Drug lord
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
A drug lord is the term used to describe a person who controls a sizable network of persons involved in the illegal drugs trade. Such figures are often difficult to bring to justice, as they might never be directly in possession of something illegal, but are insulated from the actual trade in drugs by several layers of underlings. The prosecution of drug lords is therefore usually the result of carefully planned infiltrations of their networks, often using informants from within the network.
Notorious drug lords have included Al Capone in the 1920's (when the drug alcohol was illegal in the United States during the period known as Prohibition) and more recent times, Amado Carrillo Fuentes (the "Lord of the Skies"), the Felix Brothers, Emilio Esparragoza, Ernesto Fonseca and Pablo Escobar. Escobar was part of the Medellin Cartel, a particularly strong group of drug lords coordinating the transportation of the drug cocaine out of Medellin, Columbia.
Drug lords are a popular choice for the lead villain in many action movies and television shows, having been featured for such purposes in the Lethal Weapon series and in Miami Vice. A drug lord was prominent in the 1989 miniseries Traffik. Perhaps the most famous fictitious movie drug lord is the Cuban emigré Tony Montana, played by Al Pacino in the movie Scarface.
