Jaime Garzón facts for kids

Jaime Hernando Garzón Forero (24 October 1960 – 13 August 1999) was a Colombian comedian, journalist, politician, and peace activist. He was popular on Colombian television during the 1990s for his unique political satire. In addition to his work on television, he also had roles as a peace negotiator in the release of FARC guerrillas' hostages. He was murdered in 1999 by right-wing paramilitary hitmen, with suspected support from members of the Colombian military and security services, according to testimonies of former paramilitaries commanders.

Life

Jaime Garzón was born in Bogotá on 24 October 1960. He studied law and political science at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, but his active involvement in politics and television did not allow him to finish. Garzón was an avid fan of Millonarios FC, a football club based in his hometown of Bogota.

Mayor of Sumapaz

Garzón joined the political campaign of Andrés Pastrana Arango for mayor of Bogotá. After winning the elections, Pastrana nominated him as mayor of Sumapaz, an underdeveloped rural locality in the district, in 1988. Garzón tried to improve the standard of living in Sumapaz. In a year, he created a health center, the school was improved and the only street of town was paved.

Between 1990 and 1994 he worked at the Nariño House during the presidency of César Gaviria. He helped in the translations of the new Colombian Constitution of 1991 into the indigenous languages and as a presidential adviser in communications.

Career

Jaime Garzon in a fictional characters "Heriberto de la Calle", monument installed in Bogotá

In 1987, the director of the Noticiero de las 7, Antonio Morales Riveira, knew of the fame of the Mayor of Sumapaz in imitating politicians. He brought Garzón to the newscast; it was the first time he would appear on television.

He worked on various television parodies, becoming famous with the TV show Zoociedad (Zoociety) in the 1990s which contained humor about materialistic society and politics. Garzón then started working on a program called "¡Quac! El Noticero", collaborating with actor Diego León Hoyos until 1997.

Garzón created many instantly recognizable fictional characters. One of them was "Heriberto de la Calle". Heriberto was a shoe shiner who interviewed different personalities, including politicians.

Peace activist

On 23 March 1998, 200 FARC guerrillas kidnapped 32 people on the Villavicencio – Bogotá road. Among the hostages were four US citizens and an Italian.

On 27 March a commission, with the authorization of anti-kidnapping czar José Alfredo Escobar and led by Garzón, allowed the release of nine of the hostages.

On 6 May 1998, General Jorge Enrique Mora Rangel, commander of the Colombian Army, publicly asked Escobar to investigate Garzón for his participation in the release of the hostages. On 4 June, Escobar, defended the role of Garzón in the release of the hostages as a humanitarian mission. Garzón tried to have an appointment with General Mora Rangel, but he was not accepted. The journalist sent a telegram to the military where he said: "General, do not look for enemies among the Colombians that risk their life everyday to build a proud nation as I want and as you are fighting for."

In May 1999 Garzón said in a cocktail party in front of some personalities, among them the US Ambassador, that General Mora was accusing him of being a collaborator of the FARC.

On 25 May 1999, Senator Piedad Córdoba was kidnapped by the paramilitary group of Carlos Castaño, and she was accused by him of being a collaborator of the guerrilla. According to Senator Córdoba, Castaño also mentioned Garzón. Once she was released, she met the journalist and warned him of the danger.

The participation in the process of the FARC's hostage releases and the intention to promote a dialogue of peace brought him many threats, but the most noticeable were those from Castaño.

Murder

On Tuesday, 10 August 1999, Garzón visited the paramilitary leader Ángel Gaitán Mahecha, who was in the Modelo Prison in Bogotá with the intention to arrange a meeting with Carlos Castaño. The meeting was to be held on 14 August in the Córdoba Department.

On Friday, 13 August, at 5:45, local time, Garzón was approaching the Radionet station in Bogotá in his gray Jeep Cherokee. When he was turning toward the south coming from 26th Street in the Barrio Quinta Paredes sector, in front of Corferias, two men riding a high velocity white motorcycle with hidden plates approached the car and called his name, then shot him five times. He was 38 years old.

The word quickly spread as his own colleagues at Radionet were the first to give the news to Colombia. Hundreds of people went out into the streets. The vehicular traffic worsened when a pedestrian bridge fell onto the North Highway, near 122nd Street, because a group of people thought wrongly that the funeral would pass by the site. Three people died and 30 were injured.

Investigation

In October 2009 former paramilitary leader Freddy Rendón Herrera, alias "El Alemán", told the Justice and Peace process that Carlos Castaño had ordered the assassination of the journalist under "specific request of senior military leaders of the time".

On 5 February 2021, the court confirmed the 26-year sentence against former ADS deputy director José Miguel Narváez for the murder of Jaime Garzón after more than 21 years of the crime.