The Medellín Cartel was a well-organized but very loose network of drug smugglers originating in the city of Medellín in Colombia and operating through the 1970s and 1980s. It was built and run by Pablo Escobar. At its height, it was bringing in as much as $60 million per month and was estimated by some to be worth as much as $28 billion in total. Other noted figures involved in, or connected with the cartel include the Ochoa family and Carlos Lehder. It existed in permanent conflict with the Cali Cartel andfrom, the early 80s onward, the Colombian government.

The cartel lost much of its consolidated power and influence after the death or capture of many of its leading figures, which led to its disappearance as an unified entity, but several of its surviving associates and former members are still active in the international drug scene.

See also

Drug cartel