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.

When I was 7 years old and my father [Pablo Escobar] tells me "my profession is that of a bandido (a bandit) that is what I do" - these are the words he tells me after the assassination of the Minister of Justice ordered by my father himself in 1984 - it's very difficult to react to that when you are only 7 years old because you don't realize the significance of the word bandido.

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 was talking to my father via phone from my hotel room when he said "I will call you right back" before he hung up. 10 minutes pass and the phone rings again. I thought it was him but it was a journalist telling me my father had died.

I did not begin to talk about peace when my father died nor did I begin to criticize him at that point - I did this when I had him in front of me, I was one of his harshest criticizers and I never applauded his violence.

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.

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.