Inside Pablo Escobar’s home city where drugs are readily available to a traffic jam of cars

Published

2 months ago

October 3, 2025

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“Listen man, we’re a narco state, it’s just how it is, if you want to see drug deals, I’ll show you drug deals – it’s Colombia.”

I’d only asked one of our Colombian producers in passing if it was possible to see drugs being traded on the streets of Medellin. I didn’t realise it was that simple.

Medellin is synonymous with drugs and cartels. The home of perhaps the most famous of all the drug lords, Pablo Escobar, it seems to revel in its notoriety.

There are pictures of Escobar everywhere, on posters, on caps, and on t-shirts. There are even guided tours to his grave, and a museum in his honour.

This is where the big business drug cartels were born, invented by Escobar himself, the original Latin American “Godfather”.

In an infamous district in Medellin, we were instantly confronted with the sounds of dealers on the streets shouting out their products for sale as we drove through.

“Cocaine! Pills! Ecstasy! Tusi!” they shouted. All available to a traffic jam of cars waiting to buy.

Motorcycle delivery drivers queued to make the pick-up for their clients waiting in high-end apartments and nightclubs elsewhere in the city, while buyers on foot discreetly scored their drugs, before moving on.

‘Narco’ culture

It was chaotic and noisy, a place where lookouts use whistles to send signals to the dealers.

Two toots mean it’s all clear, a single toot is a warning – it means the police are nearby.

In the middle of this big open-air market for drugs, dimly lit restaurants and cafes served dinner. We passed one café where we saw a family sat at a table outside, celebrating a woman’s 70th birthday.

This neighbourhood runs a 24-hour drug selling market alongside the usual shops and cafes that spill over on to the pavement.

Although Colombia has a long history and fascination with “narco” culture and drug-taking, its immediate problem is that President Donald Trump has launched a war on Latin American drug cartels, manufacturers, and the nations the drugs come from – and through.

Venezuela is at the top of his hit list; he has launched strikes on boats off the Venezuelan coast that he says were carrying drugs. He has boosted American military presence in the Caribbean – sending ships, marines, helicopters, drones and jets into the region.

There is speculation he may be looking for regime change in Venezuela, and that the war on drugs is a front to remove President Nicolas Maduro from power, claiming the Venezuelan government is basically a drug cartel. Something they of course deny.

None of this bodes well for Venezuela’s neighbour Colombia, indeed President Trump has made it clear Colombia is high on his list of troublesome nations.

There are other countries on his list, like Mexico, that he says has demonstrated willingness to clean up their act and take the war to Mexico’s deadly cartels.

Mr Trump’s gripe with Colombia isn’t necessarily that its society has a relaxed attitude to drug use – it is widespread across all classes – no, his problem is that Colombia is one of the biggest producers of cocaine in the world, and it feeds the biggest market, which is the United States of America.

Hidden away, miles from people

It seems that the president’s view is that the supplier is the problem, not necessarily the user.

Cocaine is extracted from the coca leaf, which is grown in abundance in Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia.

Growing the coca plant in these countries is not illegal, and the leaf itself is often used for other purposes. The plant only becomes illegal when it’s used for cocaine production.

I wanted to meet the farmers who grow coca to find out if they are the masterminds of a multi-billion-pound international drugs business, or just farmers meeting international demand.

My journey began just after dawn in pouring rain on the Amazon River in Colombia.

Perhaps unsurprisingly the plantations are hidden away in remote areas, miles away from people.

We travelled for hours in the rain, on a small boat with a guide, passing indigenous communities who have nothing to do with the business hiding in their forest.

The river narrowed as we got closer to our destination, and five hours later, after navigating through broken tree trunks and low hanging branches, we arrived at an eight hectare coca plantation hacked into the rainforest bordering Colombia and Peru.

The crop, which is two-and-a-half years old, is hidden by the trees and the river.

They are about to start harvesting it, but it’s incredible just how many leaves they need.

The farmer says that for every 70 grams of cocaine produced, the cartel producers need 30 kilograms of leaves.

Only way to provide for his family

That’s a lot of picking – and the farmer will earn just $7 for those 30 kilograms of leaves.

The cocaine business might be incredibly lucrative for the cartels that control it, but at the very bottom the farmers hardly get paid a thing.

And though he is worried about getting caught, the farmer I meet sees it as the only way to provide for his family.

“For me it’s very valuable, it’s my sustenance, the way for sustaining life,” he told me.

“We are aware that illegal processing isn’t good for anybody, not exactly, you can’t say I am doing this, and this is good for people, no, this harms the entire community, everyone,” he explained when I asked him if he was at all conflicted about his crop.

“But we all make sacrifices, and we struggle to make our way in life.”

It’s hard to believe that the global business of manufacturing and shipping cocaine around the world all starts with these fairly innocuous looking coca leaves.

And whatever Donald Trump says, they will keep producing as long as users in America, Europe, and indeed the world, demand it.

US

‘Never-before-seen’ images of Jeffrey Epstein’s island released – showing ‘disturbing look into his world’

Published

13 mins ago

December 3, 2025

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'Never-before-seen' images of Jeffrey Epstein's island released - showing 'disturbing look into his world'

Images and video of Jeffrey Epstein’s private Caribbean island have been released by politicians in the US.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said on X that they were “a harrowing look behind Epstein’s closed doors”.

“We are releasing these photos and videos to ensure public transparency in our investigation and to help piece together the full picture of Epstein’s horrific crimes,” said representative Robert Garcia.

“We won’t stop fighting until we deliver justice for the survivors.”

The images show empty courtyards, bedrooms and other rooms from his villa.

Mr Garcia said: “It’s time for President Trump to release all the files, now.”

President Trump recently approved their release after US Congress voted overwhelmingly in favour.

The US Department of Justice now has until mid-December to release thousands of files linked to civil and criminal cases involving Epstein.

It could shed more light on the paedophile financier, who socialised with figures including Donald Trump, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Peter Mandelson.

Their connections have already been revealed in more than 20,000 other files disclosed last month.

But much more is set to follow as the Epstein Files Transparency Act demands release of all files relating to Epstein, including investigations, prosecutions and custodial matters, as well as records connected to Ghislaine Maxwell.

Politicians have said the files’ release is critical to uncovering whether powerful figures have received special treatment or protection.

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US

Why Putin won’t agree to latest Ukraine peace plan

Published

9 hours ago

December 3, 2025

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Why Putin won't agree to latest Ukraine peace plan

The Americans were given the full VIP treatment on their visit to Moscow.

There was a motorcade from the airport, lunch at a Michelin-starred restaurant, and even a stroll around Red Square.

It felt like Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were on more of a tourist trail than the path to peace.

They finally got down to business in the Kremlin more than six hours after arriving in Russia. And by that point, it was already clear that the one thing they had come to Moscow for wasn’t on offer: Russia’s agreement to their latest peace plan.

According to Vladimir Putin, it’s all Europe’s fault. While his guests were having lunch, he was busy accusing Ukraine’s allies of blocking the peace process by imposing demands that are unacceptable to Russia.

The Europeans, of course, would say it’s the other way round.

But where there was hostility to Europe, only hospitality to the Americans – part of Russia’s strategy to distance the US from its NATO allies, and bring them back to Moscow’s side.

Putin thinks he’s winning…

Russia wants to return to the 28-point plan that caved in to its demands. And it believes it has the right to because of what’s happening on the battlefield.

It’s no coincidence that on the eve of the US delegation’s visit to Moscow, Russia announced the apparent capture of Pokrovsk, a key strategic target in the Donetsk region.

It was a message designed to assert Russian dominance, and by extension, reinforce its demands rather than dilute them.

…and believes US-Russian interests are aligned

The other reason I think Vladimir Putin doesn’t feel the need to compromise is because he believes Moscow and Washington want the same thing: closer US-Russia relations, which can only come after the war is over.

It’s easy to see why. Time and again in this process, the US has defaulted to a position that favours Moscow. The way these negotiations are being conducted is merely the latest example.

With Kyiv, the Americans force the Ukrainians to come to them – first in Geneva, then Florida.

As for Moscow, it’s the other way around. Witkoff is happy to make the long overnight journey, and then endure the long wait ahead of any audience with Putin.

It all gives the impression that when it comes to Russia, the US prefers to placate rather than pressure.

According to the Kremlin, both Russia and the US have agreed not to disclose the details of yesterday’s talks in Moscow.

I doubt Volodymyr Zelenskyy is filled with hope.

US

Hegseth cites ‘fog of war’ in defence of second US strike on alleged drug boat

Published

9 hours ago

December 3, 2025

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Hegseth cites 'fog of war' in defence of second US strike on alleged drug boat

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has cited the “fog of war” in defence of a follow-up strike earlier this year on a boat alleged to be carrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea.

His comments came on the day the Pope urged Donald Trump not to try to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro using military force.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday alongside Mr Trump, Mr Hegseth said the US had paused strikes because it was hard to find drug boats.

But strikes against drug traffickers would continue, he said.

During the cabinet meeting at the White House, Mr Hegseth said that he did not see that there were survivors in the water when the second strike was ordered and launched in early September, saying that “the thing was on fire”.

Mr Hegseth also said he “didn’t stick around” for the rest of the mission following the first strike, adding that the admiral in charge had “made the right call” in ordering it, which he “had complete authority to do”.

The Washington Post first reported that Mr Hegseth issued a verbal order for the second strike that killed survivors on the boat.

On Monday, the White House said that Navy vice admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley acted “within his authority and the law” when he ordered the second strike.

Asked if he supported the second strike on a boat in the Caribbean Sea in September, President Trump said he “didn’t know anything” and “still haven’t gotten a lot of information because I rely on Pete”, referencing Mr Hegseth.

On Tuesday, Pope Leo, the first American pontiff, said it would be better to attempt dialogue or impose economic pressure on Venezuela if Washington wanted to pursue change there.

The Trump administration has been weighing options to combat what it has portrayed as Mr Maduro’s role in supplying illegal drugs that have killed Americans.

The socialist Venezuelan president has denied having any links to the illegal drug trade.

Asked during a news conference about President Trump’s threats to remove Mr Maduro by force, the Pope said: “It is better to search for ways of dialogue, or perhaps pressure, including economic pressure.”

He added that Washington should search for other ways to achieve change “if that is what they want to do in the United States”.

The Pope was speaking as he flew home from visiting Turkey and Lebanon – his first overseas trip in the role.

Mr Maduro has said Venezuelans are ready to defend their country as the US considers a land attack.

The president held a rally in Caracas amid heightened tensions with Mr Trump’s administration, which has been targeting what it says are boats carrying drug smugglers.

Mr Trump met his national security team on Monday evening, having warned last week that land strikes would start “very soon”.

It has not been confirmed what was discussed at the meeting. But White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: “There’s many options at the president’s disposal that are on the table – and I’ll let him speak on those.”

US forces have carried out at least 21 strikes on boats it claims were carrying narcotics to its shores over the last few months.

Mr Maduro – considered a dictator by many in the West – said on Monday that Venezuelans were ready “to defend [the country] and lead it to the path of peace”.

“We have lived through 22 weeks of aggression that can only be described as psychological terrorism,” he said.

Venezuela has said the boat attacks, which have killed more than 80 people, amount to murder – and that Mr Trump’s true motivation is to oust Mr Maduro and access its oil.