Pablo Escobar was one of the world’s most ruthless drug lords. Known as the “King of Cocaine,” he was the leader of the Colombian Medellín Cartel, which reigned over the U.S. cocaine trade during the 1980s and early ‘90s. But it might surprise you to know that this infamous criminal was also a family man with a wife and two children. Here’s the inside scoop on Pablo Escobar’s daughter, Manuela Escobar, as well as his wife and son.
Pablo Escobar’s Daughter Is Manuela Escobar
Manuela Escobar (whose full name is Juana Manuela Marroquín Santos) was born on May 25th, 1984, in Colombia. Her childhood was anything but easy. She was just nine years old when her father was killed in a shootout with Colombian police. Following his death, the entire Escobar family was in danger of rival cartels, so they were forced to flee their home in Colombia.
After two years on the run, Manuela and her family finally settled in Argentina, where they lived under assumed names. Thanks to her new identity, Manuela lived a relatively normal teenage life. But her life was flipped upside down again in 1999 when her mother and brother were arrested for money laundering. The charges were connected to drug trafficking activity carried out by Pablo Escobar when he was alive. Manuela’s mother and brother were ultimately acquitted due to a lack of evidence, but their identities were exposed as a result. Manuela refused to return to school and had her mom homeschool her for the rest of her high school years.
Manuela Escobar’s Mother Is Victoria Eugenia Henao
Manuela’s mother, Victoria Eugenia Henao, also had a troubled life due to her association with Pablo Escobar. She was just 15 years old when she wed the dangerous kingpin. She spent most of her marriage kept in the dark about her husband’s criminal life. “From the very start, he set out — and managed — to lead a sort of double life there: one with his family and another with his buddies and his mistresses of the moment,” Henao wrote in her memoir, Mrs. Escobar: My Life with Pablo (as excerpted by Primer). “Of course, in addition he also had his business, which he always kept away from me.”
Henao says her life got worse once Pablo became a wanted man. She was forced to walk away from the person she loved. “I knew that his egregious behavior over the past few years had unleashed an unfathomable madness, but I was still enormously pained that I had to leave my children’s father in order to save them,” she wrote in her book. “I understood there was no other option. It was here: the moment of separation, of our final goodbye. My tears weren’t enough.”
Manuela Has One Sibling Named Sebastián Marroquín
Born in 1977, Sebastián Marroquín is Manuela’s older brother. Unlike his sister, Marroquín has been open with the public about what it’s like to be Pablo Escobar’s son. In addition to writing the book Pablo Escobar: My Father, he participated in the 2009 documentary Sins of My Father, in which he said: “I have to say to you that society has persecuted and punished us as if we were Pablo Escobar. [This] film allows a minute’s silence to hear our voices and to say ‘this is our story, this is how we live, please understand that to be someone’s son doesn’t mean they are also an accomplice.'”
“The documentary is a way for us to send this message to society that they separate us as individuals and not as cartel members,” he continued. “We are members of the boss’ family, but we aren’t the cartel.”
Marroquín also said he’s been able to live a fairly normal adult life, especially once the documentary was released. “My life is like that of any other architect living in Argentina,” he said in an interview with Freedom From Fear Magazine. “I have to work for a living. The only thing that has changed is that now I receive much more affection from people, and countries that in the past didn’t welcome us are now generous because they believe in this message of peace.”
Unfortunately, it appears as if that peace did not last. In 2018, Marroquín and his mother were once again arrested for money laundering. It’s currently unclear if these charges are still pending.
Pablo Escobar Once Burned $2 Million In Cash To Keep Manuela Warm
Manuela was very much a daddy’s girl while her father was alive, and Pablo spared no expense when it came to making his daughter happy. According to reports, the kingpin once went so far as to burn $2 million in cash to keep Manuela warm when the family was hiding in the Medellín mountainside.
Today, very little is known about Manuela’s life and whereabouts. Unlike her mother and brother, the 36-year-old has chosen to stay out of the spotlight and now lives under a new assumed name.