This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/7819300.stm
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Colombian drug lord shot in Spain | Colombian drug lord shot in Spain |
| (29 minutes later) | |
| Leonidas Vargas, a once powerful Colombian drug trafficker, has been shot dead in his hospital bed in the Spanish capital, Madrid. | Leonidas Vargas, a once powerful Colombian drug trafficker, has been shot dead in his hospital bed in the Spanish capital, Madrid. |
| Police said that a gunman entered his room and fired four shots at Vargas, who was being treated for lung disease. | Police said that a gunman entered his room and fired four shots at Vargas, who was being treated for lung disease. |
| Vargas, 59, was the head of the Caqueta cartel which ran vast cocaine laboratories in Colombia in the 1980s. | Vargas, 59, was the head of the Caqueta cartel which ran vast cocaine laboratories in Colombia in the 1980s. |
| After serving a prison sentence in Colombia, he was arrested in Spain in 2006 and was on bail awaiting trial. | After serving a prison sentence in Colombia, he was arrested in Spain in 2006 and was on bail awaiting trial. |
| The Spanish authorities stopped him for carrying a fake Venezuelan passport, and he was later charged in connection with a 500kg (1,100lb) cocaine haul. | |
| His trial was delayed and he was admitted to the Doce de Octubre hospital for treatment in early January. | His trial was delayed and he was admitted to the Doce de Octubre hospital for treatment in early January. |
| Low profile | Low profile |
| Witnesses say two people entered Vargas' room on the fifth floor of the hospital. One man took out a pistol with a silencer and fired four shots at Vargas, who was asleep. | Witnesses say two people entered Vargas' room on the fifth floor of the hospital. One man took out a pistol with a silencer and fired four shots at Vargas, who was asleep. |
| His killing is believed to be part of a settling of accounts between rival drug-trafficking organisations, says the BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Colombia. | His killing is believed to be part of a settling of accounts between rival drug-trafficking organisations, says the BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Colombia. |
| Vargas assumed a low profile after being released in Colombia, but in the 1980s he was allied with the powerful Medellin drug cartel of Pablo Escobar. | Vargas assumed a low profile after being released in Colombia, but in the 1980s he was allied with the powerful Medellin drug cartel of Pablo Escobar. |
| An idea of the scale of his wealth at the time was revealed after the Colombian state seized $29m worth of properties from him. | An idea of the scale of his wealth at the time was revealed after the Colombian state seized $29m worth of properties from him. |