Notorious Drug Lord Pablo Escobar's Estate Was Turned Into a Bizarre Theme Park

Colombia's attempt to transform its image into a family friendly destination has led to the renovation of a cocaine kingpin's home.

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On Dec. 2, 1993, notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar perished in a firefight with Colombian authorities. Though only 44 at the time of his death, he managed to construct one of the most powerful and deadly drug operations on earth, an organization that raked in some $60 million per day at its height.

In 1978, Escobar purchased an expanse of land outside the city of Medellín (complete with wild animals) and built his estate, dubbed Hacienda Nápoles. After his death, locals raided the joint, looking for cash and drugs. Eventually the place fell into ruin.

Hacienda Nápoles has since been transformed into a theme park for Colombian locals and tourists. Escobar’s primary mansion (still in the state the looters left it decades ago) has been converted into Museo Memorial, an anti-crime museum that pays homage, somewhat ironically, to those who tried to shut down Escobar’s operation. The museum contains tributes to policemen, politicians, and journalists who died trying to stop country’s drug wars.

Elsewhere on the estate’s vast grounds is a Jurassic Park-like enclosure. Here, park-goers can catch glimpses of tigers, lions, alligators, monkeys, and the park’s hippopotamus Vanesa.

The grounds also contain an African Museum. The building once functioned as an extravagant amphitheater for the drug lord, but now houses African masks and portraits of notable Africans, like Nelson Mandela and Charlize Theron.

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[via Vice]

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