Pablo Escobar was a drug merchant.
A drug lord , drug baron , kingpin , or narcotrafficker is a person who controls a sizable network of persons involved in the illegal drug trade . A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people to earn a profit . Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria ( [ ˈpaβ̞lo eˈmiljo eskoˈβ̞aɾ ɣ̞aˈβ̞iɾja ] ; 1 December 19492 December 1993 ) was a Colombian drug lord and narco-terrorist .