Pablo Escobar’s older brother has a cameo appearance in an upcoming spoof about the Infamous drug trafficker – and the one-time hitman is a “natural” on screen, according to the movie’s writer.
Roberto Escobar Gaviria, 77, served over 10 years behind bars for his role as the accountant and so-called “chief of the hitmen” for his younger brother’s Medellín Cartel during its heyday in the 1980s and 1990s.
Now Gaviria – known as “El Osito” or the “little teddy bear” – is taking a spin on the silver screen with a bit part in “Don’t F With Pablo,” a comedy adventure spoof based on his late brother’s antics, the US Sun revealed.
“Roberto is astonishing in this film,” writer Ian Halperin said.
“He is a little older now, but his spirits were very good and positive,” the author told the Sun.
“He’s a natural and really enjoyed and loved performing in front of the camera.”
On set, Gaviria – who was blinded in one eye and lost sixty percent of his hearing from a letter bomb in 1993 – seemed lightyears away from his illicit past, Halperin noted.
“He seemed a nice guy,” the writer shrugged.
“A lot of these cartel guys regret that what they did in the past was sinful because so many innocent people died. Many regret it, that is why they cut deals and plea bargains,” he observed.
“So they’re out of jail, a lot of them, and rethinking their lives. In hindsight, I don’t think he is totally happy with what he and his family did,” Halperin suggested.
“Don’t F With Pablo” follows the fictional Pablito, a Jewish son of Pablo Escobar’s, who journeys to Colombia to connect with his paternal heritage and starts a “Kosher Cartel,” the trailer showed. It is set for release in March.
Halperin – who used bizarre disguises for some of his investigative work – refused to reveal how he got Gaviria on board for the project.
“You don’t go to KFC and ask for the recipe,” he wise-cracked.
“All I’ll say is that it was a former cartel member who knew him that arranged it,” Halperin told the Sun.
“To be clear, he appeared willingly. It was nothing like where Borat managed to get Rudy Giuliani with hidden cameras, we worked with him. He knew he was appearing,” he joked.
Halperin hopes the film will bring “more laughter to the world.”
“With ‘Griselda’ out now, the timing is just perfect to release this film,” he said, referring to Sofía Vergara’s Netflix series.
“I showed it to people connected to the cartel who congratulated me on how it captured the culture, the language they used and the craziness of cartel life,” Halperin told the outlet.
“Interestingly, the cartel guys told me that the plot rings true because a lot of the bosses had kids all over the world,” he added.
Halperin also brushed off concerns about the film potentially upsetting old allies of Pablo Escobar, who was killed in a shootout in 1993.
“It is satire and everyone will see that,” he said.
