Story By: Juan Mayes, Sub-Editor: Joana Mihajlovska, Agency:  Newsflash

The widow of notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar has said it took her many years to realise she was living with a “psychopath” and now helps other people with her story of resilience.

Victoria Eugenia Henao, 60, made the comments during an interview with Colombian magazine Semana which were reported on Saturday 19th December.

Henao and former Medellin Cartel boss Pablo Escobar met when she was just 13 years of age and Escobar was 24.

Escobar wooed the young girl and eventually dated her in secret as her family did not approve of the relationship given the age difference.

However, the couple eventually started officially dating before Henao ended up running away from home and marrying ‘the King of Cocaine’ in 1976.

Henao recently wrote a book entitled ‘Pablo and Me: My Life with Escobar’ where she spoke about some of the horrors she experienced, including assassination attempts and constant persecution by the authorities which led to her suffering post-traumatic stress.

During her interview with Semana, she said she had to consult therapists for several years to see the reality of her situation with Escobar.

She said she did not know that she lived through so much gender violence and actually idolised Escobar when they were together.

She added: “With my therapists, I was discovering a lot of traumatic situations I lived. I discovered something that greatly hurts me even to repeat the word that the professionals showed me, that I was living with a psychopath.”

She said he would often treat her as second-class due to her gender and was always at Escobar’s beck and call which she also partly blames on the sexist culture that existed at the time of her upbringing in Colombia.

The widow called Escobar jealous, a sexist, and a womaniser in her book and revealed stories surrounding him and some of his mistresses.

Henao now lives in Argentina saying she does not see a place for herself in Colombia after her chequered past there.

She now travels around the world giving talks and is a part of several women’s groups whom she tries to inspire with her story of resilience after being married to one of the world’s most notorious cartel bosses.

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