Roberto de Jesús Escobar Gaviria is a name known in Colombia and from Narcos, all over the world.
Today, 71 years old, Roberto is the older brother of Pablo Escobar and, at the time, chief of hired assassins and main accountant of the Cartel de MedellÃn until his arrest in 1993, some months before the death of the 'Patron'.
During his stay in prison, Roberto lost sight of one eye and was partially deaf after receiving a letter bomb. Ten years after his confinement, he received his freedom and in 2014, he founded California Escobar Inc. from which he administers property rights over Pablo Escobar. Moreover, from that position, he sued Netflix for $ 1 billion for exploiting his brother's life without authorization.
Roberto Escobar Gaviria filed suit against Netflix in 2016 and in connection with the death of a manager of location of Narcos in Mexico, returned to the media to talk about the 'risks' that hover over the streaming platform for not recognizing the payment.
"Netflix is afraid. They sent us a long letter to threaten us. At this time, we are talking with them through our attorneys Browne George Ross to get our $ 1 billion payment. If we do not receive it, we will close its small show," said Roberto.
"We have all the trademarks registered on our behalf and also for the brand of Narcos. I'm not playing with these people in Silicon Valley. They have their phones and their nice products, but they do not know the life and would never dare to survive in the forest of MedellÃn or Colombia. I've done. Their mothers should have left them in the womb. That's what we tell people of this type if they come to Colombia," he added in a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter.
Roberto noted that he does not want Netflix or any other film or television producer recording in MedellÃn or anywhere in Colombia around his brother or him "without the authorization of Escobar Inc."
"It's very dangerous, especially without our blessing. This is my country," he said.
On the death of Carlos Muñoz Portal, the location manager of Narcos who was shot to death when he was exploring places to record the fourth season of the series, Pablo Escobar's brother suggested to Netflix that to perform this type of work, "you must eliminate all threats.” According to him, when he had to walk around places that could be dangerous, he always left with $ 2 million in $ 100 bills in a bag to pay bribes and circumvent any threat. As the army followed them, they had to do everything to protect themselves.
"If you have the intellect, you do not need to use guns. If not, you must have it. In this case, Netflix must provide assassins to its people as security," he said.
When asked how many people had died because of the violence that accompanied the Medellin Cartel's drug trafficking operations, Roberto Escobar Gaviria simply refused to answer.
Today, 71 years old, Roberto is the older brother of Pablo Escobar and, at the time, chief of hired assassins and main accountant of the Cartel de MedellÃn until his arrest in 1993, some months before the death of the 'Patron'.
During his stay in prison, Roberto lost sight of one eye and was partially deaf after receiving a letter bomb. Ten years after his confinement, he received his freedom and in 2014, he founded California Escobar Inc. from which he administers property rights over Pablo Escobar. Moreover, from that position, he sued Netflix for $ 1 billion for exploiting his brother's life without authorization.
Roberto Escobar Gaviria filed suit against Netflix in 2016 and in connection with the death of a manager of location of Narcos in Mexico, returned to the media to talk about the 'risks' that hover over the streaming platform for not recognizing the payment.
"Netflix is afraid. They sent us a long letter to threaten us. At this time, we are talking with them through our attorneys Browne George Ross to get our $ 1 billion payment. If we do not receive it, we will close its small show," said Roberto.
"We have all the trademarks registered on our behalf and also for the brand of Narcos. I'm not playing with these people in Silicon Valley. They have their phones and their nice products, but they do not know the life and would never dare to survive in the forest of MedellÃn or Colombia. I've done. Their mothers should have left them in the womb. That's what we tell people of this type if they come to Colombia," he added in a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter.
Roberto noted that he does not want Netflix or any other film or television producer recording in MedellÃn or anywhere in Colombia around his brother or him "without the authorization of Escobar Inc."
"It's very dangerous, especially without our blessing. This is my country," he said.
On the death of Carlos Muñoz Portal, the location manager of Narcos who was shot to death when he was exploring places to record the fourth season of the series, Pablo Escobar's brother suggested to Netflix that to perform this type of work, "you must eliminate all threats.” According to him, when he had to walk around places that could be dangerous, he always left with $ 2 million in $ 100 bills in a bag to pay bribes and circumvent any threat. As the army followed them, they had to do everything to protect themselves.
"If you have the intellect, you do not need to use guns. If not, you must have it. In this case, Netflix must provide assassins to its people as security," he said.
When asked how many people had died because of the violence that accompanied the Medellin Cartel's drug trafficking operations, Roberto Escobar Gaviria simply refused to answer.