Original subtitles

A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES

THE FOLLOWING IS A FICTIONAL STORY

INSPIRED BY SURVIVING ESCOBAR BY JOHN JAIRO VELÁSQUEZ VÁSQUEZ.

CHARACTERS AND SITUATIONS HAVE BEEN ALTERED FOR THIS PROGRAM.

I'm here to protect you.

Really, to protect me?

Why would you chase me like that? You nearly gave me a heart attack.

- Why didn’t you call me? - Because that phone is tapped.

Who tapped it?

The police, paramilitaries, criminals. Who cares?

In Colombia, whoever isn’t with you is against you.

Look...

Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.

- César. - César.

We better stop this right now.

You’re going to do me more harm than good.

I’ll be careful.

- That’s not the point. - I don’t have a criminal record.

Ximena, I am inside the organization, but...

I can assure you nothing can link me to them.

I don’t know.

If I'm seen with you it’ll get worse.

- Really? - Really.

And if they kill you? Kidnap you? Hurt you?

That'd really be a problem.

CAPITAL PRISON

Nobody will talk.

- Are you sure? - Yeah, bro.

I have my ways.

They know that if they talk they’ll end up dead.

- I hope so. - I’ll be fine.

And my case?

It’s going well, bro.

I’m preparing for Ana María's hearing.

- When is it? - In a month.

I need you to focus.

- I am focused. - No, I really need you to focus.

Let’s put the business issue aside. Let’s take a break.

Let’s get focused.

This is what matters now.

All right?

Put it in that pile over there, please.

What’s up?

- Look at this. - How’s it going?

We’re almost done.

Great, great.

Good, good, boys.

1 MONTH LATER

COURT HEARING ROOM

See if my lawyer is outside.

He’s tall with a five o’clock shadow.

All right?

Good afternoon. Excuse the delay, Your Honor.

So?

Where the hell were you, fucker? You almost missed it.

I'm here now. You're covered.

You're high. Are you on cocaine?

Relax, everything is under control, bro.

Let’s begin this court hearing,

requested by the Prosecution,

for the charges

against John Jairo Velásquez...

who is being charged with perjury...

and first-degree murder.

Sir, please begin.

Thank you, Your Honor.

I am Detective Cifuentes, for the Prosecution.

I am here as a witness against John Jairo Velásquez Vásquez.

ας προχωρησουμε.

θελω να αρχισω

με την εγγραφη του Fernando Buitrago,

alias el Loco, Pablo Escobar’s hitman.

η ομολογια του, κυριε προεδρε,

σταλθηκε στην defense team.

αυτη η ομολογια επιβεβαιωνει οτι ο El Loco

και ο John Jairo Velásquez Vásquez

δολοφονησαν τον ανωνυμο δηκαστη Bernardo Solozábal.

I would also like to mention, Your Honor,

that El Loco died under strange circumstances,

just after he'd received a visit

from Mr. Velásquez’s counsel, who's here now.

Objection, Your Honor.

The Prosecutor is referring to me

as if I had something to do with the death of that man.

Sustained.

Your Honor.

I want to bring attention to the strange circumstances

surrounding the death of the key witness in this case.

I also want to confirm that, at the time of Solozábal's death,

the Prosecution accused Pablo Escobar and his hitmen

of perpetrating the murders of other judges in this country.

- Ximena Escobar? - Yes?

I’m Ricardo Álvarez. I’m with the Department of National Security.

I have a warrant for your arrest.

You have been accused of aiding the guerrillas.

No.

This is a mistake.

I’ll walk you to the door.

I don’t know why Fabio let you in.

Sure. Please come with us.

Don’t worry, miss, we are the good guys.

This is a misunderstanding.

Come with us.

I'm not with the guerrillas!

Either you come willingly or by force.

Fine, I... I can walk by myself!

- No need for a scene. - You’re making one.

Your Honor.

My client, Mr. John Jairo Velásquez...

is the true victim here.

No.

For several months, Ms. Ana María Solozábal, who’s here now,

has been trying to incriminate him

with any scheme she could think of.

First,

she accused him of being the leader of a drug trafficking network

that had distribution channels for acid all over the city.

Back then,

just like now,

my client was in Capital Prison,

where he is well known for his good behavior

and for spending most of his time writing his memoir.

After that, having been unsuccessful in her efforts,

Ms. Solozábal decided to invite him

to participate in a series of interviews for TV.

What was her intention?

To get him to confess another crime.

How could she do this?

As my client had already taken responsibility for all of his crimes

before the law,

Ms. Solozábal

decided to make herself the protagonist of the next story.

What story, Your Honor?

This one.

She’s accusing my client of her father’s murder.

Your Honor.

Please.

None of this makes any sense.

I don’t know Ms. Solozábal's personal agenda.

What I do know is that she’s constantly trying to bring my client down.

And now, just as before,

she doesn’t have any evidence, absolutely nothing.

I am asking you, please.

Stop this travesty.

Travesty?

How disrespectful.

We've told you that we’re from the Department of National Security.

So, what you’re doing is completely illegal.

You see, princess, nothing is illegal.

We can do whatever we want with guerrilla informants.

I am not a guerrilla informant. How many times do I have to tell you?

Look.

We're not doing this because we like it.

We thoroughly investigated you,

and we are convinced that you are a guerrilla informant.

Fine, I will exercise my right to keep silent

until I am provided with an attorney.

Bermúdez, get an attorney for the lady.

Wait, please.

We can reach an agreement, don’t you think?

No! This is unnecessary!

It’s unnecessary!

Please, sir!

Let me go.

After listening to both parties' allegations,

and considering the evidence presented by the Prosecution...

this court does not find enough proof

to link Mr. John Jairo Velásquez

with the murder of Mr. Bernardo Solozábal.

Therefore, I declare Mr. John Jairo Velásquez

innocent of all charges.

This hearing is adjourned.

Your Honor.

How long is our judicial system

going to keep protecting these criminals?

He is a hitman!

Calm down.

- What more proof do you need? - Calm down.

Such bullshit!

- This fucking country! - Sadly, this is how it works.

We lost. There’s nothing we can do, for now.

Calm down.

It’s okay.

In that moment, I fell into despair.

I felt vulnerable.

I felt as if that man had shot my father again with total impunity.

How could this man remain untouchable?

How could he get away with mocking the law in front of everyone?

However, the importance of discovering an arsenal in Capital Prison...

NATIONAL PROSECUTOR

pales in comparison to other discoveries made by the authorities

during this month of investigations.

After a thorough cross-referencing of documents, logs...

and biographical notes of the inmates...

the investigators concluded that...

more than a hundred people, both inmates and visitors...

entered Capital Prison...

and no one ever saw them again.

I am Colonel Mario Tello from the National Police.

Due to the multiple outrages which have occurred inside Capital Prison,

the government has decided to take drastic measures

against the administration of this prison.

This process has been supervised

by the United States of America,

through Plan Colombia.

CAPITAL PRISON

Capital Prison

will no longer be run as it has been up to this point.

Rafael Bautista.

Hurry up. I didn’t come here to look at your ugly faces.

The new prison has been armed against any form of corruption.

The new warden,

along with the guards...

have been carefully selected and trained

by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons.

My name is Reinaldo Ortiz.

CAPITAL PRISON WARDEN

I am the new warden of this prison.

How ironic.

All those bombs...

you planted in this country...

You might not remember, but...

you murdered my entire family.

Do you know what I'm going to do

with each and every bomb you detonated in our country?

I'm gonna stick them up your ass.

Don’t step on the line!

Approximately 200 kilos of cocaine

perfectly packed

and ready to be distributed.

Who are the dead?

DEA AGENT FOR COLOMBIA

They guarded the shipment.

It looks like they were Colombian.

They didn’t have IDs.

We're trying to find out their true identity.

Boss.

Boss.

Boss, you have a phone call.

Boss, a phone call. It’s urgent.

Oh, God...

- Bring me something for a headache. - Yes, sir.

Excuse me.

Hello.

What’s up? How did the business go?

What?

Lunch will be served between 12:00 and 12:30.

You’ll have two hours of manual labor.

One hour of physical labor.

A 15-minute break.

Half an hour for lunch.

Fifteen minutes of TV. And then, you’ll return to your cells.

You’ll be allowed one visitor every two weeks.

And the conjugal visits...

will be once a month.

And only for 20 minutes.

Silence!

One more complaint, and there won’t be conjugal visits.

Conjugal visits will last only 15 minutes.

I’m just considering your poor victims.

I don’t think they want to be with jerks like you longer than that.

Right, Velásquez?

Look at me!

Is that clear?

To your cells.

To your cells!

That son of a bitch. Really, 15-minute conjugal visits?

That’s how long it takes me to take off my shoes.

Hurry.

Get in.

That’s it. Don’t step on the yellow line.

Come on, get in. That’s it.

Who said you could look at me?

Make the black guy in the back hurry up.

Come on, get in.

Get in.

My friend. Yours is the top one, okay?

Line up outside in the cellblock.

Come on.

I have to give you some information.

What do you mean, you made a mistake?

We were supposed to kill the Chief of Police.

A colonel whose last name was Quintero. An honest guy.

Forthright. He didn’t do business with the Mafia.

But the Boss ordered his death

because he'd locked up Mrs. Tata and little Manuela,

who, at the time, was four or five years old.

He ordered us to put a bomb in a car.

That’s when Pinina started investigating him.

He set up the car with the bomb in the area.

He made it look normal.

The guy used to leave his house around six in the morning, near the stadium.

He drove a Mercedes 230, along with his bodyguards and police escort.

He drove on the same street every day.

Then, Pinina set the car bomb

and left a boy in charge of detonating it, about 50 meters away.

When the boy saw the convoy guarding the Mercedes coming

he detonated the bomb.

It was so powerful that an officer ended up on a third floor.

That was it.

Afterwards, we saw the Boss. "It’s all set, Boss."

He said... "Turn on the radio."

So we did and listened.

"A car bomb...

has just killed...

the governor of Antioquia".

Can you imagine? And he was the Boss's friend.

An honest guy.

Kind of good, considering he was the Boss's friend.

He was planning to support his presidential candidacy.

One of his own men.

- And what did he say? - Nothing.

Zip.

He didn’t get flustered or scream.

He said nothing.

He knew.

He knew that he was just collateral damage.

Ana, you have to stop watching those videos.

Enough about Popeye. Stop this obsession.

I don’t want to.

It isn’t an obsession. Janeth.

My dad was devoted to justice.

Yes, and justice betrayed him.

Justice didn’t do anything to convict his killers.

That’s true, but you have to let this Popeye thing go.

Let it go.

What happened was my fault.

What are you talking about?

I gave him a voice when I interviewed him.

I’m the only one who can take it away.

What do you mean?

I want to bring back attention to Popeye’s victims.

No, Ana María, no.

I beg your pardon, Tito?

- You told me... - No, no.

I told you something different.

Look.

It's one thing to make victims aware of who killed their loved ones.

It's another to expose their pain, their drama and suffering

in front of an audience, in front of a camera.

This is a newscast, not a confessional.

We won't expose their pain. We’ll give the victims a voice.

It’s the least we can do. We gave that murderer a voice.

And it was a mistake.

You know how he bragged about his crimes.

- Yes. - I want to give them a face, all right?

Since they were only numbers to him, just dirty jobs he did for his boss.

If I were his victim,

I wouldn’t talk, not even after death.

Let me try. I’ll find the best way to do it.

Oh my God, Ana María, Ana María.

Why are you so stubborn?

Huh?

Tito, I need a camera right now.

What for?

They just arrested Nena Ximena Escobar, charged her with aiding the guerrillas.

They found weapons in her apartment.

- Sure, pick one. - Yes? Thanks.

Oh, boy.

Obviously someone put weapons in my apartment.

They framed me.

And is this also part of the frame-up?

Your Honor.

Is it a crime

for a beauty pageant winner to visit prisoners?

Ms. Escobar.

The evidence presented by the Prosecution implicates you.

Therefore, as a safety measure, until your hearing,

you will remain in jail.

What do you mean in jail? This isn’t fair.

Take her away.

This is why this country is so messed up!

Stand up, please.

I’ll prove to you that this is an injustice.

It’s okay. I can walk on my own.

Is it true that they found several weapons in your apartment?

Come on, you know me.

You know I am a human rights advocate.

I don’t understand why these people want to link me to the guerrillas,

but I can assure you that their evidence is completely false.

I'm also accusing

the National Security Department of kidnapping me.

They held me for more than 24 hours.

They gagged me and beat me up. Look what they did to me.

Ms. Ximena, do you have proof of what you are saying?

Of course I do. My building’s doorman can confirm it.

I know who framed the beauty queen.

And believe me, you gotta be a real bastard to do a thing like that.

The fact that Duván and Ancízar betrayed her to the Security Department

was a stab in the back.

I know you are enemies, and they want revenge,

but to punish a poor beauty queen, bro?

Last time she was here,

I noticed that you two spoke for a long time.

They also noticed and said "She is Galeno’s Achilles' heel."

Can I ask you something, bro?

Besides you, who else are they trying to harm?

This is bad. I’ll leave this tidbit for you to think about.

What?

Nobody messes with my people, you son of a bitch.

I told you not to step on the yellow line.

What do you think you're doing?

Listen, it's one thing for you to order me around,

and another to force me to eat that shit.

You can eat it if you like.

Put that food away.

Hello.

Hello, is this Sofía Ramírez?

- Yes, this is she. - How are you?

This is Ana María Solozábal with the Eight O’Clock News.

What do you want?

- Listen, I... - No.

You turned us into a joke.

You made my life miserable.

You made me relive all the suffering that bastard put me through.

Sofía, hear me out.

No, it was enough to listen to that bastard brag

as if it was an accomplishment, full of pride.

Explaining how he killed my husband and the other victims.

Eh...

Sofía, if you give me five minutes of your time, I can...

You, miss,

turned a monster into a hero.

I hope you can live with that.

Okay.

What do you mean he’s not there? Where is he?

Look, Serrano told me to call him at this number if I needed him.

Listen, baby doll, I can’t call every 15 minutes. This isn’t a five-star hotel.

Tell him that Popeye is looking for him.

And if I need him, he better show up, no matter where he is, got it?

But how the hell did they catch them?

Hey.

Do you think they’ll catch us?

They don’t know who we are. And they have no way to find us.

DRUG TRAFFICKING PILOT

Did you tell J.?

Does he know the shipment got intercepted?

No.

Tell him, and soon.

He'd better hear about this mess from you, and not from someone else.

Hello, may I speak with Andrés Restrepo, please?

How are you?

This is Ana María Solozábal.

Yes, the journalist from the Eight O’Clock News.

Five minutes. That’s why...

Look, Patricia, I understand your pain.

Believe me. That’s why...

Give me just five minutes.

Hello? Hello.

Is this José Beltrán?

How are you?

This is Ana María Solozábal. I am...

Hello?

Eh... I understand your pain,

Mr. Ramón, but, that’s why...

that’s why I am conducting this investigation.

I know... Hear me out, please.

That’s exactly what I want to talk about.

Yes, I’m sorry. I won’t call you again.

Please don’t hang up. Please, listen to me. Yes?

What...

Hello?

What is this?

This is the food you didn’t want to eat at lunch time.

I won’t eat this shit.

That’s too bad.

It’s all there is.

Listen, everyone.

The food you see here...

was paid for by the good citizens with their taxes.

So, from now on, nobody will waste a crumb.

Understood?

Not a crumb.

So, Velásquez?

You decide.

Either you eat it now... or I’ll make you eat it later.

I'd rather starve, you son of a bitch.

Lights.

Come on.

Wake up.

What’s up? This place smells like a pig sty.

Come on, come on.

Let’s go.

Move. What are you waiting for?

Come on.

- Hello? - Sofía Ramírez?

- Yes. - Ana María Solozábal, from the news...

- I know you. You're that journalist. - Please, listen to me for a minute.

Didn’t I make myself clear yesterday?

Yes, you did. I just need a moment.

No, not even a moment.

And if you keep harassing me I'll press charges.

Hear me out, please. That criminal...

I’m one of his victims.

Popeye killed my father.

I made a mistake by letting a criminal speak,

but that’s why I’m here now.

I need the help of all the victims whose lives that bastard ruined, Sofía.

Neither fingerprint nor facial analysis produced any results.

NATIONAL PROSECUTOR

However, we still think they were Colombian, right?

That’s what we assume, judging by their routes,

their M.O., and the quality of the alkaloids.

What cartel did they belong to?

That’s hard to tell right now.

One had a tattoo of a Medellín soccer team.

And the other had one from Cali.

Besides, all their ringleaders are in jail.

The good news is that we’re on the right track.

We've managed to infiltrate their organization.

Our men are sending sporadic reports.

However, they're still at the bottom of the chain of command.

They’re bottom of the barrel.

We could accelerate the operation,

but we don’t want to risk our agents’ lives

or the success of the operation.

Right now, we must be patient and wait.

I’m sure that pretty soon

our work will permit us to capture the leader of the new cartel.

Judges, attorneys,

journalists, police, citizens.

Where are the thousands of victims now...

Widows, orphans, mothers, friends...

That John Jairo Velásquez Vásquez left behind

after the outbreak of violence and death he put this country through?

This is Sofía Ramírez, wife of General Jorge Ramírez,

who was murdered by Popeye in December of 1990.

Sofía, welcome.

Thank you for granting me this interview.

Thank you for inviting me, Ana María.

The truth is that, for us, the victims

of this criminal, it is important to tell

what we went through in this macabre story.

This happened...

in December. We lived in Medellín.

Our children lived with my mother in Bogotá.

We decided to spend New Year’s with some friends.

We left their house late at night.

A motorcycle rode by,

and the shots began.

I can still remember the sound of the bullets.

My husband was on the ground.

And, instinctively, I covered his body with mine.

He was already dead.

It’s been ten years since that moment.

How has your life been, Sofía?

Hell.

My children and I haven’t had a moment of peace since.

The blow that Velásquez dealt us was too hard.

He destroyed us. Not only emotionally,

but psychologically and also financially.

Psychologists, treatments,

physicians, security.

And, on top of that,

the injustice of seeing this man continue to get away with everything.

We haven’t had a day of relief.

How do you feel right now?

How do I feel?

Helpless.

Humiliated.

Humiliated. Humiliated to see how

this murderer, because that’s what he is...

has become a celebrity.

A star,

who is celebrated for his murders.

Because in this country,

everybody remembers the murderers, the criminals, and the corrupt,

who keep operating with impunity.

But what about the victims

that a man like John Jairo Velásquez

leaves behind as a result of his depravity?

Who remembers them?

Who remembers my husband?

Outrage.

That’s what I feel.

What a shame I wasn’t here when that journalist came.

I would’ve enriched your story.

I would’ve expanded your catalog of crimes.

I would’ve told her...

how you, in a display of greatness and bravery...

detonated a bomb and forced me to look at five caskets.

Five.

My mother’s.

My wife’s.

And my three children.

How does it feel, Velásquez?

How the fuck does it feel?

This is just part of the evidence that we have collected

during four weeks of investigation.

For example...

here is a list of the times you called the cell phone of Commander Galeno.

By the way, speaking of which...

you are with him here.

And here.

- Here. - I can explain.

Please do.

I became a candidate for Congress because I like to mediate.

This one was taken during a humanitarian visit I made to Capital Prison.

- This... - This.

We also found this in your apartment.

This links you directly with an attack that was being planned

against Casa de Nariño and the President of the Republic.

That isn’t true. I’ve never seen this before.

You must believe me.

That isn’t mine.

Ximena.

You remind me of my daughter.

Believe me, you’re in deep trouble.

Your life, as you know it, is about to change.

I suggest you help us.

The sooner, the better.

What year did you go to work for the Secretariat?