It was June of 1971, when President Richard Nixon declared the war on drugs...

...he said drugs were 'public enemy number one!'

So, President Nixon 

created the Drug 

Enforcement 

Administration,

also known as

the DEA, in

1973. They would

help with the 

growing drug problem

in the United States.

The DEA helped stop drug smugglers and the people who used drugs.

Despite the efforts of President Nixon and the DEA, someone over in Colombia began to rise to power. His name was Pablo Escobar, and soon he would earn the nicknames of 'El Padrino' and 'The King of Cocaine.'

In 1981 he founded and became the leader of a group known as The Medellín Cartel.

The group worked together to harvest flowers...

...and turned it into a substance known as cocaine!

The cartel was really good at selling cocaine. They made about 420 million dollars a week! Pablo Escobar earned so much money that he became one of the world's most richest men. Escobar even owned a zoo with over 200 animals!