Colonel Valdemar Franklin Quintero (January 26, 1941 – August 18, 1989) was the commander of the Colombian National Police in ''Antioquia Province''. Franklin had led several major raids which resulted in the seizure of multiple tons of cocaine. He was murdered by the Medellín cartel in

Medellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

because of these drug seizures and his refusal to talk with the cartel. He successfully thwarted an attempt to kill Luis Carlos Galán, a Colombian journalist and presidential candidate, when an

RPG RPG may refer to: Military * Rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon **''Ruchnoi Protivotankoviy Granatomyot'' (Russian: ''Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт''), hand-held anti-tank grenade laun ...

was launched at Galán. Revista Semana: ¿Que se sabe?
Revista Semana Accessed 15 May 2011. The cartel formally took responsibility for the slaying of the police commander by calling a series of local radio stations. The caller, who identified himself as a person from "The Extraditables", said ''"We, the Extraditables, claim responsibility for the murder of Col. Valdemar Franklin in response to the repression committed and the government's refusal to have a dialogue with us"''.

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 ...

, a major Colombian

drug lord A drug lord, drug baron, kingpin or narcotrafficker is a high-ranking crime boss who controls a sizable network of people involved in the illegal drug trade. Such figures are often difficult to bring to justice, as they are normally not directly ...

, had allegedly ordered the murder of Franklin on the day of the death of Luis Carlos Galán. On 18 August 1989 (the same day in which the Colombian politician Luis Carlos Galán was murdered), at the age of 48, Franklin left his residence in a chauffeur-driven car. When the vehicle was 450 feet from the compound, its route was blocked by another car and several gunmen emerged, according to officials. Various witnesses said that Franklin's car was destroyed by gunfire and the interior was covered in blood. One eye-witness stated to a local radio station, "They fired without mercy for several minutes at the colonel, who was hit more than a 150 times". That witness also said that the chauffeur was injured in the ambush. He is portrayed by the actor Mauricio Figueroa as the character Osvaldo Quintana in the Colombian television series '' Escobar, el patrón del mal''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin-Quintero, Valdemar 1989 deaths Colombian police officers Deaths by firearm in Colombia Illegal drug trade in Colombia People murdered in Colombia People murdered by Colombian organized crime 1941 births