Characters
Orlando Acevedo
Orlando Acevedo served as one of Diana Turbay's cameramen. He was released by the kidnappers on December 17.
Richard Becerra
Richard Becerra also worked as a cameraman for Diana. He was freed following a police raid that resulted in Diana's death.
Hero Buss
Hero Buss, a German journalist, accompanied Diana Turbay's team. He was released by his captors on December 11.
Pablo Escobar
Pablo Escobar led the Medellín drug cartel. During the time of the kidnappings, his elusive nature caused some to question his existence. Escobar climbed from petty crime to control a multibillion-dollar global drug operation. In Medellín, his hometown, he provided jobs and charity to the poor. Even while imprisoned, Escobar continued his drug operations. He was killed by Colombian authorities on December 2, 1993, a few months after escaping from prison.
Father Rafael García Herreros
Father Rafael García Herreros, an 82-year-old priest, played a key role in negotiating the release of the last two hostages and facilitating Escobar's surrender. For nearly forty years, his television segment "God's Minute" aired before the nightly news. Father Herreros volunteered to mediate between Escobar and the government. Escobar accepted, and following a meeting, the long ordeal involving the hostages and the government's battle with Escobar came to an end.
President César Gaviria
President César Gaviria assumed office just three weeks before the first kidnapping incident. Throughout his campaign, Gaviria worked to develop a judicial strategy to end narcoterrorism, making it his top priority as president. He saw extradition as a critical measure to compel criminals to surrender. The kidnapping of Diana Turbay and her team tested his resolve. During the hostage crisis, Gaviria stood firm, refusing any drug traffickers' demands that would compromise the Colombian judicial system he sought to strengthen. The narcoterrorists also affected him personally; shortly before Escobar's surrender, Gaviria's cousin and longtime friend was kidnapped and murdered.
Dr. Pedro Guerrero
Dr. Pedro Guerrero is the husband of Beatriz.
Azucena Liévano
Azucena Liévano, a young editor on Diana Turbay's news team, kept a journal during her captivity. She later used these notes to write a book about her experience. Although she was held with Diana, she was released alone by the kidnappers on December 13.
General Miguel Maza Márquez
General Miguel Maza Márquez, leading the investigation into the abductions, was the head of the Administration Department for Security. He held this post for an unprecedented seven years across various administrations and viewed the fight against drug traffickers as his personal battle to the death with Pablo Escobar.
Marina Montoya
Marina Montoya, a 64-year-old restaurant owner, was kidnapped three months before Maruja and Beatriz. Her political ties made her a target, as her brother served as the secretary general to President Barco, who initiated the extradition policy. At the time of the kidnappings, her brother was Colombia's ambassador to Canada. It is widely believed that Marina was abducted as retribution for the government's failure to honor agreements with narcoterrorists regarding the release of her nephew, who had previously been kidnapped and freed. Many Colombians, including Marina herself, suspected that she was taken as a significant hostage, who could be killed without disrupting negotiations for the captors' surrender. Before Maruja and Beatriz joined her, Marina formed a close bond with her guards, making it challenging for her to adapt to their presence. In the days leading up to her death, Marina seemed to anticipate her fate, and she was executed on January 23, 1991, with her body discarded in an empty lot.
Fabio Ochoa
Fabio, the youngest of the Ochoa brothers, was a prominent member of the Medellín cartel....
(This entire section contains 1459 words.)
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He surrendered in December.
Jorge Luis Ochoa
Jorge Luis, another leading figure in the Medellín cartel, surrendered under a new decree in January. Among the three brothers, he was particularly instrumental in assisting Villamizar in his efforts to meet with Escobar and attempted to persuade Escobar to surrender.
Juan David Ochoa
Juan David, also a leading member of the Medellín cartel, surrendered under the new decree in February.
Gloria Pachón
Gloria Pachón, Maruja's sister, serves as Colombia's representative to UNESCO and is the widow of Luis Galán. Galán, a former presidential candidate, became an enemy of Escobar by opposing the drug lord's political ambitions and supporting the extradition treaty. He was assassinated by drug traffickers in 1989.
Maruja Pachón de Villamizar
Maruja Pachón de Villamizar is a journalist and the director of FOCINE, the state agency for film industry promotion, when she is kidnapped. Like others before her, she is targeted due to her political connections; her husband, Alberto Villamizar, is a well-known politician, and her sister, Gloria Pachón, is Luis Galán's widow. The drug traffickers hoped Maruja's abduction would pressure the government, through Gloria, to concede to their demands. Throughout her captivity, Maruja remained resilient, refusing to be intimidated by her captors. However, after Beatriz's release, Maruja felt discouraged, doubting her husband's efforts to secure her freedom and fearing she would remain a hostage for an extended period. She was ultimately released on May 20, after enduring more than six months in captivity.
Rafael Pardo Rueda
Rafael Pardo Rueda serves as President Gaviria's security advisor. In the previous administration, he led negotiations with guerrilla groups and managed rehabilitation programs in conflict zones, successfully brokering peace with the M-19 guerrillas. He currently mediates between the Colombian government and the families of Maruja and Beatriz.
Guido Parra Montoya
Guido Parra Montoya is the attorney for Escobar. He was detained the previous year on charges of aiding terrorism. He participated in negotiations for the hostages' release, but he disappeared in February 1990 after overstepping his bounds. His body was discovered in Medellín three years later.
Nydia Quintero
Nydia Quintero is Diana's mother. She actively lobbies President Gaviria to amend his decree to facilitate the hostages' release.
Francisco Santos
See Pacho Santos
Dr. Hernando Santos
Hernando Santos is the father of Pacho. Together with his close friend Dr. Turbay, he was among the first to negotiate with Pablo Escobar for the hostages' freedom.
Pacho Santos
Francisco Santos, known as Pacho, is the editor-in-chief of the newspaper El Tiempo. He was kidnapped from his car and taken to a location in Bogotá. Unbeknownst to him, he narrowly avoided death in January, when Marina Montoya was killed in his place. As his captivity neared its end, Pacho considered escaping but his unsuccessful attempt led to thoughts of suicide. He was released a few hours after Maruja, on May 20.
Dr. Julio César Turbay
As the President of Colombia, Dr. Turbay was the first to approve the extradition of Colombian nationals to the United States. Together with his close friend Hernando Santos, he initially sought to negotiate with Pablo Escobar to free the hostages.
Diana Turbay Quintero
Diana Turbay, aged forty, was a prominent journalist who directed a popular television news program and a magazine, both of which she founded. She was also the daughter of former president Julio César Turbay. Diana was deeply committed to achieving peace in her troubled homeland.
The kidnappers enticed Diana with the prospect of meeting Manuel Pérez, a priest leading a significant guerrilla faction. Despite others' warnings, she accepted the invitation, likely motivated by her desire to initiate peace talks between the guerrillas and the government. The journal Diana kept during her captivity serves as the main account of her ordeal. Tragically, she was shot during a police raid on the Medellín house where she was held and died shortly afterward.
Alberto Villamizar
Alberto Villamizar, the husband of Maruja, is a prominent politician with close ties to President César Gaviria. In 1985, while serving as a legislative representative, Villamizar played a key role in passing the nation's first law targeting drug trafficking. He also blocked the passage of a bill proposed by politicians allied with Escobar, which aimed to eliminate legislative backing for the extradition treaty. This stance led to an assassination attempt on him in 1986.
Villamizar is relentless in his efforts to secure the release of his wife and sister. He pressures President Gaviria to amend the decree to alleviate Escobar's concerns about extradition. As a final measure, he chooses to personally negotiate with Escobar. Although this attempt fails, Father Herrerros steps in as his representative, eventually achieving both the hostages' freedom and Escobar's surrender.
Beatriz Villamizar de Guerrero
Beatriz Villamizar de Guerrero, Maruja's sister-in-law and a press assistant at FOCINE, is kidnapped solely because she is present with Maruja at the time. She is freed on February 8, 1991.
Juan Vitta
Juan Vitta, a writer on Diana Turbay's news team, falls into severe depression during the kidnapping ordeal, exacerbating his pre-existing heart condition. Due to his deteriorating health, the kidnappers release him on November 26.