Luis Alberto Villamizar Cárdenas (October 26, 1944 – July 26, 2007) was a Colombian politician and diplomat. He is best known for his role in fighting the Medellín drug cartel.

Early life

Villamizar's grandfather was Colombia's Minister for War and his father was a physician to the Presidential Guard. Villamizar studied medicine at the Xavierian University in

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

, but failed to complete his degree.''New York Times'' "Alberto Villamizar, 62, Foe of Colombian Drug Cartel, Dies", 28 July 2007
/ref> He worked in advertising and marketing and was a sales associate for B.F. Goodrich, a job through which he came to gain a very complete knowledge of Bogota, something that would prove very useful in his political career later on.

Political career

Villamizar entered politics and became an ally of leading politician

Luis Carlos Galán Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento (29 September 1943 – 18 August 1989) was a Colombian liberal politician and journalist who ran for the Presidency of Colombia on two occasions, the first time for the political movement New Liberalism that he f ...

in seeking to limit the power of

Pablo Escobar Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria (; ; 1 December 19492 December 1993) was a Colombian drug lord, narcoterrorist, and politician who was the founder and leader of the Medellín Cartel. Dubbed the "King of Cocaine", Escobar was one of the wealthie ...

of the Medellín

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

cartel. As leader of the Nuevo Liberalismo in the

Chamber of Representatives of Colombia The Chamber of Representatives (Spanish: ''Cámara de Representantes'') is the lower house of the Congress of Colombia. It has 172 members elected to four-year terms. Electoral system According to the Colombian Constitution, the Chamber of ...

, Villamizar won passage of the National Narcotics Statute in 1986 which was the first general legislation against drug trafficking. He also worked against Escobar's attempts to have sympathetic politicians pass legislation against

extradition In an extradition, one Jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction delivers a person Suspect, accused or Conviction, convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforc ...

. Escobar arranged for an attempt on Villamizar's life in 1986. Following the assassination attempt, Villamizar was appointed as Ambassador to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. During his term as Ambassador,

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

security forces captured a

hitman Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

sent to kill him. When Villamizar returned to Colombia, Escobar ordered Villamizar's wife, journalist Maruja Pachón, and his sister Beatriz Villamizar de Guerrero to be

kidnap Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

ped. Eight more people were soon kidnapped as well. The

President of Colombia The president of Colombia (President of the Republic) is the head of state and head of government of Colombia. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of Colombia, national government and is the commander-in-chief of the Mil ...

commissioned Villamizar to negotiate the release of the captives. Escobar was so impressed with Villamizar's negotiating skills that he selected him to negotiate his (Escobar's) own later surrender to Colombian authorities.

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian writer and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th centur ...

based his 1997 book '' News of a Kidnapping'' on Villamizar's fight against kidnapping. In 1996, President

Ernesto Samper Ernesto Samper Pizano (born 3 August 1950) served as the President of Colombia from 1994 to 1998. From 2014 to 2017 he served as the Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). He is a lawyer, economist, academic and pol ...

appointed Villamizar as Colombia's first kidnapping czar. He set up a special police force to tackle kidnappings. In 1997, he was appointed as the Ambassador to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

Death

Villamizar died in 2007 of complications of lung surgery in

, aged 62.

Popular culture

Villamizar is portrayed by the actor Gustavo Angarita Jr. in TV Series ''

Escobar, el patrón del mal ''Escobar: El Patrón del Mal'' (international title: ''Pablo Escobar, The Drug Lord''; also known as ''Pablo Escobar: El Patrón del Mal'') is a 2012 Colombian biographical TV series produced and broadcast on Caracol TV, based on a true story a ...

''. Villamizar is portrayed by the actor Juan Pablo Raba in the Amazon Prime series News of a Kidnapping.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Villamizar Cardenas, Alberto 1944 births 2007 deaths Ambassadors of Colombia to Cuba Ambassadors of Colombia to Indonesia Ambassadors of Colombia to the Netherlands Pachón family