Rodrigo Lara Bonilla was a Colombian lawyer and politician, who served as Minister of Justice under President Belisario Betancur, and was assassinated by orders of Pablo Escobar because of his work as Minister in prosecuting cocaine traffickers mainly belonging to the Medellín Cartel.
Rodrigo Lara
Members of New Liberalism, c. 1979. From left: Iván Marulanda, Luis Carlos Galán, Rodrigo Lara, Nancy Restrepo de Lara, Gabriela White de Vélez, and Hernán Vieira. Galán, Lara, and White were assassinated either by drug lords or by the FARC.
Assassination of Lara
Mac-10 submachine gun used to kill Minister Rodrigo Lara
Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was a Colombian drug lord, narcoterrorist, and politician, who was the founder and sole leader of the Medellín Cartel. Dubbed "the king of cocaine", Escobar was one of the wealthiest criminals in history, having amassed an estimated net worth of US$30 billion by the time of his death—equivalent to $70 billion as of 2022—while his drug cartel monopolized the cocaine trade into the United States in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Escobar in a 1976 mugshot
The city of Medellín, where Escobar grew up and began his criminal career
Powder cocaine was manufactured, packaged, and sold by Pablo Escobar and his associates, and eventually distributed to the U.S. drug market.
The Justice Minister Rodrigo Lara (center) and presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán (left) were both assassinated by orders of Escobar.
