A former hitman for notorious drug trafficker Pablo Escobar was released amid high security Tuesday in Colombia, despite protests from victims, the Associated Press reported.

John Jairo Velasquez, 52, whose nickname is "Popeye," has confessed to hundreds of murders and was released from maximum security prison Tuesday evening, according to the Colombian prison agency, AP reports.

Velasquez was in prison for the past 22 years, serving time for plotting the murder of a former presidential candidate, Luis Carlos Galan -- a cartel-fighting politician, during the 1990 elections.

While in jail, Velasquez also obtained a number of academic degrees and served as a mentor to younger prisoners, reports The Telegraph.

Galan's murder was just one of more than 300 he brags about having committed, along with helping plan more than 3,000, AP reported.

But the only one he was convicted for was Galan's, which was part of a massive attack by Escobar -- whose victims were judges, cabinet members, journalists and Galan's next-in-line for presidential candidacy -- in order for Escobar to avoid extradition to the U.S.

Ultimately, Escobar was killed by police in 1993, and Velasquez is his only surviving hitman, according to Revista Don Juan.

During these violent cocaine turf wars, Velasquez was in Escobar's most trusted circle, and had joined the cartel before he turned 18, AP reported.

"It's really sad that an assassin who committed so many homicides was sentenced for a single murder," Gen. Carlos Mena, head of Colombia's highway police, told AP.

Family members of victims protested the release of Velasquez, who was determined eligible for parole by a judge last week.

Velasquez has expressed regret for his actions and sought forgiveness from victims, but he said he still reveres his former boss.

"If Pablo Escobar were to be reborn I'd go with him without thinking," he told El Tiempo newspaper last year, AP reported.

Although he was initially set to be released in 2016, after serving 24 years, Velasquez received a reduction for good behavior and studying, reports The Malaysian Insider.