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JANUARY 17-23, 2016
JANUARY 17-23, 2016
The Godfather
Mexican police recaptured infamous drug lord Joaquín Guzmán
Loera — better known as El Chapo — late last week, months after he
had successfully broken out of prison in July, through a mile-long
tunnel. The dramatic arrest of the legendary figure, who led one of
Mexico’s most powerful cartels known as the Sinaloa cartel, was
preceded by a gunbattle and raid in which gang members were
killed. ET Magazine takes a look at some of the most notorious
gangsters in history and their immortalisation in popular culture.
Text: Indulekha Aravind
Controller of four-fifths of the global cocaine
trade in the '80s, the seventh richest man in the
world in 1989, ruthless murderer of hundreds
including a presidential candidate and a sort
of Robin Hood for his native Medellin, this
Colombian drug lord was all this and more.
Dabbling in petty crime from his teens, he hit the
jackpot when he began smuggling cocaine. His
cartel was reportedly making over $60 million a
day. To deal with government officials, he had a
policy of “plata o plomo” (silver or lead), meaning
those who he couldn’t buy off, would be killed
India’s most-wanted gangster,
Dawood Ibrahim is the son of a police
constable and grew up in Mumbai’s
Dongri area. His empire, known as
D Company, was built largely by
controlling the hawala network or
the illegal transfer of money. He also
has interests in real estate, money
laundering and blood diamonds,
according the latest reports. He is also
held responsible for masterminding
the 1993 bomb blasts in Mumbai. On
Interpol’s most-wanted list, Indian
security agencies believe he is
residing in Pakistan
THE END: Is yet to come
The book by Mario Puzo and the
films in the series starring Marlon
Brando in the title role of Don Vito
Corleone and directed by Francis
Ford Coppola are perhaps the most
famous depictions of the Italian
mafia
Scarface
Oliver Stone’s 1983 crime drama is a
remake of a 1932 film with the same
title. It stars Al Pacino in the lead role
of Tony Montana, a fictional Cuban
immigrant who becomes a gang lord,
based on the true story of Al Capone
Goodfellas
The 1990 crime film by Martin Scorsese
is considered among the best in its genre
and chronicles the rise and fall of the
Lucchese crime family from the 1950s to
the 1980s. The film stars Robert De Niro,
Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta
The Sopranos
THE END: Escobar was reportedly shot
dead in 1993 by the police though
theories persist that he shot himself
The crime drama television series that
premiered on HBO is based on the fictional
Italian American mobster Tony Soprano and
how he balances his roles as a mafia don and
a family man. The series is held to be partly
inspired by two organised crime families in
New Jersey, where writer David Chase grew up
Narcos
Al Capone started on the streets of New York but built up his empire in
Chicago, where he made the most of Prohibition-era restrictions to brew,
distil and distribute liquor illegally. He earned a fearful reputation by
eliminating rival mobs, culminating in the Valentine's Day massacre
where members of a rival gang were machine-gunned by rivals
dressed as the police. In 1931, Capone was convicted for tax evasion
and Prohibition charges
THE END: Capone was released in 1939, but he was affected by syphilis
and his mental faculties deteriorated to that of a 12-year-old. He died
of a stroke and pneumonia in 1947
Originally from Colombia, Griselda Blanco was one of the original drug gangsters
of Miami, setting up distribution networks across the US that earned her millions
of dollars a month. She developed creative methods of getting cocaine to the US,
including exporting underwear with secret compartments from a lingerie shop set up
in Colombia for this express purpose. Held responsible for over 200 murders, including
that of a two-year-old, Blanco was imprisoned for 20 years till 2004 though she
continued her business even while in jail.
THE END: The notorious gangster was shot dead outside a butcher shop
in 2012 by riders on a motorcycle — an assassination method she is
credited with inventing during her heyday in Florida
A Victim of
Hollywood’s Allure?
The latest drug lord to be captured, Joaquín
“El Chapo” Guzmán's downfall was brought
about in part by a seven-hour interview
he gave to Hollywood actor Sean Penn,
which attracted the attention of Mexican
intelligence. This was the second time
Guzman was being recaptured — in 2015,
he tunnelled his way out of a maximum
security prison to which he was returned.
He had been on the run for 13 years before
An American mobster, Luciano, better known as “Lucky Luciano”, dominated the criminal
this, after he escaped in a laundry cart
landscape of the US in the 1930s. Born in Sicily, he was dabbling in crime from the age
from another maximum security prison.
of 10 by shoplifting and mugging. He settled the gang wars between rivals (by getting
Guzmán had reportedly contacted actors
the heads of the two warring factions bumped off ) and became the capo di tutt'i capi, or
boss of all bosses, though he never accepted the title formally. Luciano was deported to
and producers for a possible biopic on him,
Italy in 1946 as part of a deal struck with the US government during the Second World
which also drew the attention of authorities
War, from where he continued to run his operations
tracking him. Mexican actor Kate del Castillo,
THE END: He died a relatively tame death — of a heart attack in 1962 at
who had made an open appeal to El Chapo
Naples International Airport, where he had gone to meet an American
in 2012 urging him to use his clout for love
producer who was to make a film based on his life
rather than violence, brokered the interview
with Penn and acted as a translator.
Source: The Guardian, CNN, List25.com, BBC and The Telegraph
The 2015 Netflix series follows the rise and
fall of Pablo Escobar, essayed by Brazilian
actor Wagner Moura. The Colombian drug lord
has inspired several movies as well, including
Escobar: Paradise Lost starring Benicio Del Toro;
Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz are the stars of
another biopic, for which shooting began last year
Just like Joaquín Guzmán Loera was better known as El Chapo
Guzman, or Shorty Guzman — so named for his height of 5 feet 6 inches
-- many other drug lords had nicknames. Here’s a sample:
SCARFACE Al Capone was known to detest his nickname,
earned from the scars he got after being assaulted by the
brother of a woman he reportedly insulted at a club
GODMOTHER OF COCAINE Other names for
Griselda Blanco include The Black Widow or
simply The Godmother (La Madrina)
THE CAT The nickname of American gangster Felix Wayne
Mitchell was taken from the cartoon character Felix the Cat
THE OPIUM KING Khun Sa, the Burmese
warlord, was so called for building
a flourishing opium trade in the
Golden Triangle of the border areas of
Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. The US
also dubbed him “prince of death”
LORD OF THE SKIES Mexican drug trafficker Amado
Carrillo Fuentes got his moniker from the large fleet
of aircraft he used to transport drugs. At one point,
he was the most wanted trafficker in the world