Antonio Roldan Betancur (1946-July 4, 1989) was a Colombian politician. He was once the governor of the department of

Antioquia Antioquia is the Spanish form of Antioch. Antioquia may also refer to: * Antioquia Department, Colombia * Antioquia State, Colombia (defunct) * Antioquia District, Peru * Antioquia Railway The Antioquia Railway ( es, Ferrocarril de Antioquia) i ...

, from 1988 until his death in 1989. Roldan Betancur was also a medical doctor and a community sports leader.

Death

Roman Betancur was killed by a car bomb when he was aboard an official car on the way to his office on 4 July, 1989. According to investigations, the car that blew up was not his, but a car that was next to his. Along him, five others died, including two policemen, a young psychology student, a train worker and a councilman.

Investigations

It was discovered that Roldan Betancur was not the main target of the assassination plot, that being Antioquian police commander

Waldemar Franklin Quintero 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. ...

, who was killed one month later. The Colombian police believed the

Cali Cartel The Cali Cartel ( es, Cartel de Cali) was a drug cartel based in southern Colombia, around the city of Cali and the Valle del Cauca. Its founders were the brothers Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela and Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela. They broke away f ...

to be involved in his assassination. Jose Santa Cruz Londono, one of the Cali Cartel's main members, was arrested in connection with the murder's investigation. Others arrested were Carlos Mario Zapata Muñoz, Francisco Javier Barrera Galeano, alias Morgan ; Luis Carlos Ferrer Higuita, alias Lucas ; Antonio José García Cano; Carlos Eduard Gómez Arango, Héctor Iván Vargas Giraldo, alias Pipialo and Blanca Nubia Borja Rueda. However, later evidence suggests that the Medellin Cartel may have been involved in the assassination instead.

Jhon Jairo Velásquez Jhon Jairo Velásquez Vásquez (April 15, 1962 – February 6, 2020), also known by the alias "Popeye" or "JJ", was a Colombian hitman, who was part of the criminal structure of the Medellín Cartel until his surrender to the Colombian justice s ...

, alias "Popeye" (one of Medellin Cartel's foremost hitmen) later confessed that he was involved in the assassination, along with John Jairo Arias Tascón, alias "Pinina".

Honors

Six years after his death, Roldan Betancur was remembered in a ceremony that was attended by then Antioquia governor

Luis Perez Gutierrez Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

and by future Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. The

Antonio Roldán Betancur Airport Antonio Roldán Betancur Airport is an airport serving Apartadó, a town in the Antioquia Department of Colombia. The airport is in the countryside southwest of Apartadó. It is named after Antonio Roldán Betancur, who was governor of Antioquia ...

is a commercial airport that was named after him.

Personal

He had two brothers, (Raul and

Arturo Roman Betancur Arturo is a Spanish and Italian variant of the name Arthur. People *Arturo Álvarez (footballer, born 1985), American-born Salvadoran footballer *Arturo Álvarez (footballer, born 1959), Mexican footballer *Arthuro Henrique Bernhardt (b. 1982), Bra ...

-the latter also a politician and representative and councilman) and a sister named Rosa. He was once married to a lady named

Gloria Alzate Gloria may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music * Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise * Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise ** Gloria (Handel) ** Gloria (Jenkin ...

, with whom he had two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roldan Betancur, Antonio 1946 births 1989 deaths Colombian politicians Deaths by car bomb