Maruja Pachón (born December 9, 1948) is a

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

kidnap victim and former Minister for Education.

Biography

Pachón was born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. She married Alberto Villamizar and as result she and her sister in law, Beatriz Villamizar de Guerrero, were kidnapped by

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 ...

on 7 November 1990.Maruja Pachon, former Minister of Education
Semana.com, 23 May 2009, accessed October 2012 She may have been chosen because her sister, Gloria Pachón was the widow of the Presidential candidate

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 ...

who had been assassinated in August 1989 by hit men hired by the drug cartels.Colombian Presidential Candidate Is Slain at Rally
New York Times, 19 August 1989, accessed October 2012 Escobar eventually kidnapped further victims in order that he might persuade the Government of President

César Gaviria César Augusto Gaviria Trujillo ( ; born 31 March 1947) is a Colombian economist and politician who served as the President of Colombia from 1990 to 1994, Secretary General of the Organization of American States from 1994 to 2004 and National D ...

to rethink their drugs policy. She was released in May 1991. She and her husband feature strongly in '' News of a Kidnapping'' which was written by

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 ...

and documents the kidnappings. She was offered the position of

Minister for Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

by President César Gaviria in 1993.

References

1948 births Living people People from Cúcuta Colombian journalists Colombian women journalists {{Colombia-bio-stub Pachón family