Mass murderer or TV celebrity? The muddled legacy of Columbian drug lord Escobar’s hitman
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- John Jairo Velásquez Vasquez was Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar’s hitman.
- Also known as Popeye, he has personally murdered more than 250 people.
- He was also involved in kidnapping, torturing, maiming, and terrorising thousands more.
- He served a 23-year prison sentence, but is now free and unrepentant.
- Today, he is a local celebrity in Medellin, Colombia, the home of Escobar’s cartel in the 80s.
- He even lands roles in popular television shows and films.
- People personally affected by his crimes still see him as a vicious killer.
John Jairo Velásquez Vásquez has personally taken more than 250 lives and has been involved in the torture and murder of thousands more.
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Despite his heinous crimes, he is a local celebrity in Medellin, Colombia, where he often meets with public adulation in the city centre, even in broad daylight.
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In the 1980s, Medellin was home to Pablo Escobar’s infamous and extremely powerful drug cartel. Vásquez, also known as Popeye, was the kingpin’s hitman.
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The Medellin Cartel operated from the mid-1970s until the early 90s. When it reached its peak under Pablo Escobar, it was even more powerful than the Colombian government.
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While making tens of billions of dollars trafficking cocaine, the drug runners killed tens of thousands of people, many through terrorist attacks in Colombia.
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Pablo Escobar was named the richest and most powerful drug lord in the world.
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During the course of his criminal career, Popeye kidnapped, tortured, killed, maimed, and terrorised thousands of people, from law enforcement officials to rival criminals.
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He also planted bombs on Escobar’s orders.
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Many innocent civilians fell victim to the drug war as ‘collateral damage’.
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There are people who still suffer long-term consequences from the atrocities Vasquez and his accomplices committed. Some are disabled, others bereaved.
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However, Popeye is unrepentant. He insists that he has paid his debt to society by serving 23 years behind bars.
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He is now a free man.
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His criminal notoriety lands him roles in popular television shows and films.
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Some people treat him like a film star, but those personally affected by his crimes see him very differently.
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