Gustavo Petro, president of Colombia, announced this Friday that a man allegedly linked to the murder of the Colombian football player Andres Escobarin 1994, was killed in Mexico.
Santiago Gallón’s name appeared in investigations into the crime that occurred in Medellín. Escobar was shot dead days after the team’s elimination from the World Cup in the United States. He had scored an own goal in a match against the home team.
According to Petro, the crime “ruined the country’s international image.” Even though the Colombian president announced the death, authorities in Mexico are still carrying out tests to confirm the identity and cause of death of the man found shot in Huixquilucan, in the state of Mexico.
Escobar’s murder shocked the world
Escobar was leaving a nightclub in Medellín on July 2, 1994, when he was shot by Humberto Muñoz Castro, Gallón’s driver, after an argument over gambling.
At the time, Colombia was facing a period of great violence after the death of Pablo Escobar. The death gave rise to several theories, involving gambling mafias, and also the region’s drug cartel.
Witness versions indicate that Gallón and Pedro David, his brother, confronted and insulted the player, and Muñoz shot. He was sentenced to 43 years in prison in 1995, and was imprisoned until 2005.
