Colombian Congress considers ban on Pablo Escobar souvenirs

BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AP) — Souvenirs depicting the late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar could be banned in Colombia if lawmakers approve a bill introduced this week in the national congress. The proposal is criticized by vendors who sell their wares to tourists around the world, but supported by those who believe the country should shed its image of mafia bosses.

The bill proposes fines of up to $170 for vendors who sell merchandise depicting Escobar and other convicted criminals, and would also allow police to fine those who wear T-shirts, hats and other items of clothing that “glorify” the infamous drug lord.

“These items are revictimizing people who were victims of murderers,” said Cristian Avendaño, a representative of the Green Party of Colombia who drafted the bill.

“We must protect victims’ right to recovery…and find other symbols for our country.”

The proposal was widely covered by Colombian newspapers, where Escobar is seen as a murderous figure, linked to one of the most violent periods in the country’s history.

At the same time, the image of the drug dealer is also heavily commercialized by locals who are eager to cash in on the growing fascination with the drug dealer among some tourists from North America, Europe and other Latin American countries.

Souvenir sellers in Bogotá’s historic La Candelaria neighborhood said they opposed the initiative, which has been criticized for trying to limit freedom of expression.

“I think it’s a stupid law,” said Rafael Nieto, a street vendor who sells magnets and T-shirts with Pablo Escobar’s face, as well as more traditional souvenirs.

Nieto said he would stop selling Escobar merchandise if the bill was approved, to “avoid problems” with the police. But he added that members of Colombia’s Congress should instead focus their energies on reducing the city’s crime rate and let him get on with his business.

“A lot of people make a living from this,” Nieto said, pointing to a T-shirt showing a copy of Pablo Escobar’s Colombian identity card.

“It wasn’t a trend I created,” Nieto added. “Mexicans, Costa Ricans, Americans are always asking me for Escobar merchandise.”

Another street vendor, who asked to be identified only as Lorena, said she has also stocked items depicting the drug dealer, such as cups and magnets, because that is what international tourists demand, as well as souvenirs with the image of coca. sheets.

“When you work as a salesperson, you try to sell what is most popular,” Lorean said. “Each person has their own personality, and if there are people who like a murderer, or a drug dealer, well, that’s their choice.”

Escobar ordered the murder of about 4,000 people in the 1980s and early 1990s, when he established the powerful Medellín cartel and amassed a $3 billion fortune that made him one of the richest people in the world at the time.

The drug lord was shot dead in 1994 on a rooftop in Medellín while trying to escape the search block, a unit of more than 300 police officers supported by DEA agents that was dedicated exclusively to capturing him.

Escobar’s exploits and crimes are well known in Colombia. But in recent years, his global fame has enjoyed a resurgence thanks to a Colombian soap opera and a Netflix series that portrays the drug lord as a ruthless but cunning mobster who defies the corrupt American and Colombian authorities who try to target him.

Merchandise bearing the drug lord’s face, his identity card or famous slogans attributed to Escobar are frequently sold at souvenir stalls across the country, while in his hometown of Medellín, agencies take visitors on historic tours that stop at sites related to Escobar’s life.

Representative Avendaño said it was time for Colombia to abandon its image as a country of mafia bosses.

“We cannot continue to praise these people and act as if their crimes are acceptable,” Avandaño said. “There are other ways for companies to grow and other ways to sell Colombia to the world.”

Avendaño said his bill would ask the Colombian government to investigate how many people make a living selling Escobar merchandise and how much the market is worth.

The bill must go through four debates to be approved by Congress, Avendaño explained, adding that if the legislation passes, there will be a “transition period” in which government officials will work with souvenir sellers to find new ways to commercialize Colombia.

Last year, the South American country refused an application to register the name Pablo Escobar, presented by his widow and children, to sell what they described as educational and leisure products.

In its decision, the Colombian Commerce Superintendence said that a Pablo Escobar brand would be “permissive of violence and would threaten public order”.

The General Court of the European Union also denied a similar trademark application from Escobar’s family earlier this year, arguing that it went against “public policy and accepted principles of morality.”