Murder of Palomo Usuriaga: Prosecutor's Office occupied property of the gang responsible for the murder of the famous footballer

According to the latest reports, a prosecutor registered with the Specialized Directorate for the Extinction of Domain Law reportedly imposed precautionary measures on a property located in Bogotá, allegedly acquired with illicit money, resulting from payments to hit men and other illegal activities. The property seized would be owned by 'La Banda de la Negra' or 'Molina', a criminal gang attributed to various charges of murder, torture, disappearances and obscured kidnappings in the city of Cali between 1999 and 2006.

This gang is allegedly responsible for crimes such as the murder of DAS detective Jhonny Cárdenas or that of Wandeley Castillo, a member of the National Police. In addition, it would be related to the murder of football player Albeiro 'El Palomo' Usuriaga, in 2004. Fifteen years after his death, signs continue to appear. The occupation of this property is part of an investigation that is being carried out with the aim of impacting the assets of the band in question, already disjointed. It will be available to the Special Assets Company.

The “Palomo” played as a striker. He was one of the most versatile footballers in the country. He is an idol of Atlético Nacional. He was one of the players who scored in the legendary Copa Libertadores final against Paraguay's Olimpia. He went through several teams, including Independiente de Avellaneda, in Argentina, where he was champion of the 1994 Clausura Tournament and the Super Cup that same year. He has stayed in the club's history as one of the best foreign strikers who have worn his shirt.

He was part of the golden generation of the 90s, sharing a dressing room in the Colombian National Team with footballers such as Carlos 'El Pibe' Valderrama, Freddy Rincón, Faustino Asprilla, Adolfo 'El Tren' Valencia, Leonel Álvarez and René Higuita, among others. He had excellent football conditions, was fast and agile, as well as charismatic, which always kept him among the affection of the fans of the teams he played for.

He was a rather supportive person, concerned about the welfare of the neighborhood in which he grew up. He used to give clothes to his neighbors and pay for the studies of several young people, so that they could aspire to something different. He also had his excesses, which is why his career was interrupted on several occasions. He was involved in drug and alcohol scandals. He liked to party all the time. He ended up getting into where he shouldn't have and this, in the end, cost him his life.

He was murdered on February 11, 2004 in the neighborhood 12 de octubre, in Cali. At about 7.20 pm he was on the corner of 52nd Street with Carrera 28F, in an establishment ready for drinking and gambling where he used to meet friends of his, when a man got off a motorcycle and shot him 13 times. He died immediately. He was 37 years old.

The authorities stated in their first reports that his murder had occurred because Usuriaga had apparently witnessed a homicide in his neighborhood and they had to finish it so that he would not speak, but three years later the Attorney General's Office would conclude that it had been a reckoning. A crime of passion, apparently, because the footballer would have been having an affair with the ex-girlfriend of whom he was later recognized as the mastermind of the murder, identified as Jefferson Valdez Marín

The wake of 'El Palomo' was a complete party. The Cathedral was filled with music and then moved to the metropolitan cemetery in Cali. He was fired as an idol.

KEEP READING: