In the 1970s, Colombian dealers started selling small amounts of cocaine to the United States. As the demand increased, they had to find new ways to smuggle cocaine inside the country. Traffickers invested in sophisticated laboratories and in private airplanes to deliver their drugs overseas. It was the beginning of the Medellin Cartel, created by Pablo Escobar, which became the major drug cartel in Colombia (via Britannica).
In the late 1980s, Escobar had to deal with competition in his business: the Cali cartel, founded by the Rodriguez brothers and Santacruz, known as "Los Caballeros de Cali" ("The Gentlemen of Cali"). The Medellin and the Cali cartels had different approaches. Escobar had a reputation for being extremely violent, extravagant and enjoying the spotlight. The Cali cartel invested their money in multiple legal businesses, made political alliances, and worked quietly.
In the early 1990s, the Cali cartel controlled 90% of the cocaine supply in the world. "While everyone was focused on Pablo, this other approach to drug trafficking was forming, which is more corporate, more secretive," "Narcos" executive producer Peter Friedlander said (via France 24).
Aiming to undermine the Medellin cartel and avoid being arrested, some Cali cartel members helped the DEA track down Escobar, who was killed in 1993. The Orejuela brothers were arrested in 1995. Other cartels filled the void left by the drug lords, but they could never match them in power and influence.
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