From the evidence above and documentaries it seemed the Medellin Cartel didn't have much control over the retail sales of drugs and the street gangs that plagued Medellin city. The Sinaloa cartel never had high murder rates in their cities or state they always relied on third party support to do their dirty work in other cartel's territory. So what was the cause for all these high murder rates in Medellin city, the headquarters of the Medellin Cartel?
i'm far from an expert on Medellin,so it's hard for me to say.but what I do know is crime there has been bad for a long time.i remember reading that Colombia was one of the pickpocket capitols of the world,back then in the 80s early 90s.and there's a long history of banditry,among the local gangs,and petty crimes.the lure and legend of Pablo Escobar probably fueld more involvement of barrio youth in drugs.and robberies,territorial disputes over drugs could have caused some of the violence. also,i'm sure it's similar to the U.S. barrios,where some members of the small-time local gang members 'graduate' into the big leagues,and get involved in drug cartels.at least they aspire to,having come from poor backgrounds.someone also mentioned here already that the Medillin cartel waged political warfare against the govt,carrying out bombings,assassinations,etc.
