Via the BBC: Colombia minister held for murder
A former Colombian justice minister has been arrested on suspicion of planning the assassination of presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galan in 1989.The ex-minister, Alberto Santofimio Botero, was arrested after new evidence emerged linking him to the killing, the attorney general’s office said.
Mr Galan was gunned down at an election rally near the capital, Bogota.
At the time, the crime was linked to drug lord Pablo Escobar, and one of his associates was convicted for it.
Mr Galan, who was the Liberal Party candidate, had campaigned against corruption and drug-trafficking and was a political rival of Mr Santofimio.
This is most interesting. The assassination of Galan in 1989 was a huge event, as it was clear that he was going to be the President. This is an intriguing development. I want to say that Santofimio has been in legal trouble before, but the memory is a vague one.
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Santofimio was arrested in the mid-90’s for taking money from drug-traffickers. Not shocking, since it had been known for a long time that he was tight with the Escobar cartel.
Comment by Terry — Saturday, May 14, 2024 @ 4:34 pm
This was my general recollection, but I haven’y bothered to look it up as yet.
Comment by Steven Taylor — Saturday, May 14, 2024 @ 5:03 pm
Wow, I missed this story the first time around. I was in Bogota when this assassination happened. Everything is etched in my memory. The news bulletin of the shooting, the later one that Galan had died. The tanks and troops on the street the next day; I have never been in a country when a coup took place, but I think I got a taste of it that day. Then marching with some labor-organization friends in Galan’s funeral. It was all surreal. Galan was one of Colombia’s great politicians. Inspiring. So much so that I put a quote of his on my website just recently.
Comment by Matthew Shugart — Monday, June 20, 2024 @ 4:24 pm