By . Associated Press . and Ted Thornhill for MailOnline . A former hitman for Pablo Escobar, who confessed to hundreds of murders as head of the drug kingpin's army of assassins, was freed from prison on Tuesday after having his sentence reduced for studying and good behavior. However, his release was met by angry protests by his many alleged victims. John Jairo Velasquez, better known by his nickname Popeye, was released in the evening under heavy police surveillance from a maximum security prison northeast of Bogota. He had served 22 years of a 30-year sentence for plotting the murder of a former presidential candidate. Witness: John Jairo Velasquez gives his testimony while holding a book titled The True Pablo, Blood, Treason, and Death, during the 2006 trial against Alberto Santofimio Botero in Bogota. He has been released from prison for 'good behaviour' Velasquez was one of Escobar's most-trusted lieutenants during the campaign of terror, joining the capo's Medellin cocaine cartel before he turned 18. This picture was taken last year in Combita prison, where Velasquez served his time . Trafficker: Pablo Escobar . Born in 1949, Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria started his criminal career on the streets of Medellin in Colombia as a teenager, selling contraband cigarettes and stealing cars. When he was gunned down by Colombian National Police on December 2 1993 he was one of the wealthiest criminals in history, worth a staggering $30billion. After working for a short time as a bodyguard in the early 1970s Escobar moved on to cocaine trafficking. His operation became so successful that he was able to buy 15 planes and six helicopters to help smuggle the drugs, mainly to the United States. Escobar amassed so much cash that he had to spend around $2500 a month on rubber bands to keep the piles of notes neatly stacked. His Medellin Cartel inevitably attracted the attention of the authorities, but Escobar dealt with them mercilessly. He either bribed them or had them assassinated, which is where the likes of John Jairo Velasquez came in. Escobar was eventually gunned down in 1993 by Colombian police, who found him in a middle-class home in Medellin, with the help of U.S special forces, after a 15-month-long investigation. He was shot while trying to escape across nearby roofs with his bodyguard, Alvaro de Jesus Agudelo, who was also shot and killed. The slaying of the cartel-fighting politician Luis Carlos Galan during the 1990 presidential campaign he was heavily favored to win marked the apex of drug violence that engulfed Colombia two decades ago. In a bid to fight extradition to the United States, Escobar ordered scores of assassinations - of judges, cabinet ministers and journalists. The cartel waged a bombing campaign across Bogota, Medellin and Cali, with many of the explosive devices planted by Velasquez. Escobar even downed an Avianca commercial jetliner in 1989, killing all 107 on board, because he believed Galan's political heir, then President Cesar Gaviria, was aboard. Families of some of the Avianca flight victims have complained that Velasquez has not shared all he knows about the crime and say that his release could mean vital facts never come to light. Velasquez was one of Escobar's most-trusted lieutenants during the campaign of terror, joining the capo's Medellin cocaine cartel before he turned 18. As Colombia's bloody cocaine turf wars faded from memory, Velasquez liked to boast in frequent interviews from prison that he killed 300 people with his own hands, including his own wife, and helped plan another 3,000 hits. But the only murder for which he was convicted was Galan's. The family members of his many other alleged victims, as well as legal experts, grasped for an explanation when a judge last week determined he was eligible for parole. 'It's really sad that an assassin who committed so many homicides was sentenced for a single murder,' said Gen. Carlos Mena, the head of Colombia's highway police who as a young officer helped US authorities hunt down Escobar, who was killed by police in 1993. Velasquez, 52, took advantage of his time behind bars to obtain a number of academic degrees and to seek forgiveness from his victims. He also provided prosecutors with testimony that led to the conviction of a former justice minister close to Escobar for involvement in Galan's murder. In a string of interviews anticipating his early release, Velasquez confided that he had about an 80 per cent chance of being killed by former rivals after he's freed.  With the threat of a revenge killing lurking, he said he was considering relocating abroad. He also wants to sell to Hollywood the rights to an autobiography he wrote about his life alongside Escobar. But even while expressing regret about his crimes, he continued to demonstrate admiration for his former boss. 'If Pablo Escobar were to be reborn I'd go with him without thinking,' he told El Tiempo newspaper last year. Merciless: Velasquez, pictured in 2009, liked to boast in frequent interviews from prison that he killed 300 people with his own hands . Maximum security: A member of Colombian prison guard walks outside the Combita prison . Secure: Members of the Colombian police guard an entrance to the Combita prison .
John Jairo Velasquez confessed to hundreds of murders in Colombia .
He was the head of Pablo Escobar's army of ruthless assassins .
Escobar assassinated judges, cabinet ministers and journalists .
Velasquez boasted  that he killed 300 people with his own hands .
He was freed from prison on Tuesday amid angry protests from his victims .
By . Associated Press . and Ted Thornhill for MailOnline . A former hitman for Pablo Escobar, who confessed to hundreds of murders as head of the drug kingpin's army of assassins, was freed from prison on Tuesday after having his sentence reduced for studying and good behavior. However, his release was met by angry protests by his many alleged victims. John Jairo Velasquez, better known by his nickname Popeye, was released in the evening under heavy police surveillance from a maximum security prison northeast of Bogota. He had served 22 years of a 30-year sentence for plotting the murder of a former presidential candidate. Witness: John Jairo Velasquez gives his testimony while holding a book titled The True Pablo, Blood, Treason, and Death, during the 2006 trial against Alberto Santofimio Botero in Bogota. He has been released from prison for 'good behaviour' Velasquez was one of Escobar's most-trusted lieutenants during the campaign of terror, joining the capo's Medellin cocaine cartel before he turned 18. This picture was taken last year in Combita prison, where Velasquez served his time . Trafficker: Pablo Escobar . Born in 1949, Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria started his criminal career on the streets of Medellin in Colombia as a teenager, selling contraband cigarettes and stealing cars. When he was gunned down by Colombian National Police on December 2 1993 he was one of the wealthiest criminals in history, worth a staggering $30billion. After working for a short time as a bodyguard in the early 1970s Escobar moved on to cocaine trafficking. His operation became so successful that he was able to buy 15 planes and six helicopters to help smuggle the drugs, mainly to the United States. Escobar amassed so much cash that he had to spend around $2500 a month on rubber bands to keep the piles of notes neatly stacked. His Medellin Cartel inevitably attracted the attention of the authorities, but Escobar dealt with them mercilessly. He either bribed them or had them assassinated, which is where the likes of John Jairo Velasquez came in. Escobar was eventually gunned down in 1993 by Colombian police, who found him in a middle-class home in Medellin, with the help of U.S special forces, after a 15-month-long investigation. He was shot while trying to escape across nearby roofs with his bodyguard, Alvaro de Jesus Agudelo, who was also shot and killed. The slaying of the cartel-fighting politician Luis Carlos Galan during the 1990 presidential campaign he was heavily favored to win marked the apex of drug violence that engulfed Colombia two decades ago. In a bid to fight extradition to the United States, Escobar ordered scores of assassinations - of judges, cabinet ministers and journalists. The cartel waged a bombing campaign across Bogota, Medellin and Cali, with many of the explosive devices planted by Velasquez. Escobar even downed an Avianca commercial jetliner in 1989, killing all 107 on board, because he believed Galan's political heir, then President Cesar Gaviria, was aboard. Families of some of the Avianca flight victims have complained that Velasquez has not shared all he knows about the crime and say that his release could mean vital facts never come to light. Velasquez was one of Escobar's most-trusted lieutenants during the campaign of terror, joining the capo's Medellin cocaine cartel before he turned 18. As Colombia's bloody cocaine turf wars faded from memory, Velasquez liked to boast in frequent interviews from prison that he killed 300 people with his own hands, including his own wife, and helped plan another 3,000 hits. But the only murder for which he was convicted was Galan's. The family members of his many other alleged victims, as well as legal experts, grasped for an explanation when a judge last week determined he was eligible for parole. 'It's really sad that an assassin who committed so many homicides was sentenced for a single murder,' said Gen. Carlos Mena, the head of Colombia's highway police who as a young officer helped US authorities hunt down Escobar, who was killed by police in 1993. Velasquez, 52, took advantage of his time behind bars to obtain a number of academic degrees and to seek forgiveness from his victims. He also provided prosecutors with testimony that led to the conviction of a former justice minister close to Escobar for involvement in Galan's murder. In a string of interviews anticipating his early release, Velasquez confided that he had about an 80 per cent chance of being killed by former rivals after he's freed.  With the threat of a revenge killing lurking, he said he was considering relocating abroad. He also wants to sell to Hollywood the rights to an autobiography he wrote about his life alongside Escobar. But even while expressing regret about his crimes, he continued to demonstrate admiration for his former boss. 'If Pablo Escobar were to be reborn I'd go with him without thinking,' he told El Tiempo newspaper last year. Merciless: Velasquez, pictured in 2009, liked to boast in frequent interviews from prison that he killed 300 people with his own hands . Maximum security: A member of Colombian prison guard walks outside the Combita prison . Secure: Members of the Colombian police guard an entrance to the Combita prison .
who confessed to hundreds of murders as head of the drug kingpin's army of assassins, was freed from prison on Tuesday after having his sentence alleged victims. John Jairo Velasquez, better - of judges, cabinet ministers and journalists. from prison that he killed 300 people with his own hands, including his own wife, and helped