Colombia: Pablo Escobar Grave A Tourist Attraction

Later this month sees the release of Paradise Lost, a film starring Benicio del Toro about a young surfer who meets the woman of his dreams - only to discover her uncle is Colombian drugs baron Pablo Escobar. Now tourists can see the backdrop of where he played out his crimes as enterprising local companies have started to offer city tours which take in the places associated with Escobar and his fellow cartel members. At the height of his power in 1989, Escobar was ranked the 7th richest man in the world by Forbes magazine. One stop on the tour is the Monaco Building, which was bombed by the rival Cali cartel in order to try and kill Escobar and his immediate family. Escobar's business had allowed him to be lavish in his spending in the city - he owned luxurious homes, expensive cars and private jets. He was shot dead in December 1993 as he tried to escape Colombian Special Forces. The house where he was shot and killed also features on the tour. Because of the city's mild year round climate it is called 'the city of eternal Spring' in Colombia. Now, because the city has been so successful at dealing with crime and poverty in recent years, tourism has grown significantly over the last decade. The Escobar tours that are now on offer in Medellín show that the city has made use of the notoriety given to it by Escobar and is not afraid to confront its past. While an enemy of the U.S. and Colombian governments, he was a hero to many in Medellín where he was seen as a Robin Hood character who distributed money to the poor. Some claim U.S. military snipers took part in the final hunt for Escobar, mounted after he escaped in 1992 from a private prison in Colombia. Escobar's grave, which has become a shrine to some, is the third tour stop. Tourists have been returning in increasing numbers in Colombia since the government defeated the drugs cartels like Escobar's and called a ceasefire with FARC (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), the left-wing guerrillas who had control over much of the country until the start of the millennium. However, the government is now in the final stages of peace negotiations with them and Colombia has become one of South America's safest and more prosperous countries.