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Open. This is the investigation and the injuries left in the country by the explosion of the Avianca plane HK 1803, on November 27, 1989.
The balance of this narco-terrorist act could not be more stark: 107 occupants killed; a hit man (the ‘Quica’), sentenced to life imprisonment, who swears that he did not participate, and another (the ‘Arete’), hidden in Spain, who assures that it was he who armed the explosive device and planned everything.(You may be interested: These are the three bloodthirsty henchmen of ‘Popeye’ who are still alive)
Special agent José Ballesteros assures that alias ‘el Arete’ lied when he said that he put the bomb on the Avianca plane.
Relatives of victims, meanwhile, have been demanding and waiting for justice for 31 years. And to get closer to what happened, submit a report to the Truth Commission (through the Fundación Colombia con Memoria) with unpublished data and statements from key actors of that dark day.
(You may be interested: Escobar’s live hitmen have the truth about Avianca’s bomb to plane)
One of them is the then special agent José Ballesteros, from the United States Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), who ended up investigating the bombing of the aircraft, which was covering the Bogotá-Cali route. In dialogue with EL TIEMPO, the ex-agent assured that alias el Arete, one of Pablo Escobar’s most bloodthirsty hitmen, He lied to the country about the attack to cover another hitman for the Medellín cartel.
This is one of the few images we have of Carlos Mario Urquijo, alias ‘el Arete’. It corresponds to an unpublished interview with the now-defunct QAP newscast.
The case of ‘Quica’
In 1989, Ballesteros was based in El Paso, Texas: “My specialty was the investigation of international arms and explosives trafficking. And, as an instructor, I trained in the handling and destruction of explosives ”.
(Also: Pablo Escobar was going to destroy the DAS with a plane)
In June 1989, he was assigned to work temporarily in Colombia to counteract the flow of weapons and explosives to drug traffickers and the guerrillas.
“I trained multiple elements of the Police, Army, Navy and DAS in the identification of weapons, explosives and explosive devices”, he recalled.
Dandenis Muñoz Mosquera, alias ‘La Quica’, assures that he did not participate in the attack. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in the United States.
On December 2, 1990, when the Medellín cartel tried to bring the country to its knees at the point of assassinations and narco-terrorism, the agent was permanently posted to the United States embassy in Bogotá. And months later, among others, he received a key mission.
(You might be interested: Card alias Popeye reappears trafficking with the Italian mafia)
“When Carlos Alzate Urquijo, alias el Arete, tried to assume responsibility for being the perpetrator of the attack, I questioned him, armed with the results of the investigation. They wanted to determine if he was telling the truth, “said Ballesteros.
Gustavo de Greiff, then attorney general, tried to interfere in the trial of the ‘Quica’, claiming that the real culprit was Alzate and not Muñoz
Former prosecutor Gustavo de Greiff (RIP), assured that alias el Arete had confessed that he made the bomb that ended flight HK 1003.
Claudia Rubio / TIME
At that time the trial against Dandeny Muñoz Mosquera, alias La Quica, was going on in New York. accused of setting up and placing the explosive device on Avianca Flight 203.
“Gustavo de Greiff, then attorney general, tried to interfere in the trial of ‘Quica’, claiming that the real culprit was Alzate and not Muñoz,” Ballesteros told EL TIEMPO.
(We invite you to read: They get ready for the funeral of ‘Popeye’, one of the most repudiatable hitmen)
So, The Department of Justice requested the support of the special agent, to determine if Alzate Urquijo had knowledge of the details of the device used and if he could be responsible.
It gave me the impression that he was lying (the Arete). He did not behave like a normal person, accused of such a heinous crime. He was relaxed and spoke openly and without fear of consequences.
” The Arete ‘lies’
“It was many years ago, (…) what he told me was not consistent with what the investigators and explosives experts determined after examining the wreckage of the plane and the device,” said Ballesteros.
He continued: “His responses gave me the opinion that he was not the one who made or placed the artifact on the plane. I am not saying that he was not involved, but I doubt that he was the person responsible for the manufacture and placement of the device “he insisted.
The now ex-agent says there was no evidence that the mafia or guerrillas had access to anti-aircraft missiles.
And he admits that he was impressed by how a hit man knew about the use of explosives and knew how to set up a homemade bomb: “But he also gave me the impression that he was lying. He did not behave like a normal person, accused of such a heinous crime. He was relaxed and spoke openly and without fear of the consequences.
(In context: They find a mafia stall in a luxurious house in Cali with $ 8.7 billion)
That day, the prosecutor Cruz Elena Aguilar was present and Ballesteros assured that they did not suspect that Aguilar could have ties with the bosses he intended to investigate.
Why did the ‘Arete’ try to save the ‘Quica’?
Neither Ballesteros nor the country know the answer. But, as EL TIEMPO revealed, the ‘Arete’ lives in Spain, with a letter stating that he allegedly collaborated with justice and obtained benefits. And the ‘Quica’ completes 29 years in prison.
The missile version
Regarding the bomb, the ex-agent says he only knows that the type of explosive used contained RDX and Pent.
“It is speculated that the explosive he used was semtex. In all the time I spent working with units in Colombia (1989-1995), there was never a case in which we found that explosive in the hands of the guerrillas or drug traffickers, “he said.
(We invite you to read: ‘La Quica’ is innocent of the attack on the Avianca plane in 1989, says former prosecutor Gustavo de Greiff)
And he explained that Semtex is a Czech explosive, containing RDX and pent, used commercially and with military application. But other mining explosives could contain that mixture: “A homemade device using a tow, a meter or less of detonating cord, and a cast booster could also leave traces of RDX and pent. It would be light and portable, with enough force to destroy a plane in the air. “
The deceased drug traffickers Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria and Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha, alias El Mexicano.
Archive / TIME
On the version that it was a missile that shot down the HK 1803, the ex-agent said that there were rumors that the mafia and the guerrillas could have anti-aircraft missiles. But they were never found by the Army, Navy or any other agency.
(See here all the articles of the Investigative Unit of EL TIEMPO)
“The only reference to the seizure of an antiaircraft missile was a disposable and spent Red Eye tube found in Medellín in 1992. It was traced to Panama where it was used for instruction, “said Ballesteros.
Report to the Truth Commission
The Fundación Colombia con Memoria, made up of relatives of victims of the Avianca plane explosion, will deliver an independent investigation to the Truth Commission.
“For three decades we have lived the uncertainty of not knowing the truth about the crime of our relatives; we have had to see how they use our case to make unfounded hypotheses. We have silenced our story, while the media benefit from telling the victimizers. It is the opportunity to tell our story, immortalize it and honor the memory of our relatives ”, said Gonzalo Rojas, co-founder of Colombia con Memoria.
INVESTIGATIVE UNIT
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@UinvestigativaET
