Most Powerful

• #1 Pablo Escobar
  ColombiaMedellínUnited States CriminalCriminal Enterprise Cold War and Globalization Illicit Networks Power: 62
  Pablo Escobar (1949–1993) was a Colombian drug trafficker who became the central figure of the Medellín Cartel and the most globally recognized narcotics kingpin of the late twentieth century. He rose during the explosive growth of the cocaine trade and built an organization that joined laboratories, transport routes, assassination teams, corruption networks, and international distribution into a single criminal empire. Escobar’s significance lies not only in the vast wealth he accumulated, but in the way he fused commerce and terror. He bribed officials where possible and murdered them where necessary, turning violence into a bargaining tool against the Colombian state, especially over extradition. His career stands as one of the clearest examples of criminal wealth becoming quasi-political force. It also stands as a record of extraordinary destruction inflicted for private gain.
• #2 Jhon Jairo Velásquez
  BogotáColombiaMedellín CriminalCriminal Enterprise Cold War and Globalization Illicit Networks Power: 52
  Jhon Jairo Velásquez (1962–2020), widely known as Popeye, was a Colombian cartel hitman who became one of the best-known enforcers associated with Pablo Escobar and the Medellín Cartel. He was not important because he controlled the cartel’s finances in his own right, but because he occupied a crucial intermediate position inside a system where violence, secrecy, and personal loyalty held the enterprise together. After surrendering to Colombian authorities in 1992, he spent more than two decades in prison and later reemerged as a public commentator, turning memories of cartel terror into books, interviews, and online notoriety. His life demonstrates how criminal organizations depend not only on bosses and smugglers, but also on trusted agents who translate command into fear.