Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

Valdemar Franklin Quintero (January 26, 1941 – August 18, 1989) was the commander of the

Colombian National Police The National Police of Colombia (Spanish: ''Policía Nacional de Colombia'') is the national police force of the Republic of Colombia. Although the National Police is not part of the Military Forces of Colombia (Army, Navy, and Air Force), it ...

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 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 ...

in Medellín because of these drug seizures and his refusal to talk with the cartel. He successfully thwarted an attempt to kill

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 ...

, a Colombian

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

and

presidential candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

, when an RPG was launched at Galán. Revista Semana: ¿Que se sabe?

Revista Semana ''Semana'' (Spanish: ''Week'') is a weekly magazine in Colombia. History ''Semana'' was founded in 1946 by Alberto Lleras Camargo (who would become president of Colombia in 1958) and that folded in 1961. It was relaunched by journalist Felipe ...

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, a major Colombian drug lord, 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

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