In the autobiography Mi vida como sicario de Pablo Escobar (2016), Jhon Jairo Velásquez Vásquez —infamously known as "Popeye"—provides a chilling, first-person account of his life as the chief assassin for the Medellín Cartel. The book serves as both a historical witness to one of Colombia’s darkest eras and a controversial attempt at personal redemption by a man who confessed to killing 250 people and organizing thousands of others. The Ascension of a Hitman
The narrative offers an unvarnished look at the cartel's war against the Colombian state and its rivals. Key historical events Velásquez describes include: Mi vida como sicario de Pablo Escobar autobiogr...
: His involvement in the murder of presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento and the kidnapping of future political figures like Andrés Pastrana Arango. In the autobiography Mi vida como sicario de
Velásquez details his early life in Yarumal , Antioquia, and his initial attempts at a structured life within the Colombian National Police and the Navy. However, he describes a "strong desire for force and violence" that drew him back to the criminal underworld. His transition from a teenage thief to Escobar's "right-hand man" highlights the seductive power of the cartel’s wealth and the social status it briefly afforded those within its inner circle. Inside the Medellín Cartel Key historical events Velásquez describes include: : His