by Austin Galt
At 11.25 pm, the first mudflow hit, flooding the town with mostly cold water which had been displaced from a nearby lake. At 11.35 pm, a second bigger and hotter mudflow hit, destroying most of the town and killing most of the population. With communication completely cut off, it was the pilot of a crop fumigation plane flying over the town at daybreak the following morning who was first to witness the disaster and raise the alarm. The rescue operation was made all the more difficult due to many access roads being cut off. Helicopters flew in to evacuate the few survivors who remained.
In all, around 23,000 people were killed. The most tragic of all was Omayra Sánchez.
Omayra, a vibrant 13-year-old girl, was at home with her family when the mudflows hit, trapping her under debris. Her father, sister and aunt lay dead and buried beneath her. When rescue teams arrived they tried to pull her free but found her legs were stuck in the mud which had solidified. Divers then discovered her legs were pinned against a wall with the arms of her dead aunt clutched tightly around them. Rescue workers were at a loss on how to save her and they didn’t have the necessary equipment to amputate her legs. She was given food and water and remained positive.
A television news crew eventually arrived on the scene and was able to record her heartbreaking final hours. After two days of being trapped and with her head just above water, Omayra asked the television crew if she could say a few words.
‘Mum, if you can hear me, I think you can, pray that I can walk and that these people can help me.’ However, sensing she was soon to die, she added ‘Mummy, I love you a lot, Daddy, brother, I . . . goodbye, mother.’
Later that evening she began hallucinating, saying she didn’t want to be late for school. Her face became bloated and her eyes turned dark red. She died the following morning. Her mother and brother survived. Omayra became a symbol of the tragedy and it was a famous photograph taken of her by French reporter Frank Fournier that captured the world’s attention. The photo, titled ‘The Agony of Omayra Sánchez’, won the World Press Photo of the Year in 1986.
The eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz was the second deadliest of the 20th century and the sixth deadliest of all time. Armero is now a ghost town in ruins with a large cemetery and is visited by Colombian tourists learning about the country’s history. A town was constructed nearby for survivors and called Guayabal.
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It wasn’t natural explosions but man-made explosions that I had to worry about. It was a Saturday night at 10.40 pm on 15 November 2003, and the Bogotá Beer Company was humming as patrons packed the bar’s patio at the front of the establishment and enjoyed a few beers. Indeed, I had done just that the previous Saturday night but was luckily out of town as it was a long weekend. Two guerrillas in plain clothes decided it was time to strike and lobbed in a grenade causing a terrifying explosion which killed a 25-year-old Colombian woman and seriously injured several others, including some Americans.
The perpetrators, one of whom was caught, also threw a grenade into the nearby Palos de Moguer restaurant. Authorities believe the attacks were aimed at foreigners and especially Americans. Lily and I only learnt of the attack the following day when one of her friends called to make sure we were alright. Lily’s friend knew we used to frequent the bar and initial reports indicated an Australian was one of those injured in the attack. Colombians are very resilient and, after cleaning up, it was back to business on Sunday afternoon, albeit with a big Colombian flag displayed. A sign also read, ‘For peace. Not one step back.’
It reminded me of my thinking upon deciding to return to Colombia. Whatever happens will happen. It wasn’t my time. There was no change to my work schedule and I taught an English class in the Bogotá Beer Company later in the week. Of course I asked my students about the attack. They said it was scary. No doubt.
Things certainly seemed to be heating up and recent news reports detailed a huge build-up of FARC guerrillas outside the city over the preceding months. A dozen guerrilla fronts had surrounded the nation’s capital and were closing in. Was their dream of taking power, as originally outlined at their seventh conference in 1982, coming true? No.
President Uribe had already launched Operation Freedom One on 1 June 2003. This was the first phase of the Patriot Plan which aimed to recover territory held by the FARC. Several army brigades, consisting of more than 8000 men, began the offensive backed up by air support which pounded guerrilla positions. The operation ended in late 2003, by which time the guerrillas had been absolutely smashed and were in retreat. The dream was over.
A couple of victims during the offensive were celebrity couple Helmut Bickenbach and his wife Doris. Helmut, a handsome and wealthy son of German immigrants, married Doris Gil after she won the Miss Colombia beauty pageant in 1957. She gave up her right to participate in the 1958 Miss Universe competition, preferring to marry her beau instead.
They were both kidnapped by FARC guerrillas in December 2002, while staying at their holiday house in Nocaima, an hour and a half drive north-west of Bogotá. The guerrillas demanded $3 million which they couldn’t come up with. They offered to release Doris but she refused to leave her husband’s side. As the army approached the camp in rural Cundinamarca where they were held, the guerrillas went to execute Helmut before Doris lunged in front to protect him. Their fairytale love story came to a tragic end as they died in each other’s embrace.
Another kidnapping victim was killed late in the operation. Japanese businessman Chikao Muramatsu was murdered by the FARC after a ransom was not paid. He was kidnapped in February 2001 by a band of ex-policemen dedicated to kidnapping who then handed him over to the guerrillas for a fee. The FARC demanded $10 million from the multinational company Yazaki Ciemel (a manufacturer of electrical car parts) of which Muramatsu was a vice-president. It was not paid.
By the end of Operation Freedom One, around 600 guerrillas had been killed, captured or had surrendered. More than 6 tons of explosives were decommissioned while substantial quantities of cylinder bombs, mortars, grenades, grenade launchers, guns and ammunition were confiscated. Nine cocaine laboratories were also put out of business. It was a crushing defeat.
18
BOGOTÁ CARTEL
While continuing to teach English, I approached the top modelling agency in Bogotá, Stock Models, to see if I could earn some extra money. I had done quite a bit of modelling in Australia from when I was 18 into my mid-20s, appearing in most of the fashion magazines and for some popular fashion brands such as Levi Jeans. The agency I worked through in Sydney, Priscilla’s, had contracted me to a London agency some years back; I arrived in England and came down with chickenpox, so instead I travelled around Europe for several months before returning to Australia. At age 29, I now had one more shot to make it as an international model.
My first job in Colombia included appearing with a Miss Colombia contestant, while my second job was for the popular Aló magazine. The article, which appeared in the June/July 2003 issue, was based on the idea that men supposedly preferred women to be ‘a lady in the street and a whore in the bed’. I wore a suit while a girl stood behind me dressed in bondage gear!
Following that assignment I was asked to go and see Arturo Calle who founded his eponymous brand which is the top menswear fashion label in Colombia. I met with Señor Calle in his offices and he had me try on a suit before asking me to undo the buttons on my shirt. It had been over 10 years since I had done my first modelling job and my stomach wasn’t what it once was. It was now a little wobbly and we both noticed. He thanked me for my time and sure enough I didn’t get booked for the job. It was done. My international modelling career was officially over!
The good times in Bogotá weren’t over by any means, though. At my farewell party in Sydney in February 2003, a friend had brought along a Colombian girlfriend. Ángela Vergara had been studying in Australia but she returned to Colombia not long after I arrived. Ángela was a model and television presenter before becoming one of Colombia’s top actresses, appearing
in some of the most popular television soap operas including one of Lily’s favourites, Las Noches de Luciana (The Nights of Luciana). Soap operas are hugely popular and they are often based on true stories. You can’t make up some of the stuff that happens in Colombia!
We soon connected and Ángela invited Lily and me to go out one night with her to the well-known establishment, Andrés Carne de Res. It is located just outside of Bogotá in the town of Chia, and after having a nice steak dinner the lights are dimmed and the music pumps up. In 2003, this was the place to be and be seen for the Colombian glitterati and we were right in the thick of it. The restaurant/nightclub was a haven for both celebrities and gangsters who love to be associated with the glamour set and quite often vice versa. While Bogotá isn’t widely known for being a cocaine-industry hub, it still features its own heavy players.
Veronica Rivera de Vargas, known as the ‘Reina de la Coca’ or ‘Cocaine Queen’, was one of the first big hitters to dominate the cocaine trade in the Colombian capital. She started out smuggling contraband but was soon attracted by the big money on offer from cocaine. It was also Veronica who gave Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha his start in the business and who introduced him to Pablo Escobar. Her relatives, Camilo and Vicente Rivera, were leaders of the Amazon Cartel, although Camilo died in 1986 in a plane crash while Vicente was captured in a luxury apartment in Cartagena in 2001.
Veronica battled for control in Bogotá during the late 1970s with the city’s other top capo, Mario Gil. Veronica had Gil’s wife kidnapped and only released her once a ransom was paid. Gil then returned the favour by having Veronica’s three daughters kidnapped. They were released once a ransom was paid, putting them both back to square one. Mario Gil was the first to drop in 1979 after being shot several times as he exited a Bogotá restaurant.
Veronica proved very elusive to authorities. She was arrested several times in possession of cocaine in Colombia, Peru and Mexico. However, she always managed to escape, allegedly due to paying bribes. She had plastic surgery to disguise herself, but despite her change of appearance she was captured in early 1983 with several associates at a farm in the municipality of Acacias near the city of Villavicencio. This time she was in possession of $150 million worth of cocaine and she was subsequently transferred to Bogotá under heavy guard. Veronica still only spent three years in jail but her time was nearly up. She was killed by two sicarios in Bogotá in 1989. Aged in her early 50s, her life of designer clothes, diamonds and gold jewellery was over.
Her death provided an opening for the city’s next big capo – Justo Pastor Perafán.
The celebrations after Colombia beat Argentina 5–0 in the World Cup qualifying match in Buenos Aires in 1993 were immense. Expensive champagne flowed freely and a who’s who of Colombian society was there to lap it up, including the future Colombian president, Andrés Pastrana.
It was man-about-town Pastor Perafán who footed the bill for the swanky soiree in Argentina. He was a member of every elite social club in Bogotá and always had a bevy of beauties on his arms. He financed everything from beauty queens to politicians. He paid journalists to mention him in magazines as a successful businessman and patron of the arts, while also paying photographers to snap him at social events with the city’s power players, beautiful models and television stars. The deception worked so well that he was invited to participate with other important entrepreneurs on a business tour organised by future president, Juan Manuel Santos.
It was an incredible rise for the upstart from a small town in Cauca state. After moving to Popayán, he learnt the bakery trade but chose to enter the military instead. He spent 11 years as a sergeant in the Colombian army until 1979, when he decided to use his contacts to enter a world of crime. He was caught in Panama in 1982 with half a ton of cocaine but was released several days later obviously having paid a bribe. He didn’t come to the attention of Colombian authorities until 1990 when they found a marijuana plantation linked to him in Cauca. Tests revealed it to be extremely high-grade cannabis in great demand on the international market.
He amassed a huge portfolio of assets with the jewel in the crown being the Chinauta Resort – an extravagant hotel located a couple of hours drive south-west of Bogotá. He also owned a large portion of Baru Island near Cartagena. Perafán’s party ended when he was captured in 1997, while on the run in Venezuela. After the fall of the Cali Cartel he had become Colombia’s most wanted fugitive. He was extradited to the United States soon after and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
His departure meant the top spot in the Bogotá Cartel was once again open and in stepped Luis Reinaldo Murcia alias ‘Martelo’. He was the son of Luis Murcia, one of the country’s top esmeralderos. Martelo preferred not to follow in his father’s footsteps, instead opting to engage in the more lucrative cocaine trade.
Martelo allied with Cali’s Don Efra to become one of the country’s biggest narcos. One of his main trafficking routes was via the Caribbean island of Aruba and on to countries behind the old Iron Curtain. Those who bought cocaine in countries such as Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Yugoslavia during the 1990s were likely helping to fill the coffers of Bogotá’s top drug baron. Martelo also had operatives in other European countries, such as Spain and Greece, and it was in the latter country that authorities confiscated 3 tons of his cocaine. He camouflaged his product as starch in shipments of jeans and artificial flowers where the stalks of the flowers were replaced with cocaine.
Martelo was initially caught in his apartment in the north of Bogotá in 1998 despite having 50 bodyguards surrounding the building. At the time of his capture, Martelo had in his possession three suitcases. The first was full of gold chains, bracelets and necklaces as well as emeralds and diamonds. These were used to seduce the pretty, young girls he fancied.
The second suitcase contained expensive branded pens, gold watches, gold medallions and leather notebooks which he gifted to friends and business associates. It also contained bank cheques and receipts and documents written in Russian suggesting a mafia connection. Also found was the infamous photo album showing him with all his model and beauty-queen girlfriends. One of his model girlfriends was subsequently questioned by authorities and admitted to being only 14 years old when they met and began a relationship. She stated she didn’t know he was a drug trafficker but instead thought he was just a businessman from San Andresito.
It was the third suitcase that contained the real treasure. Before opening it, Martelo stated, ‘That is not my suitcase. I am not responsible for what is in there.’ Clothes for a large man were taken out of the bag at which point Martelo clarified that the real owner of the bag was the contraband czar, Samuel Santander ‘Santa’ Lopesierra.
Santa Lopesierra was known as ‘El Hombre Marlboro’ or ‘The Marlboro Man’. Born in the northern border state of La Guajira, he was Colombia’s biggest smuggler of cigarettes and liquor. After graduating with a degree in economics from South Illinois University in the United Sates in 1984, he returned to Colombia to take over the family business, which owned a storage warehouse. He soon turned his attention to politics and became a councilman for his home town of Maicao in 1986. He was then elected deputy of his home state a couple of years later before becoming a Colombian senator in 1994.
This was a time when 90 percent of cigarettes sold in Colombia were done so illegally to avoid the high government taxes, and it was during this period that Lopesierra teamed up with the Aruba-based Mansur family. Cousins Eric and Alex Mansur acted as the main Latin American distributor for Philip Morris cigarettes, including the Marlboro brand. They also distributed alcohol and electro-domestic appliances for the big multinational companies which were also smuggled into Colombia. The heart of Mansur’s operation was the bank they set up on the island, called Banco Interbank, which was mentioned in the infamous recorded conversation between Ernesto Samper and ‘The sneaky little blonde’ Elizabeth Montoya de Sarria. That conversation also revealed that Lopesierra and the Mansurs had donated $5
00,000 to Samper’s 1994 presidential campaign.
The smuggling operation was intimately connected to the drug trade. The money received from cocaine sales in the United States would be used to purchase the contraband cigarettes and alcohol which would in turn be sold in Colombia, thereby laundering the narco-dollars. Lopesierra became involved in all facets of the criminal merry-go-round. He had a fleet of boats that would not only pick up the contraband merchandise but also be used to transport large amounts of cocaine to the United States via Aruba.
The Marlboro Man was eventually smoked in 2002 by which time he owned several big storage houses in Maicao, an electro-domestic appliance store and a shopping centre which supplied the various San Andresito malls in the country. Police arrested him at his home in Maicao and transferred him to a prison in Bogotá. He had helped provide thousands of jobs in Colombia selling his discounted contraband products and was lauded in vallenato songs, such as those sung by Diomedes Díaz. His legacy lives on despite his demise which was largely due to the suitcase found in Martelo’s residence.
It was Lopesierra’s accountant who left the suitcase with Martelo. The contents revealed direct connections to the world of drug trafficking and included documents outlining drug smuggling routes by air and sea, receipts, a notebook of phone numbers, a Dominican Republic passport, an American newspaper article titled, ‘Drug Traffickers want to return to the Caribbean’, cash and an accounting book written in code. Martelo admitted to knowing Lopesierra for many years and having been involved together in smuggling contraband cigarettes. He had also contributed to his political campaign in 1994.
