A boomerang murder in Bogota
Violence is not only evil - it is counter productive
A boomerang murder in Bogota
On Monday 30th of April 1984 Rodrigo Lara[1] Bonilla was brutally murdered high in the cold Andes. The tireless fighter against organized crime was only thirty-seven.[2]
He had left his tropical home to serve Colombia as minister of Justice – and paid the ultimate price – but his death severely harmed the ruthless criminals who ordered his murder.
Twelve days before his new job as ambassador to Czechoslovakia two assassins drove past his motorcar and fired at him from a motorbike, Lara’s bodyguards killed the shooter, and the driver spent 11 years in prison for the murder.[3]
Even today in Colombian cities men are banned from riding a motorbike pavilion to stop crime.[4]
His murder was one of over 100,000 violent deaths in Colombia in the 1980s[5], all of them tragedies. However, it was one of the most important, both for Colombia and as example of how violence can backfire on its perpetrator.
Lara campaigned against the Medellin Cartel led by Pablo Escobar, Carlos Lehder and others. As a boy Carlos Lehder enjoyed reading[6] Machiavelli. A famous misquote of Machiavelli is “it is better to be feared than loved.”[7] (actually not true he said to be both feared and loved is better). Sadly, the Medellin Cartel acted as if this were their motto and use violence without hesitation.
In 1982 the Colombian Government had signed an extradition treaty with the US – before this Colombia like Brazil today refused to send its citizens for trial abroad (surprisingly quite a few countries including France, still refuse to extradite their citizens[8]) – but it had still not been approved by Congress. The assassination of Lara caused this to be passed immediately – and it eventually destroyed the Medellin Cartel and helped the murder rate in Medellin drop from a sickening 6,809 in 1991 to 300 in 2024.[9]
The figure 6,809 is so large that it needs repeating, it is twice death toll in Northern Ireland in 30 years – and Medellin has a smaller population –in a world lacking good news – the reduction of violence in Medellin is good news – although the violence is still high by European totals.
Pablo Escobar was later killed by the police as he tried to avoid extradition to the US, whilst Carlos Lehder spent 33 years in prison in the US despite the Medellin cartel threatening to kill 10 Colombian Judges for every narco extradited[10]. The Ochoa brothers were the only leaders to realize that violence would not work and surrendered to Colombian authorities for lesser sentences.
These was not the first nor the last violent death in Colombia to backfire on the people who ordered it – there were at least three more – which I will talk about in a future – but next time, “The most important race in history.”
Good news to finish, in 2009 the children of Rodrigo Lara Bonilla and the assassinated Colombian politician Galan announced to the media that they forgave the son of Pablo Escobar for the murder of their fathers.[11]
My Substack was inspired by the fact that Ed West of the excellent Substack “The Wrong side of history,” didn’t know that Brazil does not extradite its citizens [12](for the record the other democracies are Portugal, Germany, France, Israel, Greece and Poland).
[1] In most Spanish speaking countries people have two surnames and are commonly referred to by the first of them in this case Lara – I decided to follow the convention.
[2] Rodrigo Lara Bonilla - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre
[4] Male Motorcycle Passengers Banned as Medellin Tackles Hitmen | Q COLOMBIA
[5] I couldn’t actually find an accurate total.
[6] Carlos Lehder - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre
[7] No, Machiavelli Did Not Say It’s Better to Be Feared Than Loved | Yale Insights
[8] Discover 12 Countries that Refuse to Extradite Their Own Citizens | International Extradition | Extradition Treaties | Extradition News
[9] Medellin, Colombia, Records Lowest Homicide Rate in 82 Years
[11] Rodrigo Lara Bonilla - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre