Diana Turbay (9 March 1950-25 January 1991) was a Colombian journalist for Neutron News and the daughter of President Julio Cesar Turbay Ayala. In 1990, she was kidnapped by Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel due to her being more popular than Escobar's mistress Valeria Velez, a rival journalist. She was killed in a failed rescue attempt by Search Bloc in 1991.
Biography[]
Diana Turbay was born on 9 March 1950 in Bogota, Colombia, the daughter of President Julio Cesar Turbay Ayala. Turbay became a famous and respected journalist for Noticiero Cripton, and Turbay would gain very high approval ratings during the late 1980s and early 1990s when she worked for the presidential campaign of Cesar Gaviria and reported on the kidnapping of several wealthy heirs and heiresses by Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel in 1990. On 30 August 1990, she was tricked into heading to a supposed interview with guerrilla leader Manuel Perez of the ELN, but her news van was blocked by a Medellin Cartel truck as another truck pulled up alongside her van. Roberto Ramos killed her bodyguard and her driver, and he threw her in a prison cell to be guarded by "Gorilla", a guard hired by Escobar. Gorrilla was friendly with her (he even commented on how good of a journalist she was), and she was treated humanely by her captors. She even managed to secure the release of one of the hostages held by Escobar in exchange for making a propaganda statement that stated that she was treated humanely, and she implored President Cesar Gaviria to consider negotiations with Escobar.
Death[]
Turbay after being shot
However, Search Bloc conducted an unauthorized raid on the prison on 25 January 1991, and Gorilla had Turbay hide in a cabinet as he held off the policemen. The policemen entered the room and sprayed Gorilla with gunshots, with two bullets entering the cabinet and killing Turbay instantly. Colonel Horacio Carrillo found out about her death when he opened the cabinet, and he reported the tragedy to the DEA. President Gaviria was forced to give in to Escobar's demands as a result of the tragic mistake, and the people of Colombia grieved over the loss of their beloved news anchor, who had brought the classes together.