The glorification of narcos culture continues to grow throughout the nation and has even penetrated through the “bubble” that surrounds Peachtree City. Much of this is due to the show “Narcos” on Netflix that is steadily gaining a grand amount of popularity.

I love bright, tropical and Latin American cinema, so it comes as no surprise to me that that this show is one of my favorites. However, as a Latinx myself, the kind of picture it paints on Colombia and Latin America as a whole to the outside world bothers me.

The stereotype of my continent, especially the countries of Colombia and Mexico, being only drug and crime infested nations is still in the mind of many foreigners due to their depiction in modern day media.

In “Narcos,” the audience follows the hunt for the notorious Pablo Escobar (Wagner Moura), one of the most renowned and violent cocaine traffickers of all time.

This show portrays Escobar in an almost sympathetic light at times, making him seem like he is a family man that was just trying to make some money to reach his dreams. He is also known to have donated to many low income neighborhoods in Colombia and funded a few soccer teams.

Nonetheless, that should not be seen as a positive act at all, considering the fact that he gained this money in a tremendously evil way. People don’t realize just how nefarious his actions were. Colombians and Latinos in general would want to make sure that the national turmoil that this drug dealer caused is evident.

Escobar is responsible for exporting 15 tons of cocaine to the United States every single day and for driving Colombia into a state of national turmoil during the years 1980 through 1993. His own son, who now goes by the name Sebastián Marroquín, stated that “[his] father was much crueler than he appears in the show [and] terrorized an entire country.”

These were some of the country’s darkest and most fearful times. Medellin, the city where Escobar’s infamous cartel started, was one of the most dangerous cities in the world at the time.

Escobar and his men horrifically terrorized this country. They set off over 100 bombs between December and September of 1991, killed over 1,000 cops, and murdered over 5,000 people.

However, people do not seem to realize how terrible of a person he truly was. Some even see Pablo Escobar as an “icon” after watching “Narcos.”

Just last week, I saw someone bear this sick man’s face as his Instagram profile picture as others flaunt Escobar’s name as a sort of national hero. As a Latinx person who knows of the thousands that are still affected by his heinous actions to this day, I feel that the least people could do is not publicly glorify him.

It seems that nowadays, the luxuries of what dirty money can bring seem like a positive accomplishment to some, and the true horrors that come with seeking this way of wealth are ignored.

When interviewed for Agence France-Presse, Marroquín said, “He showed us the path we must never take as a society because it’s the path to self-destruction, the loss of values and a place where life ceases to have importance.”

I do recommend the show for how well it’s made, but keep in mind the real horrors that this man caused. See “Narcos” as a lesson learned rather than an inspiration.

He is not an icon, he is not a “cool” figure, and he is not a role model of any kind. No amount of money, no amount of material possessions, no amount of “success,” and no amount of power attained in such an inhumane way should ever be celebrated or idolized. 

Pablo Escobar ruined the lives of thousands of innocent civilians that still feel the effects of his actions to this day, and that is the only thing he should be remembered for.