Rodríguez Gacha's Final Years
During 1989, Rodríguez became involved in an intense and violent power struggle over control of Colombia’s emerald mines, which are considered some of the richest in the world. On February 27, 1989, Rodríguez directed a group of 25 gunmen to kill emerald magnate Gilberto Molina, who was previously considered among his close associates, along with sixteen other individuals at a party in Molina's home. El Mexicano was later charged in Colombia and the United States for his involvement in a number of killings, including the assassination of the president of the leftist Patriotic Union party, Jaime Pardo Leal on October 12, 1988 in retaliation for guerrilla attacks on drug traffickers in the eastern plains area known as the "llanos orientales." Both Pablo Escobar and Rodríguez were implicated in the slaying of popular presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán on August 18, 1989, who was considered likely to be elected Colombia's next president.
Read more about this topic: José Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha
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