Pablo Escobar: a never-ending source of entertainment

The world’s most famous drug lord may be dead but his on-screen appeal is very much alive

English version by Heather Galloway

Pablo Escobar / Un asesino como icono de ficción

JESÚS RUIZ MANTILLA
4 SEP 2017 - 02:16 COT

Police photo of Pablo Escobar. EL ESPECTADOR DE COLOMBIA EL PAÍS

With the release of the third season of Narcos on September 1, former Colombian cartel king Pablo Escobar is dead, leaving behind a legacy of corpses, mourning families and millions of dirty dollars. At the end of the second season, he was killed in a shootout in the city of Medellín, but no matter. After a life of excess and crime, Escobar survives as an obscure and enduring legend in the parallel universe that is the entertainment industry, inspiring a long list of authors, movie-makers and show-runners.

Aside from the third season of Narcos – produced by Netflix – this month also sees the release of Loving Pablo, the new movie by Fernando León de Aranoa starring Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz.

Jhon Jairo Velásquez Vásquez, better known as “Popeye,” in 2013. / CARLOS ORTEGA (AFP)

Colombians wary as former Escobar hitman gets ready to walk free from prison

“Popeye” has served 23 years after killing hundreds under reign of Medellín cartel chief

ELIZABETH REYES L. Bogotá 26 AGO 2014 - 16:45 CEST

Jhon Jairo Velásquez Vásquez, the sole survivor of a group of hitmen who fought the Colombian state alongside drug lord Pablo Escobar, is about to walk free after 23 years in prison.

Popeye, as he is better known in the underworld, was 29 when he was sent to jail. Now 52, he is spending his last hours at Cómbita penitentiary, two hours away from Bogotá, where he has served the last 12 years of his conviction. The gang member benefited from term reductions through work and study schemes, and is reported to have paid $4,500 for access to parole.

His release, scheduled for Tuesday afternoon local time, comes amid heavy security measures. Popeye has confessed to scores of murders during Escobar’s reign of violence. While behind bars, he cooperated with authorities to help clear up some of the most painful events of the 1980s and 1990s.

Colombians are not indifferent to the release of a man who once headed the group of hired killers at the service of the world’s most powerful drug kingpin. Popeye has coldly admitted that he ordered 3,000 people killed when his boss, the head of the Medellín cartel, was fighting the government to avoid extradition.

Popeye will be under surveillance for good conduct for four years

That particular war cost the lives of hundreds of police officers, journalists, judges, lawyers and politicians. Last week marked the 25th anniversary of the assassination of presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán.