A man allegedly linked to the 1994 murder of Colombian footballer Andrés Escobar has been shot dead in Mexico, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced on Friday.
Petro wrote on X that Santiago Gallón, a convicted drug trafficker who financed paramilitary groups, was killed. Gallón had allegedly ordered the killing of Escobar, a crime that “destroyed the country’s international image,” according to Petro.
Escobar was shot multiple times outside a Medellín nightclub on July 2, 1994, days after scoring an own goal in a World Cup match against the United States. The shooter, Humberto Muñoz Castro, Gallón’s driver, confessed and was sentenced to 43 years in prison but served only 11.
The State of Mexico prosecutor’s office confirmed that a body believed to be Gallón was found on Wednesday in Huixquilucan, near Mexico City, and is undergoing forensic examination to confirm his identity.
