Colombian embassy condemns Singapore bar named after drug lord
The country’s Central narcotics Bureau has also taken issue with the three-week-old ‘Escobar’
By Siau Ming-en
A bar named after Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar found itself in a tricky situation after the Embassy of Colombia in Singapore and the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) took issue with its theme.
The embassy confirmed that it had sent an official note to Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to denounce the three-week-old nightspot named Escobar in China Square Central. The venue features themes related to the late Colombian, who led the Medellin drug cartel known for its cocaine trade.
A CNB spokesperson said that the manner in which Pablo Escobar’s name and image are being used to promote the bar is highly objectionable and runs counter to Singapore’s zero-tolerance approach towards drugs and to the Government’s efforts in preventive drug education.
“The glamorisation of a drug kingpin and associated drug use is irresponsible and insensitive,” the CNB spokesperson told TODAY.
Pablo Escobar became one of the richest man in the world in the 1980s by dealing in cocaine. He was also behind a violent campaign that bombed, kidnapped and killed thousands of people, including politicians, judges and journalists who stood in his way. In 1993, he was shot and killed by the Colombian police.