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A portion of Pablo Escobar's previously opulent estate – an emblem of the narco-trafficker's enormous wealth and habitat to his notorious “cocaine hippos” – is being granted to female individuals scarred by the country's prolonged conflict, declared the president.

Pablo Escobar, Colombia's most notorious drug trafficker and past chief of the powerful Medellín cartel, became one of the wealthiest individuals in the world in the late 1980s, with assessments placing his assets at nearly 25 billion dollars.

The Opulent Property: Nápoles Estate

He allocated a portion of his fortune in outfitting his Nápoles estate in northwestern Colombia. Along with stocking it with antique vehicles and unusual wildlife – zebras, tall mammals, hopping marsupials and the hippos – he constructed an landing strip, multiple pools and a large-capacity bull ring. On top of the main gate, Escobar also placed a copy of a plane, patterned after the one he allegedly used for his maiden narcotics delivery to the United States.

Following the Demise

After Escobar was killed in a rooftop shootout with security forces in the city of Medellín in the year 1993, his property was left deserted and deteriorated. Subsequently taken over by the authorities and rented to local authorities, who for some time converted it as a tourist attraction.

Now, a section of the property has been given a new use and granted to victims of the nation's long-standing civil strife.

“We have started to take back the ranch for the affected people,” Gustavo Petro stated in a social media message.

Granting Property

The authorities has stated that a sizable area of the territory has been granted to female agricultural workers. Felipe Harman, chief of the National Land Agency, labeled the action “a historic victory for the women who persistently struggled”.

“It is a great happiness to ultimately commemorate,” stated one beneficiary, an awardee, in a recording released by the state-run land authority. “I feel very happy because today there are women who have hope, who have land ownership.”

Property Conflicts

Property conflicts have long driven turmoil in Colombia, with drug traffickers and guerrillas forcibly evicting farmers to enlarge their domains and produce coca, the crop used to manufacture cocaine.

An expert, deputy director of the PARES, commented that Escobar “acquired and confiscated” the territory and aimed to establish it an “realm mostly autonomous from Colombia, with its distinct rules and even its own ecosystem”.

Political Context

Several months ago, the president, the first progressive head of state, proposed returning part of the land to farmers. “That estate has numerous fatalities that it ought to be restored to the citizens,” he stated, adding that the estate's “true proprietors” were the countryside residents.

Opposition and Protests

Nevertheless a number of inhabitants and entrepreneurs objected to the initiative, claiming it endangered the area's financial stability; the theme park brings in over a million travelers annually. A rally subsequently involved approximately 1,500 people obstruct the main highway.

Implementation Underway

In spite of the resistance, the plan has been implemented. “The move by Petro was to return the territory, and also the self-respect, to those who had lost everything,” the expert said.

Ongoing Challenge

In spite of the allocation of the land, the increasing number of feral hippos still traverse, trampling crops and attacking nearby villages – a last corner of the drug lord's domain that has yet to be contained.