Escobar memorabilia ban considered in Colombia

Colombia’s Congress is considering to ban the sale of merchandise that celebrates the infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar. The notorious cartel leader was killed in 1993 and has since achieved almost cult-like status both within and outside of the country. He has been immortalised in books, music, and TV shows including the Netflix show Narcos.

Within Colombia, his name and face can be found on mugs, keyrings, and t-shirts, including in tourist hotspots and shops that cater to foreign visitors. But this proposed law may put an end to that.

The bill would ban Escobar merchandise, as well as that of other convicted criminals. The hope is to put and to the glorification of Escobar who was crucial in the international cocaine trade and believed to be responsible for as many as 4,000 killings.

“Difficult issues that are part of the history and memory of our country cannot simply be remembered by a T-shirt, or a sticker sold on a street corner,” congress member and co-author of the bill Juan Sebastián Gómez, said.

The law would ban the sale of and use or carrying of clothing and items that promote criminals, not just Escobar. It would levy fines for those who contravene it as well as a temporary suspension of a business.

But not everyone is on board with it. Vendors who sell such items claim that it would affect their livelihoods.

“This is terrible. We have a right to work, and these Pablo T-shirts especially always sell well,” according to Joana Montoya, the owner of a stall stocked with Escobar merchandise in a popular tourist area within Medellín.

Medellín, the drug boss’ hometown was once the most dangerous city in the world, as a result of the violence and armed conflict associated with the drug lord in the 1980s and 1990s. It has since become a hub of innovation and tourism and local vendors are keen to take advantage of this boom, even if that means selling controversial merchandise.

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