Luis Carlos Galán

Early life

Galán was born on 29 September 1943 in the city of Bucaramanga, Santander, northeastern Colombia. He had a happy childhood, with strong family bonds, affectionate and sometimes austere, as he had 12 siblings. Luis Angel Arango Librarassination of the Liberal, Jorge Eliécer Gaitán and the partisan civil war known as La Violencia (The Violence) period. His father moved with the whole family to Bogotá in 1949.

In Bogotá, Galán studied middle school in the Colegio Americano in 1950. While a student there and only 8 years old, he attended a rally against Conservative president Laureano Gómez and intended to support the Liberal guerrillas. Two years later he was transferred to another school, the Colegio Antonio Nariño. When he was only a 14-year old, Galán participated in the students protests of 1957 against the dictatorial regime of Gustavo Rojas getting arrested and spending the night in a jail despite his age. In 1960 Galán graduated from High School with honors and began studies of law and economics in the Pontifical Xavierian University in Bogotá, it was then that his liberal radicalism cooled off. While a student in 1963, Galán founded Vértice, a university focused magazine to express his Liberal tendencies in a university that was predominantly Conservative and also became his first experience with journalism. He was able to meet prominent Colombian leaders like former Liberal president Carlos Lleras (who delighted with Galán's work, decided to write articles for Vértice Magazine) and Colombia's main circulation newspaper El Tiempo owner and also former Liberal president of Colombia Eduardo Santosduring an interview in which Santos was impressed by Galán's journalist qualities. In 1965 after graduating this same year, he started working for the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo.

Journalism

In El Tiempo Galán turned himself into a well known journalist and columnist, effort that earned him the director's assistant position and later the membership of the Executive Directorate in the newspaper with the support of Eduardo Santos and then director Roberto García Peña. He was also active with the Nueva Frontera weekly magazine founded by former president Carlos Lleras, which he directed in 1976 after arriving from Italy. As a journalist Galán wrote no less than 150 editorial articles, followed by other 150 during his time in El Tiempo newspaper.

In 1977 Galán wrote in one of Nueva Frontera's editorial an article denouncing the existence of narcotics trafficking mafias and that they were influencing the social structure of Colombia. He also denounced the clientelist politics, moral values corruption and collective values loss, this seen as a premonition for Colombia's future.

It was during an interview with the then recently elected president Misael Pastrana that he was surprised by the president in the middle of the interview who told Galán that he was going to be his Minister of Education.

In 1986 As an anecdote, Galán wrote his autobiography under the pseudonym "Cleo Tilde", but it was only until 1994 that the identity was revealed. He described detailed facts, events and encounters with prominent figures as well as an approach to his personal point of view and thoughts.

Political career

In 1970 Galán was appointed Minister of National Education during the presidency of Misael Pastrana. His time as minister was marked by his progressive and social policies, but was not considered successful. In 1972 Galán was appointed Ambassador of Colombia in Italy and later in 1974 while still ambassador, was appointed Colombian representative to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Under the influence of former president Lleras and after directing the Nueva Frontera Magazine for seven years, in 1976 Galán ran for councilman in the small town of Oiba in the northeastern department of Santander. In 1977 and 1978 Galán became very active and supportive of Carlos Lleras reelection as president of Colombia while he ran for the Senate. The reelection never occurred, however, he got elected as Senator of Colombia representing the Santander Department.

On 30 November 1979 Galán founded a party with the name Nuevo Liberalismo and within the Liberal Party.

During the 1980s Colombia went under critical siege by violent drug cartels, specially the Medellín Cartel that had gained a great amount of influence by bribing or killing officials. Galán saw this as disastrous for Colombia and its society.

In 1980 Galán was elected as councilman for the capital, Bogotá to be named the following year, in 1981 as possible candidate for the presidency of Colombia amid divisions in the Liberal Party that intended to challenge the majorities of the party led by Alfonso López Michelsen and then president Julio César Turbay, but voters leaned for the conservative candidate Belisario Betancur. For Galán it had been a positive outcome despite losing, his party Nuevo Liberalismo had gained a 10% of the total votes winning 21 of the 23 Department Assemblies and getting reelected as Senator but he had been criticised by the Liberal Party for creating divisions among them and indeed losing the Presidency.

By 1982 Pablo Escobar, a man then known for being a very wealthy Antioqean but of unknown background, was initially a member of Galán's Nuevo Liberalismo Party. Galán found out about his illegal activities and publicly rejected him in front of thousands of his fellow men from Antioquiaand Colombia.

Galán continued with his ascendant career, absenting himself from the 1986 presidential race to prevent Liberal Party divisions and running his party as an offspring he was reelected once again as a Senator. This allowed the Liberal Party to regain the Presidency with the election of Virgilio Barco but at a terrible cost for his party that lost 50% of the votes gained in the previous election.

It was only until the mediation of former president Julio César Turbay that Galán returned to the party in 1987 and intended to win the party nomination for official candidate. Galán was growing impatient with the violence and the corruption the drug cartels led by Pablo Escobar and Gonzalo Rodríguez were imposing in Colombia, which encouraged him to try to support the weakening government by shifting the balance of power away from his dangerous enemies.

The Nuevo Liberalism joined the government and was given the Ministry of Agriculture headed by Gabriel Rosas Vega and the Liberal Party gained a solid union that consolidated further when Galán won the Liberal Party's popular nomination to be the presidential frontrunner. Galán was becoming popular for his open criticism and denounce of drug cartel violence, he had promised to extradite drug dealers to the United States. He announced he would run for office on 4 July 1989 in the Tequendama Hotel in Bogotá. His popularity rating skyrocketed to 60%.

Meanwhile Escobar found some support in Tolima's political chief Alberto Santofimio affiliated also with a faction of the Liberal Party led by Alfonso López Michelsen and with a movement called Movimiento de Renovación Liberal (Liberal Renovation Movement) getting himself elected to the Chamber of Representatives as second runner up for Santofimios' congress candidate Jairo Rojas.

Assassination

According to accounts the first assassination threats were calls made to Galán's home telephone number after the Liberal Party convention to nominate an official candidate. Flyers were left in the mailbox threatening to kill or kidnap his children. An attempt to kill Galán with an RPG was thwarted while visiting Medellín on 4 August 1989. The assassination attempt was frustrated by men working for Waldemar Franklin Quintero, the commander of the Colombian National Police in Antioquia. Accompanying Quintero and Galán was the Mayor of Medellín, Pedro Pablo Paláez; both Paláez and Quintero would be killed within a few weeks after the assassination attempt. After these assassinations, Galán and his family restricted their travels, especially at night.

Later on Galán's staff received information from the Colombian intelligence services advising him of the presence in Bogotá of a group of hitmen with the intention to kill him. His staff advised him not to travel to the town of Soacha and that the trip to Valledupar was more suitable since he was also scheduled to attend a football match in nearby Barranquilla for the 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifications and in which the Colombian team was going to play. At the last moment Galán changed his mind and ordered his staff to prepare to go to Soacha.

Galán was killed as he walked onto the stage to give a speech in front of 10,000 people in Soacha. At least ten others were wounded in the gunfire.

The Colombian drug cartels were worried of the possible approval in congress of an extradition treaty with the United States and political enemies feared Galán's increasing power would isolate many of them from the votes.

According to John Jairo Velásquez aka "Popeye" and Luis Carlos Aguilar aka "El Mugre", Escobar's former hitman, the assassination was planned in a farm by Pablo Escobar, Gonzalo Rodríguez aka "El Mexicano", Liberal political leader Alberto Santofimio and others. Velásquez affirmed that Santofimio had certain influence over Escobar's decision making and he had heard him say "kill him Pablo, kill him!".

Other potential perpetrators were mentioned by a demobilized member of the AUC paramilitary group, "Ernesto Baez", who testified that the murder of Galán was organized by the Colombian mafia with the participation of corrupt members of the military and the DAS.

Galán's suit

At the time of his assassination, Galán was wearing a dark blue 2-button pinstripe suit by Italian menswear designer Ugo Pellegrini, paired with a burgundy tie. These pieces of clothing are now kept under guard at the Colombian National Museum in Bogotá, Colombia.

After death

César Gaviria, who had been Galán's debate chief ("Jefe de Debate") during the campaign, was proclaimed as his successor by Galán's family and his supporters inside the Liberal party. He was elected president in 1990.

In 2004, new information in a letter written by one of the hitmen who had infiltrated his escort suggested that Galán's assassination was executed with help of corrupt Colombian policemen and some of his own bodyguards, who had been bought off by the drug cartels, including Pablo Escobarand other drug lords. Most of the arrested presumed hitmen were killed in jail or shortly after their release, allegedly to silence them.

On 13 May 2005, a former Justice minister (1974) and congressman of the Colombian Liberal Party, Alberto Santofimio, known for his open connections to Pablo Escobar during the 1980s (Escobar joined Santofimio's political movement), was arrested and accused of being the intellectual author of Galán's murder.

According to the newly extended confession of Escobar's former top hitman, John Jairo Velasquez (also known as "Popeye"), Santofimio would have openly suggested Galán's murder during a secret meeting, in order to eliminate a political rival and, should Galán ever be elected president, also prevent Escobar's likely extradition. Santofimio had been previously questioned and mentioned during the investigation and his involvement was widely rumored, but apparently no direct testimonies of his role had been acquired until recently. Velásquez, currently serving a jail sentence, told the Colombian press that he had initially denied Santofimio's participation due to his existing political power at the time. Other new and unspecified evidences would also have contributed to building the case against Santofimio.

On 11 October 2007, Alberto Santofimio was convicted to 24 years in prison. He was later released on appeal, but in August 2011 the Supreme Court reinstated the conviction and he surrendered himself.

On 25 November 2010 Colombian prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for the ex-director of the Colombian security agency (DAS), Retired Gen. Miguel Maza Marquez, for involvement in the Galán's murder. The prosecutors claimed that Maza intentionally lightened Galan's bodyguard contingent to enable the 18 Aug 1989 assassination.

Family

Son of Mario Galán Gómez and Cecilia Sarmiento Suárez, Galán was one of their 12 siblings with; María Lucía, Gabriel, Cecilia, Helena, Elsa, Gloria, Antonio, Juan Daniel, Mario Augusto, Francisco Alberto and María Victoria Galán Sarmiento. He was cousin of former Attorney General of Colombia Alfonso Valdivieso Sarmiento. In 1971 he married journalist Gloria Pachón Castro and had three children Juan Manuel, Claudio Mario and Carlos Fernando.