Former Drug Lord Pablo Escobar's Ranch Now a Colombian Theme Park

In a land that has served as the setting for the surrealistic novels of Gabriel García Márquez, it doesn't get much weirder in Colombia today than the Hacienda Napoles. What was once the weekend hangout of the world's most notorious outlaw has become a strange, fledgling tourist attraction in central Colombia.

A private company now manages Hacienda Napoles and in December opened it as a rustic theme park.

''It was a symbol of Escobar's limitless wealth and power -- of the opulence that his position as capo de capos entitled him to enjoy and display ostentatiously,'' said University of Miami professor Bruce Bagley. ``Exotic animals, lavish parties, beautiful women, and politicians in his pocket were all part of the trappings of drug riches. They gave him a special aura of uniqueness and invincibility. The current state of dilapidation is a symbol of his final ignominious fall.''

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/587889.html

By miamimike on Jun 30, 2008, 06:31 in Friendly Talkzone.

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Mononoke28 says on Jun 30, 2008, 12:39: Speaking of theme parks, does anyone know whatever happened to the one they were planning to build near Buga? Diana 0 funny, 0 helpful.

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