Colombian Presidential Candidate Is Slain at Rally
AP
Published: August 19, 1989
BOGOTA, Colombia, Aug. 18— A gunman assassinated a leading presidential hopeful at a political rally tonight, the mayor of Bogota said. It was the latest in a series of attacks tied to drug traffickers.
A gunman opened fire on Senator Luis Carlos Galan as the Liberal Party candidate was about to give a speech before 10,000 people in Soacha, 20 miles south of Bogota. At least 10 others were wounded.
After the attack, President Virgilio Barco Vargas used his powers under the nation's state of siege to re-establish a treaty with the United States to extradite suspected drug traffickers.
Mr. Barco said his Government would take emergency measures to stop the Medellin cartel, which is responsible for 80 percent of the cocaine that reaches the United States. They include hiring special judges to investigate drug traffickers and detaining suspects for a week without a hearing. Previous Assassination Attempt
The attack on Mr. Galan came hours after drug traffickers shot to death a provincial police chief who had led a campaign against the drug traffickers based in Medellin. The cartel said it was responsible for the slaying of Col. Waldemar Franklin Quintero. Mr. Galan, who was 46 years old, died of several gunshot wounds to the chest, said Mayor Andres Pastrana of Bogota. Mr. Galan had escaped an assassination attempt by drug traffickers on Aug. 5 in the city of Medillin, the center of the nation's cocaine trade. The police said drug traffickers had offered $500,000 to kill Mr. Galan.
More:
http://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/19/world/colombian-presidential-candidate-is-slain-at-rally.html
(Make no mistake, it was the Colombian right-wing which wanted to make sure this leftist wouldn't live until the election, just like the other murdered leftist politicians in Colombia. Of course, everyone knows former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was a friend of drug lord Pablo Escobar during this period in Colombia, as well. Very, very sad day in a very troubled country.)
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