Drug Trafficker Linked to 1994 Murder of Colombian Soccer Star Escobar Gunned Down in Mexico
In a violent twist of fate, Santiago Gallon Henao, a drug trafficker implicated in the 1994 murder of Colombian soccer star Andrés Escobar, was shot dead in Mexico, as confirmed by President Gustavo Petro on Friday.
Escobar, a central defender for the Colombian national team, was infamously gunned down in Medellin shortly after scoring an own goal during a match against the United States at the 1994 World Cup. This own goal played a significant role in Colombia's early exit from the tournament.
The shocking murder of the 27-year-old sent ripples through the soccer community and the nation, which was grappling with rampant violence at the time. Medellin was under the grip of drug cartels, with a staggering murder rate of 380 per 100,000 residents.
On July 2, 1994, just ten days post-match, Gallon and his brother allegedly confronted Escobar at a nightclub. Eyewitness accounts revealed that their driver, Humberto Munoz Castro, fired multiple shots at Escobar in the parking lot while exclaiming "goal!" with each pull of the trigger. Munoz later confessed to the crime and received a 43-year prison sentence but was released after serving only 11 years, as reported by local media.
It is believed that the brothers had suffered significant financial losses due to betting on Colombia's World Cup performance.
President Petro announced on social media that Gallon was killed on Thursday in Mexico and identified him as responsible for Escobar's murder. He remarked that the soccer star's death "destroyed the country's international image."
Gallon met his end in a restaurant located in Huixquilucan, a municipality within the state of Mexico, according to sources from the Toluca prosecutor's office.
Both Gallon and his brother faced investigations for obstructing justice and spent 15 months behind bars without trial. They were also placed on a U.S. Treasury Department blacklist in 2015 for drug trafficking, linked to La Oficina de Envigado, an organization that emerged from Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel.
The tragic story of Andrés Escobar's murder has been documented in the ESPN film "The Two Escobars," which explores the connections between the soccer player and the notorious drug lord.
