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 period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

, 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 fou ...

in seeking to limit the power of

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 ...

of the Medellín

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

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 Rep ...

, 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 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 ...

. 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 and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. During his term as Ambassador,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

security forces captured a

hitman Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may be ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

sent to kill him. When Villamizar returned to Colombia, Escobar ordered Villamizar's wife, journalist

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 his sister Beatriz Villamizar de Guerrero to be

kidnap In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...

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

President of Colombia The president of Colombia ( es, Presidente de Colombia), officially known as the president of the Republic of Colombia ( es, Presidente de la República de Colombia) or president of the nation ( es, Presidente de la Nacion) is the head of stat ...

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 Garcia Marquez 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� ...

based his 1997 book ''

News of a Kidnapping ''News of a Kidnapping'' (original Spanish title: ''Noticia de un secuestro'') is a non-fiction book by Gabriel García Márquez. It was first published in Spanish in 1996, with an English translation released in 1997. Contents The book recount ...

'' on Villamizar's fight against kidnapping. In 1996, President

Ernesto Samper Ernesto Samper Pizano (born 3 August 1950) is a Colombian politician. Samper is a member of the influential Samper family. He served as the President of Colombia from 1994 to 1998, representing the Liberal Party. From 2014 to 2017 he served as ...

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 ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

Death

Villamizar died in 2007 of complications of lung surgery in Bogotá, Colombia, 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 telenovela produced and broadcast on Caracol TV, based on a true story about the lif ...

. 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