Since the death of notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar in 1993, the Colombian cocaine industry has undergone a dramatic shift.
Gone are the days of lavish spending, mega-cartels, and murder-counts greater than 20,000 per year. Instead, the cartels have transformed into smaller units that efficiently manage much of the world's cocaine without a lot of the high-profile violence that has been associated with the trade in the past.
Vice News correspondent Monica Villamizar daringly traveled to the center of the cocaine trade in the Colombian city of Medellin to get an up-close look inside the day-to-day lives of "foot soldiers,""cuchos," and drug lords who run the country's modern cocaine industry. We've broken out the highlights, but click the link above to see the full video.
After being blindfolded with sunglasses and bandages for the drive to a secret stash house, Villamizar got her first glance at the operation. Driven by members of the gang, she was told to tell the police she had eye surgery if she got pulled over.
Via Monica Villamizar/Vice News
The Vice crew had to give up their phones to visit the stash house. The guy who drove them to the location was a hit man who had just gotten out of jail.
Via Monica Villamizar/Vice News
Although this enterprise focused on cocaine, the distributors had plenty of marijuana they were bagging to sell.
Via Monica Villamizar/Vice News
See the rest of the story at Business Insider