Top hitman for drug lord Pablo Escobar released after 23 years in prison
“Popeye,” who killed over 300 for the Medellín cartel, is freed after serving three-fifths of his sentence
By Elizabeth Reyes L.
Translation: Dyane Jean François
Bogotá, 27 de agosto de 2014
“Popeye” holding up a book about cartel chief Pablo Escobar. / AP
Jhon Jairo “Popeye” Velásquez Vásquez, Pablo Escobar’s chief assassin, has been released from prison after serving 23 years. Four days prior to his release, a Colombian judge expedited the proceedings for his probation status. At 9pm on Tuesday night, the 52-year-old convict stepped out into the streets in the company of Public Defender officials, shielded by a motorcade of armor-plated vehicles. Popeye had sent a handwritten request to officials that morning to ask for protection.
The former convict has admitted to killing more than 300 people and ordering the death of over 3,000 others during a period of heavy cartel violence from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. Yet the former assassin – who entered the criminal underworld at the height of the cartel’s reign, when he was just 18 – is afraid of freedom. He knows there is a price on his head and that he has made a lot of enemies given the crimes he committed, and the fact that he was a key witness in several trials – including the one related to liberal presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento’s murder in 1989. Alberto Santofimio Botero, a fellow politician, was convicted for his part in the murder.
Popeye’s release was scheduled for Monday, but was delayed until Tuesday night so that officials could make sure he did not have any pending charges. Meanwhile, victims were trying to understand how a drug trafficker who terrorized the nation two decades ago could be leaving prison after serving just three-fifths of his sentence.
The operation for Popeye’s release became the mystery of the day. As time passed, photojournalists crowded in front of the gates of the maximum security prison with their cameras ready to capture his departure. The facility is in Cómbita, two hours outside of Bogotá.