As the Netflix original Narcos takes the series-watching world by storm, more and more insight into the drug-trafficking mastermind Pablo Escobar is being uncovered. Although he died 20 years ago, multiple countries around the world are still grappling with the aftermath of his reign – from hired killers to remote cocaine labs, clandestine airstrips and drastically creative means of smuggling.

Vice has released a three-part documentary uncovering the various sides of Escobar’s legacy. The first part of the series sees Vice meeting with two DEA agents who spent years on the kingpin’s trail (the basis for the Netflix series) and in Vice’s second part release, a former hitman, Elmo Molina, takes a Vice reporter on a tour of the current criminal underworld in Lima, Peru.

After a brief discussion in which Elmo explains his connection to Escobar and how he now helps guide young gang members out of the murder business, the Vice reporter meets up with three hitmen who do business in the city. Brave woman.

Around the five minute mark, the hitmen go into detail about their world, explaining how they got into murder (which interestingly suggests similar reasons to yesterday’s post on South Africa’s violent crimes), how they kill and that if their mother ever found out, she would kill them.

It is a frightening insight into the underground world of Lima, where the cost of life is a mere R6 500.

[source: vice]