Tirso ?TJ? Dominguez, a former top pilot for Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, has claimed in a new podcast that he earned as much as $20 million every month flying planeloads of cocaine into the United States.

Speaking in what is believed to be his first interview since his 1988 arrest, Dominguez detailed his rise from a marijuana smuggler to one of Escobar?s most trusted transporters in the newly released Cocaine Air podcast.

?I had 30 Lamborghinis, and I dressed well. They brought me the car that matched the shirt that I decided to wear that day,? Dominguez said.

According to him, Escobar initially offered him $5 million per flight for four flights, totalling $20 million monthly, after Dominguez declined an earlier approach.

At the time, he was reportedly already making $4 million monthly flying for a rival cartel.

Born into a well-off family in Florida, Dominguez said he only entered drug smuggling after his father died of cancer and a bank refused to release a loan.

To make money, he began flying marijuana from the Bahamas and Colombia, and later moved into cocaine trafficking after a botched drop led to threats on his life.

He claimed he never used drugs himself and ?never wanted to get into cocaine.?

Dominguez said financial pressure and the promise of high returns pushed him deeper into the business.

Eventually, Escobar began paying him in cocaine rather than cash, allowing Dominguez to operate independently as both a transporter and dealer.

Dominguez owned an exotic car dealership, a cellphone business, a private jet charter company, and even a pet mountain lion named Top Cat.

His empire collapsed in April 1988 when federal agents raided his Florida mansion.

Authorities seized luxury cars, planes and real estate.

Dominguez later pleaded guilty and spent 13 years in prison, including two in solitary confinement after he tried to escape by helicopter.

Now 73, he told the podcast he is focused on rebuilding his life legally. (The PUNCH)

?A past photo of Tirso ?TJ? Dominguez, who opened up on the podcast Cocaine Air about how he became the top cocaine pilot for Pablo Escobar. Photo: The Guardian / Courtesy of the Cocaine Air podcast

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