What was Colombia like before Pablo Escobar burst onto the scene? Find out in the introduction to this documentary in which key figures from the era reveal details about one of the country's darkest historical chapters.

Renowned journalists and even one of the nation's ex-Presidents weigh in on what the atmosphere was like in Colombia during the times in which the cartels began to acquire massive power.

Experts on Los Tiempos de Pablo Escobar [The Times of Pablo Escobar] tell about the formation of the infamous "Muerte a Secuestradores" [Death to Kidnappers], or MAS, a Colombian paramilitary group formed in the eighties with the goal of combatting kidnapping as well as furthering the interests of their supporters: Colombian drug cartels, politicians, U.S. corporations, and wealthy landowners.

Let's continue to examine the context in which Pablo Escobar began to rise to unparalleled power and the way in which Colombian society initially condoned this provincial man who was beginning to amass a drug trafficking fortune.

As Pablo Escobar's popularity continues to soar to the point of being worshipped like a God in Colombia, he continues to publicly deny his drug trafficking ties.

By acting like a kind of Robin Hood who helped the poor in his city, Pablo Escobar had a great deal of social and political impact on Colombian society.

Politics seduced many power-hungry drug traffickers in Colombia, and Pablo Escobar and Carlos Lehder were just two of the criminals who successfully burst onto the political scene.

As Escobar makes public in the Congress of the Republic his opposition to the United States-Colombia Extradition Treaty, journalists like Guillermo Cano and public figures such as the Minister of Justice, Rodrigo Lara Bonilla, begin to become more vocal about their opposition to him.

Minister of Justice Rodrigo Lara's accusations against Pablo Escobar radically change the history of the Medellin Cartel, and when Lara is murdered, there is no doubt who is behind it. When Escobar is removed from Congress, a battle ensues between him and Colombia's political elites.

Following the murder of Minister of Justice Lara, journalist Guillermo Cano also gets assassinated after publishing revelations about Pablo Escobar in the newspaper El Espectador. Cano's son and other journalists provide insight into the events of the era.

The son of journalist Guillermo Cano, who was murdered by Pablo Escobar, recalls the terrible moment he learned of his father's death. In the wake of this and similar events, the Colombian government made the decision to reinstate extradition in attempts to combat the narco-traffickers.

Pablo Escobar successfully recruited tens of thousands of young people as the workforce behind his cocaine exporting empire, fostering violence in the city of Medellin.

Contemporaries of Pablo Escobar continue to share their stories about the manner in which, during that period, Colombia was transforming into a "narco-democracy." Any reporter who said the wrong thing on the radio or TV was at risk of getting murdered by the Medellin Cartel, which continued to wage war against the Colombian state.

Pablo Escobar's reign of terror continues, reaching new heights with the assassination of presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán. His successor, César Gaviria Trujillo, gives us further insight into the events of the time.

In response to the havoc wreaked by Pablo Escobar's war against the political establishment and many others, a parallel political and military establishment begins to clandestinely emerge.

With each atrocity committed by Pablo Escobar and the Medellín Cartel, including the bombing of the newspaper El Espectador and the assassinations of several political candidates, Colombia felt that it had hit rock bottom. But was the worst yet to come?

At the end of the eighties, the citizens of Medellín lived in the midst of terrorism. Murders, attacks, and kidnappings were the order of the day. Many people were asking for a dialogue with Pablo Escobar and for a peace process to begin.

Although rumor had it that Pablo Escobar might turn himself in to the authorities, a legal loophole stood in the way of justice being served.

Find out what lead Pablo Escobar and his cartel to cease their criminal activities and finally turn themselves in to the authorities.

The law established by the National Constituent Assembly that prohibits extradition causes Pablo Escobar to surrender to the authorities at last. However, Escobar's life continues in jail with previously unheard-of privileges and partying,

Pablo Escobar continues his reign of terror from within the walls of La Cathedral prison, where several bodies were later found buried on prison grounds with signs of having been tortured.

During his stay in prison, Pablo Escobar manages to commit many crimes including trying and even killing his own people. He later manages to escape the prison without anyone noticing until the next morning.

When Pablo Escobar manages to escape from prison against all odds, questions began to arise about how he managed to circumvent security and who could possibly have abetted his escape.

Colombian President César Gaviria and the newly created attorney general's office help to sever the seemingly unbreakable bonds of loyalty between Pablo Escobar and certain members of the Medellin Cartel, causing them to turn themselves in.

Former Pablo Escobar associates rat on him, only to join Los Pepes, the Spanish acronym for "Perseguidos por Pablo Escobar" [Persecuted by Pablo Escobar], a paramilitary group joined by the DEA, the CIA, industrialists from Antioquia, and the Colombian government with the sole purpose of collaborating to capture Escobar.

Despite the role that "Los Pepes" played in Pablo Escobar's downfall, the Colombian authorities managed to develop a sophisticated intelligence plan that culminated in the death of Colombia's most wanted criminal.

Members of Search Bloc manage to locate and kill Pablo Escobar when, out of desperation, he uses a transparent system of communication to contact his family.

Will Pablo Escobar's death put an end to drug trafficking and/or violence in Colombia? In the wake of this event, this is a very controversial topic as many people celebrate his downfall and others mourn him.

With the death of Pablo Escobar, Colombian society hopes for long-awaited peace and an end to drug trafficking. However, paramilitary groups derived from the different cartels continue to exert an enormous influence and even manage to buy their way to the Colombian presidency.

This series conclusion shows us how, in the wake of Pablo Escobar's death, narcotrafficking continued, reinventing itself via a multitude of phenomena such as paramilitarism.