José Antequera
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José de Jesús Antequera Antequera (
Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of the Atlántico department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean region of Colombia, Caribbean coast region; as of 2018, it had a popul ...
, September 7, 1956 –
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...
, March 3, 1989) was a left-wing
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
n activist and politician. He was a member of the Patriotic Union (UP). He was killed by
paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...
groups.


Life

The son of Eva Antequera and criminal lawyer Augusto Antequera, José Antequera studied at the Universidad del Atlántico in
Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of the Atlántico department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean region of Colombia, Caribbean coast region; as of 2018, it had a popul ...
, where he developed political activities as the general secretary of the
Colombian Communist Youth The Colombian Communist Youth ( Spanish: ''Juventud Comunista Colombiana, JUCO)'' is a Communist, Marxist-Leninist, and Bolivarian Colombian youth organization, connected to the Colombian Communist Party (PCC). It is a member of the World Feder ...
and the president of the National Union of University Students. He married María Eugenia de Antequera in 1977. He denounced links between paramilitaries, members of the
National Army of Colombia The National Army of Colombia () is the land warfare service branch of the Military Forces of Colombia. With over 361,420 active personnel as of 2020, it is the largest and oldest service branch in Colombia, and is the second largest army in the ...
, and politicians. He then moved to
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...
, where he was the national leader of the Patriotic Union and national secretary of organization of the
Colombian Communist Party The Colombian Communist Party (, PCC) is a legal communist party in Colombia. It was founded in 1930 as the Communist Party of Colombia, at which point it was the Colombian section of the Comintern. The party is led by Jaime Caycedo and publi ...
after the death of
Teófilo Forero Teófilo Forero Castro (died February 27, 1989) was a Colombian politician and trade unionist. A metalworker by profession, Forero became the National Organizing Secretary of the Colombian Communist Party. He also founded the trade union centre ''C ...
. He was close to
Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa (born September 2, 1956 in Manizales, Caldas, died in Bogotá, Cundinamarca on March 22, 1990) was a Colombian politician and member of the Colombian Communist Party. Jaramillo started working primarily in the Urabá ...
, UP presidential candidate, who was later assassinated in 1990.


Murder

On March 3, 1989, only 4 days after the death of
Teófilo Forero Teófilo Forero Castro (died February 27, 1989) was a Colombian politician and trade unionist. A metalworker by profession, Forero became the National Organizing Secretary of the Colombian Communist Party. He also founded the trade union centre ''C ...
, Antequera was murdered in the
El Dorado International Airport El Dorado International Airport is an international airport serving Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, and its surrounding areas. The airport is located mostly in the Fontibón district of Bogotá, although it partially extends into the Engat ...
in Bogotá, while he was heading to Barranquilla, an attack in which the then-presidential pre-candidate of the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
,
Ernesto Samper Ernesto Samper Pizano (born 3 August 1950) served as the President of Colombia from 1994 to 1998. From 2014 to 2017 he served as the Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). He is a lawyer, economist, academic and pol ...
, was wounded with 11 bullets from an Ingram 9 mm
submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine (firearms), magazine-fed automatic firearm, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to descri ...
, Antequera was shot 28 times by a hitman identified as Luis Fernando Mona Hincapié, a 20-year old from
Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...
, who was later killed by
Administrative Department of Security The Administrative Department of Security (, DAS) was the security service agency of Colombia, which was also responsible for border and immigration services. It was dissolved on 31 October 2011 as part of a wider Executive Reform, and was replac ...
(DAS) bodyguards. His assassination was followed by protests and riots, in rejection of the refusal of the then mayor of Bogotá,
Andrés Pastrana Andres or Andrés may refer to: *Andres, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Will County, Illinois, US *Andres, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in Pas-de-Calais, France *Andres (name) *Hurricane Andres * "Andres" (song), a 1994 song by L7 See also ...
, to allow a collective farewell ceremony for the slain political leader.


Investigations

Some investigations carried out by the Analysis and Context Unit of the
Office of the Attorney General of Colombia The Office of the Attorney General of Colombia (; literally "General Prosecutorial Office of the Nation") is the Colombian institution part of the Colombian judicial branch of Government with administrative autonomy designed to prosecute offend ...
pointed to an alliance between paramilitary groups, state security agencies and drug traffickers as responsible for the murder. His crime, like that of the other members of the PU, was declared a
crime against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...
in 2014. Particularly, the links of Antequera's crime with the murders of
Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa (born September 2, 1956 in Manizales, Caldas, died in Bogotá, Cundinamarca on March 22, 1990) was a Colombian politician and member of the Colombian Communist Party. Jaramillo started working primarily in the Urabá ...
, and Carlos Pizarro have been investigated due to the coincidences with both, and it is even linked to the crime of
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 f ...
that occurred five months later, based on the declarations Jhon Jairo Velásquez Vásquez, alias ''Popeye'', a hitman for the Medillín Cartel.
Pablo Escobar Gaviria Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria (; ; 1 December 19492 December 1993) was a Colombian drug lord, narcoterrorist, and politician who was the founder and leader of the Medellín Cartel. Dubbed the "King of Cocaine", Escobar was one of the wealthie ...
, affirmed that the type and model of weapon used in Galán's crime were the same used in the crimes of Antequera, Jaramillo, and Pizarro, which belonged to a batch of weapons smuggled from Israel by
Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha Gonzalo may refer to: * Gonzalo (name) * Gonzalo, Dominican Republic, a small town * Isla Gonzalo, a subantarctic island operated by the Chilean Navy * Hurricane Gonzalo, 2014 See also * Gonzalez (disambiguation) * Gonzales (disambiguation) * ...
, as well as the participation of the latter's gang of hitmen in the first three assassinations. Likewise, investigations carried out by the prosecutor's office since 1992 established that Luis Fernando Mona Hincapié had been a co-worker of cousins Andrés Arturo and Gerardo Gutiérrez, known to be the hitmen who shot Jaramillo and Pizarro respectively, who worked alongside Mona Hincapié in a billiard cue factory in Medellín were allegedly recruited to commit the assassinations by a man identified as Héctor de Jesús Echeverría Acevedo, a possible hitman boss of a criminal group identified as La Oficina. Echeverría was found dead on the night of April 12, 1990. In 2014, his case, like others of the genocide against the Patriotic Union was declared a
crime against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...
. In 2015, 3 members of his bodyguard staff were called for investigation. In 2015, the case was reopened. Currently, a process is underway in the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (I/A Court H.R.) is an international court based in San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it was formed by the American Convention on Human Rights, a human r ...
within the framework of the genocide against the Patriotic Union, which on January 30, 2023, declared the Colombian State guilty of being the main promotor of political extermination against the Patriotic Union, and therefore, guilty of collaborating with paramilitary organizations that murdered Antequera.


Descendants

Antequera was the father of José Darío Antequera Guzmán, the director of Center of Memory, Peace, and Reconciliation of Bogotá, and Erika Antequera Guzmán, a journalist.


Documentaries

* ''By Erika Antequera Guzmán, The Story They Didn't Tell: José Antequera'' (winner of Honorable Mention at the
Bogotá Film Festival The Bogotá Film Festival () is an annual international film festival held in Bogotá, Colombia, inaugurated in 1984. It takes place in late October each year, with most films being in Spanish and very few in English. The event is an important s ...
in 2010). * ''The generation that was stolen from us: José Antequera'' (documentary broadcast on Canal Capital).


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Antequera, José Assassinated Colombian politicians Colombian trade unionists 1989 deaths 1956 births South American politicians assassinated in the 1980s Politicians assassinated in 1989 Patriotic Union (Colombia) politicians 1989 murders in Colombia