It was very difficult to go farther than that in the arguments with my father because he would always have a story or a justification to tell you, which I never considered valid because there is not an excuse for violence.

When one is that powerful and one think life will last like that forever, it is simply the most ephemeral thing. I don't think these sons and daughters of drug dealers are contributing to a lasting peace nor to human values that add to our society. They're delivering the message of riches and power that comes at the cost of people's lives and health and they incentivize young people to follow this model.

I can understand how people would despise my image and my father's persona. My father's image amongst the poorest of people, those forgotten by the state, still remains a respected image. Whether we like it or not, my father was an important figure who filled a vacuum left by the state amongst the lower social classes.

I am a good man and I behave well on an everyday basis. It was not a decision of waking up one day and saying "I will be a good person today, problem solved", no, it has to be an everyday thing.

My whole life I saw how the violence my father created had come back to my family and I thought that I would only make things worse for my mother and my sister if I sought to avenge my father. I had to dare to take a path of peace.

No one prepares you at 7 years of age to have your father tell you he is a criminal - you are still a kid and you are thinking about playing and having fun, things that have little to do with reality. This forces you to grow and mature before due time.

[My father] would be proud, he would hug me and he would be sitting front-row at all the events where I talk to the youth about not repeating [Pablo Escobar's] story because I am a consequence of what he did and I have not changed my stance on violence since we talked about it.