As we move into Day 9 of our Black Friday “This Day in History” series, today gives us yet another overcrowded calendar of cultural icons and major moments.
On 2 December, the world saw:
- the MTV debut of the Thriller music video,
- the birthdays of Britney Spears,
- legendary opera singer Maria Callas,
- pioneering fashion designer Gianni Versace,
- and pointillist master Georges Seurat.
All worthy subjects — and in any other year, we might have chosen one of them. But given that one of our biggest-selling brands is Pablo, it only feels right that today we take a detour into history and talk about the day the real-life Pablo met his end.
Because 2 December 1993 is the day cartel kingpin Pablo Escobar was finally tracked down and killed by Colombian law enforcement — ending one of the most violent criminal reigns in modern history.
💀 Pablo Escobar — The RIse and the Chaos
Born in 1949 in Rionegro, Colombia, Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria rose from petty street crime to become the most powerful drug trafficker on the planet.
By the late 1980s, Escobar controlled a staggering portion of global cocaine trade, with his Medellín Cartel earning billions (he was reportedly spending more than $5000/month just on the elastic bands to wrap the cash and once, when his daughter was cold when they were hiding from authorities, burned more than $2 million in cash in a fire to keep her warm)
He was named the 7th-richest man in the world by Forbes and he effectively held political, social, and military power far beyond any normal criminal organisation
He built mansions, zoos, private armies, and entire neighbourhoods, positioned himself as a Robin Hood figure to many Colombians and systematically corrupted or intimidated anyone in his path.
But all of this came at an unimaginable cost, with his cartel’s war against the Colombian state resulted in bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, thousands of deaths, and destabilisation across the entire country.
The 4 Hippos he brought in for his zoo escaped after his death and there's now an aggressive native population of over 170 hippos in Columbia which are environmentally destructive, dangerous to humans, nigh on indestructible and now known as the "Cocaine Hippos"
Escobar was not just a criminal, he was a geopolitical force.
🔫 The Manhunt That Spanned a Decade
By the early 1990s, Escobar was the most wanted man in the world but still took the time out to visit Washington DC with his son and get the classic tourist photo in front of the White House. Little did the Secret Service agents positioned close by realise what fugitive was hanging around, if they had, it would have saved the world a lot of trouble and the USA a lot of money.
The Colombian government, with U.S. support, launched one of the largest and most complex manhunts in modern history. It involved:
- intelligence operations
- communications intercepts
- counter-cartel warfare
- elite police task forces
- and the infamous vigilante group Los Pepes, whose violent reprisals further destabilised Escobar’s network
In 1992, Escobar escaped from his own specially negotiated “prison” — the infamous La Catedral — sparking a renewed international effort to bring him down.
📡 2 December 1993 — The End of the Kingpin
On 2 December 1993, the hunt ended.
After months of tracking Escobar’s radio calls, search teams pinpointed a call he made to his son — a mistake that revealed his location. Colombian police closed in on a middle-class neighbourhood in Medellín where he was hiding.
Escobar attempted to flee across the rooftops but a shootout followed.
He was killed shortly afterwards, either by police gunfire or, as some speculate, by his own hand to avoid capture.
Photos of Escobar’s body circulated worldwide, marking the symbolic end of the Medellín Cartel’s dominance.
Colombia would continue to struggle with cartel violence for years, but 2 December 1993 remains a watershed moment in the country’s modern history.
💬 Why Talk About Escobar Today?
Because Snus Vikings stocks Pablo, one of the strongest and best-selling nicotine pouch brands in the world — and while the brand’s name is clearly chosen for impact and toughness, it’s worth remembering that the real Pablo Escobar’s story is not one of glamour but of violence, corruption, and devastating social consequences.
Today is a chance to set the record straight, reflect on the history, and acknowledge the reality behind one of the world’s most infamous names.
(And yes — our Pablo Ice Cold continues to outsell nearly everything, but the only thing dangerous about our Pablos is their strength level.)
What Do You Remember About the Escobar Era?
Escobar remains a major figure in documentaries, books, films, and streaming series.
So tell us:
👉 Did you first learn about Escobar from the news, from documentaries, or from shows like Narcos?
👉 And do you think modern portrayals glamorise him too much — or get the story right?
Black Friday continues tomorrow — and so does our journey through history.