Diana Consuelo Turbay Quintero (March 9, 1950 – January 25, 1991) was a Colombian journalist kidnapped by the

Medellín Cartel The Medellín Cartel ( es, Cartel de Medellín) was a powerful and highly organized Colombian drug cartel and terrorist organization originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia that was founded and led by Pablo Escobar. It is often considered ...

and killed by the

Colombian Guerrilla Colombian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Colombia * Colombians, persons from Colombia, or of Colombian descent **For more information about the Colombian people, see: *** Demographics of Colombia *** Indigenous ...

during a botched rescue attempt. Her story has been portrayed in a non-fiction book by

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one ...

and onscreen.

Early years

Diana Turbay was born on March 9, 1951, in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

Julio César Turbay Ayala Julio César Turbay Ayala (18 June 1916 – 13 September 2005) was a Colombian lawyer and politician who served as the 25th President of Colombia from 1978 to 1982. He also held the positions of Foreign Minister and Ambassador to the United St ...

, who would later be the 25th president of the Republic of Colombia (1978–1982) and

Nydia Quintero Turbay Nydia Quintero Turbay (born 28 August 1932) is the ex-wife of the List of Presidents of Colombia, 25th President of Colombia, Julio César Turbay Ayala, and served as First Lady of Colombia from 1978 to 1982 when they were still married. She is ...

. Her father was her mother's maternal uncle. The Turbay family were originally from Lebanon and her family still belong to, and frequent, the Club Colombo Libanes, a private social club of prominent Lebanese-Colombians.

Kidnapping and death

Turbay was kidnapped on August 30, 1990, when she was tricked into going to a supposed interview with a guerrilla leader, the Spanish priest Manuel Pérez Martínez, alias El Cura Pérez (The Priest Pérez). Turbay had been contacted by phone by an unidentified man. Later, a police investigation determined that the man belonged to

Los Priscos Los Priscos were a criminal group affiliated with the Medellin Cartel in Colombia. In the 1980s and early 1990s they participated in several assassinations in Colombia. They were often described as functioning like the ‘armed-wing of Medellin ...

, a criminal band, and had been hired by

Pablo Escobar Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria (; ; 1 December 19492 December 1993) was a Colombian drug lord and narcoterrorist who was the founder and sole leader of the Medellín Cartel. Dubbed "the king of cocaine", Escobar is the wealthiest criminal in h ...

. The latter's aim was to kidnap as many politicians and journalists as possible, to prevent Colombian legislators from approving an

extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...

treaty with the United States. Additional victims of this strategy were

Francisco Santos Calderón Francisco Santos Calderón (born 14 August 1961), also known as Pacho Santos, is a Colombian politician and journalist. Santos was elected as Álvaro Uribe's running mate and became Vice President in 2002. Santos was re-elected in 2006 for a se ...

Maruja Pachón Maruja is a Filipino comic book character created by Mars Ravelo. It is about an immortal love story about two people whose love for each other transcended a century. Written by Mars Ravelo and illustrated by Rico Rival, it was a story that ...

, and Marina Montoya. Turbay was kept at

Copacabana, Antioquia Copacabana is a town and municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia. Copacabana is part of The Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mention ...

, with her cameraman Richard Becerra. She died on January 25, 1991, during a botched rescue operation launched by the police without authorization from the family. The cause of death was a bullet in her back, which partially destroyed her liver and left kidney.

Family

Turbay was survived by her two children, María Carolina Hoyos Turbay (born 1972) and Miguel Uribe Turbay (born 1986), and her husband, Miguel Uribe Londoño.

In popular culture

Literature

The story of Turbay's abduction is recounted in

Gabriel Garcia Márquez In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር ...

's non-fiction book, '' News of a Kidnapping'' (1996).

Television

Turbay is portrayed by the actress Liesel Potdevin in the TV series '' Pablo Escobar: El Patrón del Mal'' (2012). Turbay is portrayed by

Gabriela de la Garza Gabriela de la Garza (born October 3, 1976), is a Mexican television and film actress. Filmography Films Television References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garza, Gabriela de la 1976 births Mexican telenovela actresses ...

in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

Original Series ''

Narcos ''Narcos'' is an American-Colombian crime drama television series created and produced by Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro. Set and filmed in Colombia, seasons 1 and 2 are based on the story of Colombian narcoterrorist and drug kin ...

'' (2015). Turbay is portrayed by

Majida Issa Majida Margarita Issa Bellotto (born in San Andrés (island), San Andrés, Colombia on June 27, 1981), known professionally as Majida Issa, is a Colombian actress and singer of Italian and Lebanese descent. She is best known for her role as Yési ...

in the

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

series “ Noticia de un Secuestro’’ (2022).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turbay Quintero, Diana 1950 births 1991 deaths 20th-century women writers 20th-century Colombian writers Assassinated Colombian journalists Children of presidents of Colombia Colombian people taken hostage Colombian people of Lebanese descent Colombian women journalists Deaths by firearm in Colombia Missing person cases in Colombia People from Bogotá People murdered in Colombia People murdered by Colombian organized crime Diana