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Nobody knows at what point in life everything built collapses like a house of cards. No one knows for sure when the first letter from businessman Michel Roberto Correa, an engineer from the Universidad de los Andes, fell. He was a loving father, an admired professional, a close friend and a human being whose life took a turn, leaving several victims.
(As well: Neighbors say they saw businessman wandering before his death)
What is known is that he felt invaded by despair that Monday, February 22, when his family alerted the authorities about his disappearance.
He had gone out to do an errand in the Andino shopping center, he would withdraw money from a bank, but he never returned, sinking his family in a sea of anguish, and not only them but all his friends and colleagues, who overflow with words when referring to Michel.
Soon the urgent search mechanism of the Prosecutor’s Office was activated, but before that the businessman was already being searched by the Gaula and the Sijín of the Police.
Everything happened so fast and so slow at the same time. On February 23, at 11:40 in the morning, CAI de Castilla police officers received information about a call to line 123. “They reported a detonation of a firearm in Las Porristas park, on transversal 77 No. 7A 10, in the town of Kennedy ”.
(What’s more: Businessman Michel Correa was found dead in Castilla park)
When they arrived they found the body of a man lying on the floor; he had a gunshot wound to his head. In a matter of minutes, he was transferred to the Clínica de Occidente, where he entered the resuscitation area. The efforts of the doctors were not worth it, it was not possible to save his life.
Several residents saw him, minutes before, wandering through the park in despair and, seconds later, hear a detonation. Another thing, there was a gun on the floor, right next to Michel. Only Legal Medicine will be able to corroborate what were the causes of his death. The truth is that the news plunged his family into absolute sadness and his friends in a sea of doubts because for them it was not possible for such a close friend and such an intelligent and successful businessman to decide to end his life.
Correa had commented that he was starting an energy seminar that he was going to give, he also led and developed strategies for companies to increase their sales, and he had an investment bank. His contacts were enviable and he had forged them one by one thanks to his professionalism and personal abilities. No business was too small for him.
(Of interest: Michel Roberto Correa, the man who disappeared in the CC Andino)
Germán Uribe Valencia was one of his friends. “We were members of the board of directors of the Enrique Grau House Museum and we shared business in common. He was a person with unmatched feelings, a nice guy in every way, I think he was a gifted person ”.
Correa also worked on a project in Ábrego, Norte de Santander, to remove children from illicit crops and stop many minors from being prostitutes. “He was a person with a very broad heart. We accompanied Father Rito in a reintegration program, we helped about 120 minors, ”said Uribe, who said that he saw him many times buy food to give to people on the street.
He was a person with a very broad heart. We accompanied Father Rito in a reintegration program, we helped about 120 minors
(As well: ‘Michel Roberto Correa wanted to devour himself every day of his life’)
“I could walk and from one moment to the next I would buy an empanada and give it to one person. Michel was of that size ”.
According to Uribe, his efforts were focused on moving the Enrique Grau House Museum forward, since he was part of the board of directors. This cultural heritage is going through a difficult time after the arrival of the pandemic and the absence of resources from the National and District governments that they previously received.
Michel never spoke of threats, or fights, or debts, or health problems, or weapons; in fact, he was afraid of them, so his friends say. Monika Hartmann, director of the Enrique Grau House Museum for 14 years, was also shocked by the news. “I met him four years ago, when he joined the board of directors. He was an honorable businessman and an exceptional human being, caring, generous”. Michel dreamed of moving the house museum forward and only longed for the passing of the pandemic to return to normal and reactivate activities.
“He had a thousand plans, we had a meeting, he had told me he wanted to take his children to Disney or Santa Marta, it was projected.”
All this added up generated such great and overwhelming pain that we do not want to imagine the anguish that he experienced in his last 24 hours
And it is that Michel’s intelligence was distinguished in his circle of friends. Álvaro Pachón met him four years ago and says he was an unconditional friend. “We had enriching gatherings, he was a man who inspired confidence with a very positive attitude towards life”.
Pachón refuses to believe the thesis that he had decided to leave. “He got up every morning with the intention of devouring life every minute. I don’t think Michel had depression, he never pretended to be a person with this problem. He was optimistic and had his wife and children as the backbone of his life. It was a being of a wide and deep sea intelligence. It is the best tribute I can do to my friend ”.
That was the man everyone knew, another was the one who carried the burden of debts, the crises in his businesses due to the pandemic and a relapse of covid-19 that he suffered.
The crisis
Michel’s family still has many doubts about the trigger for everything that happened; however, through a letter they expressed what they are clear so far. “He lived through two of the most critical situations of the pandemic: economic bankruptcy and covid-19”. Although they only have conjectures, they believe that the impossibility of fulfilling the economic commitments acquired in their company, the bankruptcy to which the pandemic led them, “generated an insoluble dilemma in him.”
He suffered a serious picture of covid-19 that kept him ill for the last two months. “All this added together generated such great and overwhelming pain that we do not want to imagine the anguish that he experienced in his last 24 hours.”
His relatives know that only the authorities will clarify his steps. “But this will not alleviate the irreparable pain left by his departure, the feeling that we were able to help him more, listen to him and see signs to accompany him in his despair.”
That investment grew over the years to add about 480 million pesos. I had a lot of confidence in him because until last year he had always fulfilled us
(Can read: ‘I did not see anything; there was a lot of blood ‘: Gareth Sella)
EL TIEMPO was able to speak with some people who invested large sums of money in business with Michel confident of his righteousness in business. “Only in my family, Michel was left with a debt of more than 700 million pesos, but I know that there were many people who invested their savings in him. However, I recognize Michel as a good person, but it is clear that with the bankruptcy of his businesses he leaves dozens of families with serious financial problems, ”said one of those affected, who preferred to hide his identity.
Another citizen told this newspaper that he had met Michel in 2016. “I once had a surplus of money and because I already knew him I invested my money in his businesses. That investment grew over the years to add about 480 million pesos. I had a lot of confidence in him because until last year he had always fulfilled us ”. Business with the businessman had always generated profitability for them. “He did not invest in stationery on the corner but in large, well-known companies, he had very good contacts. I’m surprised by such a quick break. In March 2020 everything began to change ”.
After consigning the money on the 25th of each month, investors began to fail. “I don’t know what happened or if someone stole it, but it seems like a very quick bankruptcy. He was a great human being, but there will be many families affected”Said another of the victims.
Only the investigation of the Prosecutor’s Office will clear the blanket of doubts that is woven around Michel’s departure. “Today we are only grateful for the 44 years that we have lived with him in this world.or, ”his family said.
CAROL MALAVER
Deputy editor of Bogotá
[email protected]
On twitter: @CarolMalaver
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