Jhon Jairo Velásquez Vásquez (April 15, 1962 – February 6, 2020), also known by the alias “Popeye” or “JJ”, was a Colombian hitman, who was part of the criminal structure of the Medellín Cartel until his surrender to the Colombian legal system in 1992. Within this structure, he claimed to be a lieutenant in command of half the sicarios.
Velásquez was born in the municipality of Yarumal, Antioquia, Colombia. He joined the Colombian National Army; he later attended the National Police cadet school, but left days later for the Colombian Navy’s apprentice school, where he was nicknamed “Popeye” due to his physical resemblance to the character. He later underwent plastic surgery and no longer had the same distinctive appearance. Velásquez escaped from prison, was later captured and served his sentence.
Education
Velásquez attended the School of Non-Commissioned Officers of the Colombian Navy and eventually transferred to the General National Police Academy of Santander, where he spent a semester.
Velásquez’s criminal career
was identified as one of the main hitmen of the Medellín cartel . He confessed to 257 murders, the kidnapping of the then candidate for mayor of Bogotá, Andrés Pastrana Arango (who would later become President of the Republic), the kidnapping of Francisco Santos (who would later become Vice President), the kidnapping of and murder of Colombian politician Carlos Mauro Hoyos, complicity in the murder of the governor of Antioquia, Antonio Roldán Betancur, in a failed mission entrusted to Velásquez and John Jairo Arias Tascón , alias “Pinina”, to kill a police colonel, and the murder of politician and Presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento. He also admitted to organizing more than 3,000 murders. He also helped plan the plane bombing that killed 110 people.
In May 2018, Velásquez was arrested on charges of racketeering and criminal conspiracy. It is alleged that he blackmailed former associates of Pablo Escobar , who still had control over some of his assets.
Convictions
From 1992 to 2014, Velásquez served a prison sentence on charges of terrorism, drug trafficking, extortion, conspiracy for terrorist purposes, and murder.[8] He had been sentenced to thirty years in prison, the maximum provided by Colombian criminal law. In 2000 and 2001, Velásquez was involved in armed clashes in La Modelo prison. In 2008, he was sentenced to twelve years due to other legal proceedings against him. On August 22, 2014, he was placed on probation after serving three-fifths of his sentence. He was 52 years old and was released on August 26, 2014, after 23 years and 3 months in prison.
In 2018, he returned to prison on racketeering charges and a subsequent conviction, and in 2020 he died while in prison.
Private life
Velásquez once had a relationship with Wendy Chavarriaga Gil, a former lover of his boss Pablo Escobar. One day they were in bed when the phone rang and on the other end was Pablo Escobar. Velásquez was then given the choice: “love or death, money or lead (plata o plomo)”. Velásquez chose plata. He arranged for her to meet him at a cafe. Velásquez would never show up, but instead he called the cafe and asked to speak to Wendy. While she was on the phone, two sicarios shot her in each temple. Shortly after the hit, Velásquez drove by and saw Wendy lying in a pool of blood.
After his release from prison, controversy surrounding Velásquez continued. On December 12, 2016, a video emerged of Velásquez waving and firing a gun in the streets of Medellín. In the video, Velásquez proudly says: “Hello warriors, I am here in the streets of my beloved Medellín, testing my beautiful 9mm Pietro Beretta. We shoot it, it’s a doll, a beauty!”
In December 2016, two men on motorcycles pulled up next to him as he was driving his car and robbed him of his glasses, two old bracelets and an old cell phone, he said. He also said it was the second time he had been targeted in such a way, but that he had not reported the incidents.
Velásquez was not only a controversial figure, but also a YouTube personality who uploaded videos. In these videos he criticized various topics in Colombia, such as a corrupt government and socio-economic hardship. He was working on a TV series based on his own life and his involvement with the Medellín cartel. Then, in 2017, Netflix released a drama series called Surviving Escobar, which is based on the book written by Velásquez. He was featured in the premiere of the Dark Tourist documentary series in 2018. Velásquez appears in a 2019 film, X Sicario – Pablo Escobar’s Hitman; he played Simon, the most feared assassin who worked for Pablo Escobar. The film tells a story in which Simon opposes the new supervisor of the mafia in Medellín.
Death
After a month of hospitalization, Velásquez was transferred from the high security prison of Valledupar to La Picota prison in Bogotá on December 23, 2019 for health reasons. On January 8, 2020, it was announced that Velásquez had terminal esophageal cancer and that he had a maximum of a few months to live. He died on February 6, 2020 in Bogotá, aged 57.