Payback, Revenge, Green Tape, Red Tape, Rush, Swear to God, PraisePraisePraise, KillKillKill, Killer 1, Killer 2, KKK, Good Pussy, Taster's Choice, Harlem Hijack, Joint and Insured for Life, Lucas's "Blue Magic" was the most sought-after. When Manuela told him she wanted a unicorn for her birthday, Escobar stapled a horn onto a white horse and presented it to her. Nicky Barnes solidified his reputation as "Mr. Untouchable" with the release of a 1977 New York Times Magazine cover story written by Fred Ferretti which chronicled his drug exploits and seemed to spit in the face of law enforcement officials who were hellbent on putting him away on charges of distributing heroin. Pablo Escobar was linked to hundreds of murders, but still managed to be involved in politics and help out the poor in his community. He is the worlds third most-wanted man and is thought to have killed thousands of people. It is possi. One member, Rodolfo Berna, was allegedly credited with firing the shot that killed the drug kingpin, though this account has never been confirmed. He became the kingpin of the Medellin Cartel and was eventually tracked down and killed by the Colombian police's Search Bloc group in 1993. The Sinaloa cartel is thought to control 35% of the cocaine produced in Colombia. The Farer Mansfield is a cushion-cased version of the Stanhope II, and it adds elegance and style. They managed to lay low after they were released, until Fabio Ochoa was arrested for drug smuggling in 1999. Violence has increased in Mexico for several years, but it appears to be leveling off in Sinaloa. The Insane Wealth Of PABLO ESCOBAR and ELON MUSK .VisualizedThe Absurd True Scale of Pablo Escobar's Wealth Visualized.Pablo Escobar Vs. 'El Chapo' Guzm. In 2007, Osiel Crdenas was extradited to the United States along with15 other dealersand charged with the involvement of conspiracies to traffic large amounts of marijuana and cocaine. While it is true that -- as the anonymous DEA official told Forbes -- Guzman exports cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine while Escobar only dealt cocaine, this is likely more a product of geography and history . Both had tremendous love for their . Not only did he supply 80 percent of the worlds cocaine, but he also dipped his toe into politics and even dreamed of becoming the president of Colombia. He was considered a hero to the town of Medellin, after using his considerable wealth to build soccer fields, community centers, and homeless shelters. He is also thought to be the biggest drug lord in history, with a fortune estimated to be worth $14 billion. Discover & Shop what's next with our brand new App, *If you submitted your e-mail address and placed an order, we may use your e-mail address to inform you He actually built an empire from nothing selling/trafficking drugs. U.S. Army Master Sergeant, Leslie "Ike" Atkinson and Frank Lucas cultivated a relationship in Bangkok, Thailand in 1974. He controlled several smuggling routes between Mexico and the United States. Here are 11 Surprising Facts About the King of Cocaine. With Chapo, he not only has the importation of cocaine, but marijuana, heroin, and methamphetamine, and he is exporting them not only to the U.S. but to Asia and Europe., When he was arrested on charges in 2014, The Washington Post noted, "Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzmn [was] the man who supplied more illegal drugs to the United States than anyone else on Earth.". Another difference between the two men is their approach to public relations. 2. If you do encounter an In addition to the small write-off for damages, Escobar also willingly spread his wealth around to the people of Colombia. He called the Forbes list a marketing stunt. Eventually, Barnes was resentenced to 35 years and housed in a special Witness Security Unit at Federal Correctional Institution and was released in August 1998. Carrillo Fuentes survived the surgery but died hours later from a mix of anesthetic and a sleeping drug, Dormicum, which led to heart failure. The grounds of Hacienda Npoles included a Spanish colonial mansion, an airport, swimming pools, a sculpture garden, and, of course, Escobars zoo, which housed his infamous hippos as well as birds, elephants, and other exotic animals. He didn't put them in no skinny guy's.". In 1987, his net worth was estimated at $3 billiona value that calculates to more than $6.6 billion today. Born on December 1, 1949, in Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia, Pablo Escobar grew up in a suburb of Medelln called Envigado. "Pablo was earning so much that each year we would write off 10% of the money because the rats would eat it in storage or it would be damaged by water or lost," Escobar's brother Roberto wrote in a 2009 book. But Escobars violent career made life difficult for his family. That escape was reportedly arranged through state-security personnel working for Guzman, underscoring his alleged expansive ties to the government. By Kayla Webley Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011. Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, pictured in 1988. 3. Couple that . Its main rival, the Cali cartel, took over in the years afterward, learning from Escobar's missteps. FP Explainers March 03, 2023 18:05:50 IST. "The rumor has as much credibility as the millions of sightings of the late Elvis Presley," a statement from the DEA said. He transported Colombian cocaine to many airports and airstrips using his 22 private 727 jet planes. She graduated from Oberlin College, where she earned a double degree in American History and French. If there were a single, brazen act on American soil which illustrated both Blanco's reach and her sociopathic tendencies, it was the murders at Dadeland Mall in Suburban Miami where two gunmen used a .45 caliber MAC-10 machine pistol emptying the 30-round clip in a few seconds inside Crowns Liquors. to the basic tariffs. In the words of the prosecutor, Barnes controlled the largest, most profitable and venal drug ring in New York City.. Much of what we know about the drug trade through media coverage and shows like Narcos is that it was a boy's club - where women were viewed solely as sexual beings to be pined after which often resulted in feuds like in the case of Nicky Barnes. Escobar, along with his family, fled from prison, where he had been held. Barnes felt he had been wronged by his associates, especially Fisher. Yes, Pablo Escobar did go to prison but under his own terms. Yes, Pablo Escobar did have hippos. At its peak, the cartel had a presence in 24 of Mexico's 32 states and in as many as 50 countries, including an extensive network in the US. Colombian police eventually killed the cartels leader, Francisco El Paso Escobar, during a raid. Escobars father, Abel de Jess Dari Escobar Echeverri, was a farmer and a watchman. Unlike most prisons, La Catedral had a sauna, a jacuzzi, a billiards room, and a disco. He was also incredibly violent, and is thought to have killed over 4,000 people. Overall, showrunner Eric Newman told The Hollywood Reporter in 2016 that Narcos is "50-50 when it comes to fiction and nonfiction," but that they stick to an accurate timeline of events. During his life, Escobar lived by the mantra of plata o plomo, which roughly translates to silver or lead (bullets), and describes how he used both violence and bribery to get his way. Drug lords, also known as kingpins, can be notorious criminals, who head up large networks of questionable characters. According to a Sean Penn interview with El Chapo, Pablo Escobar and the drug lord met once before. Despite the fact that the anti-mitochondrial policy of AMLO may be more effective at addressing the countrys drug problem, it is likely that Guzmns wealth will continue to fuel the drug trade. Today, it would be more than double that, making him the richest person in the world (and surpassing Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, the actual richest people in the world, by almost $20 billion.). And about a year and a half later, he was cornered by Colombian forces and died on December 2, 1993, just one day after his 44th birthday. Pablo Escobar: $30 Billion - Topping the list of the richest drug lords. By 1976, Barnes had at least seven major lieutenants working for him, each of whom controlled a dozen mid-level distributors, who in turn supplied up to 40 street-level retailers. JOAQUIN SARMIENTO/AFP via Getty ImagesA descendant of one of the hippos imported by Pablo Escobar to Colombia in the 1980s. Unlike her criminal son, she had a law-abiding career as a schoolteacher. The numbers are based on facts, however, obtained through interviews with ex-cartel members, known associates, and undercover operatives. At one point, the cartel reportedly controlled 35% of the cocaine produced in Colombia and, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, supplied 80% of the heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and meth flowing into the Chicago region each year. Griselda Blanco The Godmother of Cocaine, The Story Behind the Declaration of Independence, What Are Baby Robin Birds Called? El Chapo is a Mexican drug lord who is currently the most powerful and influential person in the world. Officials believed at her height she had been responsible for importing a ton and a half of cocaine per month into the United States and 40 murders. Rivals reportedly fought over control of the organization, and Zawidas sons and associates took over. Under President Richard Nixon, the United States spent more than $1 trillion trying to fight the War on Drugs. During Escobars reign of terror, the Medellin cartel played a significant role in the importation of 80% of cocaine into the United States. Escobar's death led to the dissolution of his cartel, but his criminal empire has had a lasting effect on Colombia. Hello, my name is Cameron Walters and Im the author of KnowMoreStuff.com, a news blog that covers a variety of topics. Additionally, he would often lead surveillance teams on hundred-mile-an-hour car rides into New York City and then out again with no apparent purpose. Though both her mother and brother have since spoken publicly about their relationship with Pablo Escobar, Manuela has remained out of the spotlight. Its no surprise that Escobar was able to escape prison at the age of 60, just as he was when he was imprisoned. Escobar was worth an estimated $30 million USD, became synonymous with Joaqun Guzmn Loera. The days of Zambada are over, and his sons alone at the top are likely to be the final nail in his coffin. Colombia is proposing transferring at least 70 hippopotamuses that live near Pablo Escobar's former ranch - descendants of four imported from Africa illegally by the late drug lord in the 1980s - to India and Mexico as part of a plan to control their population. In the mid-1980s, at the height of his power, Escobars cartel brought in roughly $70 million a day, coming out to $22 billion a year. Escobar's empire attracted the attention of the Colombian government, which attempted to shut it down. Colombia has proposed moving at least 70 of Pablo Escobar's 'cocaine hippos' that live near his former ranch because they won't stop multiplying. He built hospitals and housing for the poor and was elected to the Colombian parliament in 1982. "That's because with Blue Magic, you could get 10 percent purity," Lucas told New York Magazine. Barnes was sentenced in 1978 to life in prison without parole and was sent to the Marion Federal Penitentiary in Illinois to serve his time. After learning they had become romantically involved, Barnes was ready to speak. The drug lord El Chapo bought ranches in every state in Mexico, with the total number of ranches at approximately 32. The story of Pablo Escobar, a notorious cocaine trafficker, is a story about wealth, power, and corruption. Furthermore, he has proposed a new approach to border security that would include more collaboration between the US and the Mexican cartels. and I got myself a million dollars.". When the family refused/was unable to pay the ransom, Blanco executed her hostage. Though Hacienda Npoles wasnt the only property that Escobar owned, it was clearly the place that he called home. In the 1970s, he entered the world of drug trafficking, quickly making a name for himself in the Colombian cocaine trade. Everything is gone. Then, Juan Pablo, his mother, and his sister started a new life in Argentina. The sad truth is,not everyone who is filthy rich made their money on the up and up. He was a loving father, Escobars son, Juan Pablo, said in one interview. Exploring The Evolutionary Development Of Birds: How Have They Managed To Reach Such Impressive Sizes? Money laundering through legitimate businesses is common among Mexicos narco-traffickers, and Guzmns assets will most likely be used to fund future operations. Despite his death, the criminal empire of Escobar has remained intact; his cartel dissolved after he was killed, but his legacy lives on. After he escaped from La Catedral in July 1992, Escobar was on the run for 16 months. The Sinaloa cartel used an air-conditioned tunnel system to smuggle drugs into the United States through the U.S.-Mexico border. Pablo Escobar was the head of the Medelln Cartel, a Colombian drug cartel that trafficked cocaine. Less than two weeks after Guzman's conviction, Lopez's brother was gunned down in Sinaloa, and in Guadalajara home turf of the Sinaloa cartel's main rival, the Jalisco New Generation cartel numerous "narcomantas" have appeared, warning of a "cleansing." Ibrahim has been linked to Osama Bin Laden and his crime ring is rumored to fund the Bollywood film industry. Some of these people include Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg. #1: Pablo Escobar Gaviria Net Worth: $30 billion. $320 million: Escobar's. Fabio, Juan, and Jorge Ochoa were members of the notorious Medellin Cartel. Due to the nature of drug money (read: its illegal, not reported, and not taxed), Pablo Escobars net worth has mostly been determined through estimations. El Chapo is also more powerful than Pablo Escobar ever was. "Chapo Guzman's sons really have never gotten their hands dirty. Despite the fact that he had been on the run since 2001, he was captured in 2016. El Chapo was born on April 4, 1957, which is the fourth day of April in this world. Though it only cost him between $1000 and $4000 to refine and transport a single kilo of his cocaine to the states, his operatives in America could charge consumers between $50,000 and $70,000 for the same amount. Not surprisingly, their operation drew the attention of law enforcement whose Operation Banshee - the largest sting of that era - busted them in 1975. Nicolas also stated that he frequently accompanied his uncle on trips. As the grand jury convened to levy charges, both Blanco and Bravo escaped back to Colombia where there were no extradition measures in place at the time. There are a few people who are richer than Pablo Escobar. Boom boom Music - Descrcai Is El Chapo Richer Than Pablo Escobar MP3 gratuit de pe Boom boom Music. While some people may have engaged inunethical business practices, others are even worse, having madebillions of dollars sellingthings like illegal drugs. A staff writer for All That's Interesting, Kaleena Fraga has also had her work featured in The Washington Post and Gastro Obscura, and she published a book on the Seattle food scene for the Eat Like A Local series. He was a Mexican drug lord who was head of the Sinaloa cartel. The idea of teaming with HBO felt like the perfect fit for finally bringing Griseldas story to life.. But while Henao focused on being Escobars wife and the mother of their son and daughter, her husband entertained several extramarital affairs, including a relationship with the Colombian journalist Virginia Vallejo. This notorious drug lord became a household name, but he started off as just a petty criminal. Pablo Escobars Net Worth The Drug Lord Could Have Been The Richest Man Alive. The lesser privileged people were portrayed as Robin Hood by El Chapo and Pablo Escobar. He was known for buying lavish gifts, literally burning money to keep his daughter warm, and bragging about his deep pockets to everyone he knew. Pablo Escobar is estimated to have had a net worth of $30 billion at the peak of his career. Although it is still a powerful organization, it and other large drug-trafficking groups may be on the verge of extinction. He spent more than a year under heavy guard and in near total isolation before his trial began in November 2018. The German watch is known for its precision engineering and uncompromising precision. To put that in perspective, Escobar was getting paid off 365 days of the year on weight as substantialas two African elephants and controlled 80 percent of the global cocaine trade. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. He was forced to return to life as a fugitive after Escobars death in 1993. After Escobars death, according to NPR, authorities thought that the hippos would simply die as well. His wife decried his treatment in jail. And in 1989, he allegedly plotted to plant a bomb on Avianca Flight 203 (wrongly believing that future Colombian president Csar Augusto Gaviria Trujillo was on board), killing over 100 people on the plane and even a few people on the ground. He imported three female hippos and one male hippo decades ago. The Medelln cartel dominated the cocaine trade for many years, earning $420 million per week and making its leader one of the worlds richest people. In 1987, we included Colombian cocaine tycoons Pablo Escobar Gaviria and the Ochoa brothers--Jorge Luis Ochoa Vasquez and his brothers Fabio and Juan David--on our first World's Billionaires List . Pablo Escobar was one of the richest people in the world during his time: Escobar's net worth was estimated to be around $30 billion at . He built a massive drug empire, and at one point was responsible for 80% of the worlds cocaine. El Chapo's net worth is $3 billion US Dollars. Officially, a special Colombian task force organized to find Pablo Escobar, known as Search Bloc, killed the drug kingpin. Colombian authorities attempted to shut down the empire of Escobar, whose empire had drawn the governments attention. Uncovering The Different Monikers Of These Adorable Hatchlings, Can Mama Birds Move Their Chicks To Different Nests? Do Clothes Even Matter at Fashion Week Anymore? Escobar's Medellin cartel and Guzman's Sinaloa cartel dealt in different products, faced different competition, and supplied different markets, but looking at them side by side gives an idea of their power and their reach. In recent years, Escobar's top hitman has been released from jail and become something of a right-wing political activist in Colombia. El Chapo is a Mexican former drug lord and a former leader within the Sinaloa Cartel. There are talks that 60 hippos might be shipped to India's Gujarat. Aleman has long criticized the US strategy of using force to combat drug trafficking, and has advocated alternative approaches, such as social programs that would help addiction-curbing addicts get help rather than jail. To view this external content, please click here. For one, Escobar was far more violent than El Chapo. After Pablo Escobar was killed, his wife, son, and daughter fled Colombia. By the end of that decade, he was supplying 80% of the world's cocaine and smuggling 15 tons of it into the US every day. Competition was fierce between the Medellin cartel of Escobar and the Sinaloa cartel of Guzman, who dealt in a wide range of products. However, U.S. officials weren't so convinced. #5 (tie): Khun Sa Net Worth: $5 billion. El Chapo is said to have been inspired by Escobars success, and even used some of his methods to build his own drug empire. Pablo Escobars escape from La Catedral triggered a massive manhunt. To prevent his cars from being seized and forfeited, Barnes set up phony leasing companies to make it appear that the cars he drove were not owned by him, but merely rented. My goal with KnowMoreStuff is to provide readers with accurate, timely, and interesting information that can help them make more informed decisions. My life was the life of a criminal, Juan Pablo later recalled. Back in Mexico, the Sinaloa cartel weathered turmoil in the months after Guzman's arrest. Today, that number would be more than doubled. El Chapo, on the other hand, has been active since the 1980s. We put it out there at four in the afternoon, when the cops changed shifts. Predating Pablo Escobar's rise to prominence in Colombia, Blanco was known as "The Godmother of Cocaine" while the would-be "Patron" was still stealing cars in Medellin. Ti Ph Printing l n v hng u v dch v cung cp my in vn phng, mc my in. Their operations overlapped for only four years, with Escobar being fatally shot in 1993, while the Sinaloa Cartel was founded in 1989. Some of these people include Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg. In any case, the two groups worked tirelessly to track down the drug lord and kill him. . In conclusion, it is clear that El Chapo is the bigger drug lord than Pablo Escobar. From an early age, Blanco was forced into a life where the streets beckoned and a person had to do whatever it took to survive. In the mid-1980s, Escobar's cartel brought in an estimated $420 million a week, which totals almost $22 billion a year. This deal was brokered through a friend of Barnes, Matty Madonna, with whom he had spent time with inside of Green Haven State Prison for drug charges. Unlike other traffickers of the era who relied on Mexico and South America as the major means for production and import, Lucas looked at the turbulent events occurring in Vietnam at the time as an opportunity.