Medellín, Colombia — once the heartbeat of Pablo Escobar’s empire and the most dangerous city on Earth — has transformed in shocking ways. In this episode , Johnny dives deep into the hidden world of Medellín’s modern drug trade.
👉 From basuco “zombie” addicts roaming the hoyas, to the rise of small neighborhood gangs (pandillas) replacing cartels, Medellín tells a story of survival, profit, and transformation. Johnny explores Barrio Pablo Escobar, explains the disturbing chemicals that make up cocaine, reveals why Mexican cartels like Sinaloa now dominate global smuggling, and walks firsthand through a city's 30 year evolution.
Topics covered in this episode:
-Medellín’s violent past vs. its surprising present
-The basuco epidemic and “walking dead” addicts
-How guerrilla groups (FARC, ELN) now control cocaine labs
-Sinaloa’s alliance with Colombian producers
-Gangs, tourism, and why Medellín is safer than ever
Medellín is no longer exporting cocaine like it once did, but the drug economy is alive and thriving — just in ways you wouldn’t expect.
This Episode Is Sponsored By The Following:
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00:00 Inside Medellín's Drug-Infested Neighborhoods
03:00 How the Drug Trade Shifted in Medellín
06:00 Medellín's Rise from the Cartel Era
09:45 This Episode Is Sponsored By CashApp
11:14 Pablo Escobar's Legacy and Tourist Boom
14:00 Transformation of Barrio Pablo Escobar
16:16 This Episode Is Sponsored By FRE and SurfShark
18:00 The End of Medellín Cartels and the New Drug Economy
20:55 The Shocking Chemicals In Cocaine: The Process Explained
26:00 Basuco: The Toxic Byproduct and Its Epidemic
30:00 Gang Control and Neighborhood Drug Markets
34:00 Rise of Urban Gangs and Pacified Violence
37:00 Personal Stories from Medellín's Underbelly
41:00 The New International Drug Trade
44:00 Why Medellín Remains Safe Despite the Drugs
48:00 Final Thoughts and What's Next
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