The real-life 'Narcos' agents who helped bring down Pablo Escobar say their anger toward the notorious drug lord has not faded after 25 years - and painted a bleak picture of the modern-day war on drugs.
Steve Murphy and Javier Peña were part of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) team which targeted the feared Colombian, and were characterised in the popular Netflix show Narcos.
The pair, now retired, told Mirror Online that their contempt toward 'Don Pablo' is still raw - although Murphy admitted his portrayal on the show had perversely made him briefly "feel sorry" for him.
Escobar was responsible for an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 deaths during a reign of terror spanning more than a decade - during which time he built up the world's biggest cocaine empire, raking in a staggering $70million per day.
This finally came to an end when the cartel leader died aged 44 during a rooftop shootout in December 1993, and a picture of Murphy kneeling over his body became famous around the world.
Murphy and Peña regularly feared they would not survive the terrifying mission to stop Escobar, whose legion of followers were far better armed than they were.
They also believed there would be reprisals against them after the leader of the Medellín Cartel died in a shootout in his home city of Medellín.
The former agents are due to give a series of talks in the UK in May, having toured the world talking about the dangerous mission to take down the drug lord.
Speaking from his home in Washington DC, Murphy, 61, told Mirror Online: "I will say we were scared often, we went out on a lot of missions with national police officers, it was scary."
And the agent, who had been in the DEA for just four years when he was sent to Bogota in 1991, continued: "Their (the narcos') weapons were much more advanced than ours, we were carrying rifles and pistols while they had RPGs, hand grenades.
"I did have that concern (about being killed), but as professionals you have to weigh up the risk and decide if the mission is worth it."
That fear was not ill-founded - Escobar paid hitmen to murder police officers, with more than 600 killed in the lengthy war between authorities and his cartel.
Many of them were friends of Peña and Murphy.
Presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán - widely tipped for the country's top job - was another high-profile casualty, when he was shot dead in an assassination linked to Escobar's operation in 1989.
Despite the years they spent monitoring and searching for Escobar, neither came face-to-face with him.
Asked what he would have said with the cartel leader if they had met, Peña, who was assigned to Colombia in 1988, said: "It was a long search, and it was very violent.
"A lot of innocent people were killed. My question would have been why are you killing all these innocent people who had nothing to do with the drug trade."
One of the most horrific atrocities of Escobar's reign of terror was the bombing of Avianca Flight 203, which claimed 110 lives in November 1989.
The flight, from capital Bogota to Cali was targeted in a failed attempt to kill Cesar Gaviria Trujillo, who would go on to become president of Colombia.
Gaviria was not on the aircraft, but the attack prompted the George Bush Snr administration to begin Intelligence Support Activity operations to catch Escobar.
Peña said: "Escobar was the inventor of narcoterrorism, I would ask him why he was targeting innocent people in this way."
In 1991 Escobar surrendered to the government, on the condition that he be housed in a luxurious prison, named La Catedral, which boasted football pitches, a jacuzzi and a waterfall.
Desperate for peace, Colombian authorities agreed, but it rankled with those charged with bringing him down.
"We wanted to raid that prison, but could never found a way of doing it safely," Murphy revealed.
In July 1992 Escobar escaped, prompting one of the biggest manhunts ever seen in Latin America, led by Colonel Hugo Martinez.
When Escobar's death was confirmed, the agents recalled, it was a cause for much elation.
Although in Narcos Murphy was shown chasing Escobar across the roof in the decisive operation, he was not on the scene when the fatal shots were fired.
The retired agent recalled: "I was at the base with Colonel Martinez.
"The feeling of everybody was one of elation. We were all very happy that his reign of terror was over, and all the citizens of Colombia were safer."
Nevertheless, bringing down the world's most famous drug lord was a dangerous thing to do, and those involved in the Search Bloc didn't believe the danger ended with Escobar's demise.
"We did expect retaliation attacks that night," Murphy said. "But it was one of the quietest nights I've ever had."
Despite this, he was told a group of men had been seen driving down the road where he lived with wife Connie asking for Senor Murphy, but he does not know what they were after.
Murphy added: "There was a car load of people asking where Senor Murphy lived, but I never found out who they were.
"But we now know that when Escobar died his entire operation was almost entirely gone."
Still surprising nearly quarter of a century later is the volume of Escobar-related merchandise on sale, something that baffles the two former DEA agents.
Murphy said: "We have people who wear those t-shirts around us, we just kind of laugh about it.
"We know who won - he's dead, he's no longer around.
"I was amazed at that popularity, but it seems young people like to glamorise gangsters and their personas."
And Peña added: "He killed between 10,000 and 15,000 people, innocent people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"When we talk about the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar, he created this empire that reached around the world. He was a terrorist."
But did Escobar's demise impact the flow of drugs onto American streets?
"It did have a positive effect for a couple of weeks," said Murphy.
"But there are so many evil, greedy people in this world wanting to take advantage of those weaker than them, you can't arrest them all.
"You can't put enough people in jail, there are too many evil people."
Instead the two agents now advocate better education for young people, warning them of the dangers of illegal substances.
"The government decided to cut back funding (for drugs awareness work), we're trying to do our bit to raise awareness," said Murphy.
The two former agents say they have been stunned with how successful Narcos has been.
Peña was played by Game of Thrones star Pedro Pascal, while actor Boyd Holbrook portrayed Murphy.
Murphy stated: "There's no one more shocked by the popularity of Narcos than us.
"We didn't think anybody would want to hear the story, it happened so long ago."
Before agreeing to help make the show, Murphy and Peña insisted that it should in no way glamorise Escobar or the cartels.
Peña said: "We didn't want Pablo Escobar to be glamorised. You can't glamorise someone who killed thousands of people.
"But Wagner (Wagner Moura, who played Escobar in the series) did such a good job that people did feel sorry for him."
Murphy added: "I was watching season two with my wife.
"Wagner did such a good job portraying him that I even felt sorry for him in the end."
Despite this depiction in the series, Murphy is clear what his views are on the real-life villain.
He said: "Pablo was nothing more than a mass murderer.
"He was a criminal of the worst kind, who preys on the most people who are in the worst position, he just took advantage of them.
"He was presented as a modern-day Robin Hood, but in reality he manipulated people to achieve what he wanted."
Murphy and Peña will be delivering talks at venues across the UK and Ireland between May 9 and 21.
They will present their 'Capturing Pablo' events at O2 Academy venues in Glasgow, Leeds, Newcastle, Brixton, Birmingham and Bournemouth.