The child bride of Pablo Escobar has revealed that she remained in her 17-year marriage with ‘the most dangerous man in Colombia’ because she ‘loved him’.
Victoria Eugenia Henao, 58, who met the notorious criminal when she was 12 and he was 23, said despite being raped by the drug lord and forced to get a back-alley abortion, she allowed herself to be moulded by the criminal ‘all for love’.
Now, 25 years on from the drug lord’s death, the mother-of-two, who endured years of affairs, kidnapping attempts on her children and humiliation, described feeling immense sadness for those who suffered at the hands of her late husband.
The child bride of Pablo Escobar Victoria Eugenia Henao (pictured), 58, has revealed that she remained with the Colombian drug lord because she ‘loved him’
Ms Henao said that she allowed herself to be moulded by the drug lord (pictured in 1991 at Envigado Priso) out of both love and fear
Now 25 years on from the drug lord’s death, the mother-of-two (pictured with Escobar) described feeling immense sadness for those who suffered at the hands of her late husband
Speaking to The Sunday Times Ms Henao said: ‘I wasn’t able to leave him, not just because of love but also out of fear, powerlessness and uncertainty about what would become of my children and me without him.
‘I was even afraid that the most dangerous man in Colombia might hurt me if I left him.’
In her new biography Mrs Escobar: My life with Pablo, Ms Henao revealed that she was raped by the drug lord and forced her to get a back-alley abortion when she was only 14.
Just a teenager at the time, Ms Henao described being taken to a woman who inserted several plastic tubes into her uterus until she began to bleed.
Describing the moment in her latest book, the widow wrote: ‘I can’t really describe the moment clearly but I had no idea what was going on. I simply obeyed in silence.’
Following the procedure, Escobar dropped her off home and advised her follow the instructions and to keep him updated about her condition.
Despite the traumatic experience, the mother-of-two went on to marry the notorious criminal when she was just 15 in the Santisima Trinidad church in Palmira, Colombia in 1976.
In her new biography Mrs Escobar: My life with Pablo, the widow revealed that she was raped by the drug lord
The mother-of-two also said she was forced her to get a back-alley abortion by Escobar (pictured with son Sebastian) when she was only 14
Ms Henao went on to have two children Sebastian and Manuela (pictured with Escobar) with her husband
With both her parents and Escobar’s parents refusing to attend the ceremony, she described the moment as ‘bittersweet’, as she was both marrying the man she loved while feeling an overwhelming feeling of fear.
Following her marriage the drug lord’s wife would attend school in the morning before returning back to her home which she resided in with Escobar to carry out the duties of cleaning, cooking and repairing her husband’s clothes.
As she remained in her marriage with the man she loved, Ms Henao soon began to hear rumours of her husband’s affairs and womanising antics but brushed off her suspicions by refusing to track him or check his clothes for lipstick marks.
On February 24, 1977, Ms Henao gave birth to her first child, son Juan Pablo, 42, now known as Sebastián Marroquín, at El Rosario Hospital in Medellin.
Speaking to The Sunday Times Ms Henao (pictured with Escobar, son Sebastian and daughter Manuela) said: ‘I wasn’t able to leave him, not just because of love but also out of fear, powerlessness and uncertainty’
Among Escobar’s affairs was his relationship with Wendy Chavarriaga Gil which lasted several years
The young mother, who at the time was in her fourth year at secondary school, recalled asking her teacher to be excused from an English test as her waters broke and she made her way to the hopital.
As Escobar’s notoriety grew so did the number of his affairs, with his most prominent remaining his relationship with Wendy Chavarriaga Gil.
Ms Henao described a wealthy man known to Escobar arranging the criminal’s initial encounter with Ms Gil, a 28-year-old woman with green eyes and brown hair, before the pair began their affair which lasted several years.
It later came to light that the drug lord ordered Ms Gil’s execution after she became an informant.
The criminal was eventually killed by the Colombian National Police on December 2, 1993 during a gun battle
In 1993, Ms Henao, who was now also a mother to Manuela Escobar, 35, was forced into hiding at house in El Poblado after the assassination of the minister of justice Rodrigo Lara Bonilla, in Botego, apparently on Esobar’s orders, signalled the start of the narco war.
With calls to extradite him to the US and a warrant for his arrest, Escobar finally told his wife that she needed to pack her things and move in the Atlos building under government protection.
The pair bid farewell and never saw each other again.
Escobar was eventually killed by the Colombian National Police on December 2, 1993 during a gun battle in Medellin after his hideout location was discovered.
During his time at the helm of the Medellin Cartel he controlled more than 80 per cent of the cocaine shipped to the US.
Who was Pablo Escobar, leader of the Medellin Cartel?
Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was a Colombian drug trafficker.
During his time at the helm of the Medellin Cartel he controlled over 80 per cent of the cocaine shipped to the US.
This earned him the rank of one of Forbes Magazine’s ten wealthiest people in the world.
Escobar entered the cocaine trade in the early 1970s, collaborating with other criminals to form the Medellin Cartel.
Despite his role as a drug lord Escobar earned popularity by sponsoring charity projects and soccer clubs.
However terror campaigns run by Escobar resulted in the murder of thousands turned the public against him.
By the mid-1980s, Pablo Escobar had an estimated net worth of $30 billion and cash was so prevalent that Escobar purchased a Learjet for the sole purpose of flying his money.
More than 15 tons of cocaine were reportedly smuggled each day, netting the Cartel as much as $420 million a week.
Colombian law enforcement finally caught up to Pablo Escobar on December 2, 1993 in a middle-class neighborhood in Medellin.
A firefight ensued and, as Escobar tried to escape across a series of rooftops, he and his bodyguard were shot and killed.
Source: Biography.com