A restaurant has come in for immense criticism on social media after serving burgers decorated with a line of white powder, seemingly made to resemble cocaine.
The eatery, which goes by the name of Pablo Escoburgers, is located in Australia, and after posting a photo of the burger in question, several customers have expressed their dismay at the new menu item, describing the sandwich as being in poor taste.
Pablo Escoburgers is named after the infamous Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, whose cartel supplied an estimated 80 percent of all cocaine smuggled into the United States at the height of his career in the 80s. The burger chain, however, uploaded a photo to Facebook of a burger fitting that theme.
Adorned with a fake rolled $100 bill as well as a line of white powder on top of the bun that resembled cocaine but was actually just white garlic flour. "People are lining up for a taste," says the restaurant in the caption, in a nod to Escobar's line of work back in the 80s, but the internet was unhappy with this particular garnish.
With many people saying it was insensitive and that it glorified drug use, one person commented: "“How can we explain (to) you people that IT ISN’T FUNNY? Try to do that with Hitler and see what happens. Use your brain folks," while another added: "Not really sure how to feel about this."
But the press wasn't all negative, either. "Brilliant marketing! Nothing better than eating burgers and coke..." added one commenter, while another added: "Hells yes! Dramas aside! These burgers are delicious! Everyone needs to stop being hangry! Go eat a burger already."
However, the owner of Pablo Escoburgers, Vaughn Marks, took to his own Facebook page to lament the restaurant getting plenty of criticism from the Colombian community, "bless their souls".
"If you can take 2 mins to review us to reverse the 2 star rating we now have that would be great! Thanks for the love. You can clearly see the difference between the people who have tried our delicious burgers and the Colombians who just don’t like the name. Thanks."
Escoburgers themselves released a statement on their own Facebook page, reiterating that they did not intend to offend anybody. "We are very proud of our burgers but we do also understand that Pablo Escobar was a horrible man who destroyed the lives of thousands of Colombians," read the statement.
"We do not condone, idolise or promote Pablo Emilio Escobar or his actions in anyway. We are however Australian and know how to have a laugh about a good play on words. Its [sic] just a name of a pop-up burger bar not really a theme. Hard not to offend someone in 2019."
Pablo Escobar was a major player in the cartel wars that turned Colombia into the murder capital of the world, as Escobar paid hitmen to target police officers, killing around 600 of them and resulting in thousands of other civillians losing their lives. He was shot and killed one day after his 44th birthday, on December 2, 1993.
