Last Updated:
‘Narcos’ on Netflix to Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s News of a Kidnapping, the story of Diana Turbay’s bravery and the botched rescue operation lives on
Miguel and Diana Turbay. (X)
Colombian presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot at thrice, twice in the head, during a rally in Bogota on Saturday. While Uribe’s wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, said he is “fighting for his life”, a 15-year-old boy has been arrested.
Uribe’s father was a union leader and businessman linked to the Liberal Party. His mother, Diana Turbay, a journalist and daughter of former Colombian president Julio Cesar Turbay, was kidnapped in 1990 by a group working under drug lord Pablo Escobar’s Medellin Cartel.
Soy Maria Claudia Tarazona, esposa de Miguel. Miguel está luchando en estos momentos por su vida. Pidamos a Dios que guíe las manos de los doctores que están atendiéndolo.
Les pido a todos unirnos en una cadena de oración por la vida de Miguel.
Pongo mi Fe en Dios 🙏🏼
— Miguel Uribe (@MiguelUribeT) June 8, 2025
HOW THE BRAVE JOURNALIST WAS TRAPPED
Turbay was the founder of news magazine Hoy x Hoy who was known for her refusal to sensationalise violence, a rarity in Colombia’s world of drug cartels at the time.
Turbay, five other journalists and cameraman Richard Becerra were kidnapped on August 30, 1990, when she was tricked into going to a supposed interview with a guerrilla leader, the Spanish priest Manuel Pérez Martínez, alias El Cura Pérez from the ELN (National Liberation Army) in Antioquia. The guerrillas were members of Escobar-linked Los Priscos.
According to the Inter American Press Association, “She was kidnapped by Escobar to put pressure on the then president, César Gaviria, to overturn the extradition agreement with the United States.”
She was held at a remote ranch in Copacabana, north of Medellin. She smuggled out letters, encouraged the release of another journalist and even won the respect of those who guarded her.
Hace 33 años perdí a mi mamá, Diana Turbay y hoy a pesar del tiempo que ha pasado, mi mamá ha sido mi motivación y ejemplo para trabajar por nuestro país.Me enseñó que los principios no se negocian y el valor de la integridad.
Como periodista fue fiel a la verdad y creyente de… pic.twitter.com/rmpoDzeRkW
— Miguel Uribe (@MiguelUribeT) January 25, 2024
DEATH MIRED IN CONTROVERSY
On January 25, 1991, the Colombian police launched an operation to rescue her, without informing Turbay’s family, which they botched up.
Turbay was hit by a bullet in her back, which partially destroyed her liver and left kidney. Becerra was rescued unharmed.
It was never confirmed whether the fatal shot came from her captors or the police, but the operation was widely condemned.
JUST IN: Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe shot in Bogota during a political rally.According to local reports, Uribe was hit with a bullet and was rushed to the hospital.
“We energetically reject this attack that not only endangers the life of a political leader,… pic.twitter.com/sycXZZZVg2
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 8, 2025
IN POPULAR CULTURE
Turbay’s death was chronicled in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s News of a Kidnapping.
Her story also featured in popular Netflix series ‘Narcos’.
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d…Read More
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d… Read More
- First Published:
