Diana Turbay Explained

Diana Turbay Quintero
Birth Name:Diana Consuelo Turbay Quintero
Birth Date:March 9, 1950
Birth Place:Bogotá, Colombia
Death Place:Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
Spouse:Luis Francisco Hoyos Villegas (divorced)
Miguel Uribe Londoño
Children:2
Parents:Julio César Turbay Ayala
Nydia Quintero Turbay
Relatives:Julio César Turbay Quintero (brother)
Claudia Turbay Quintero (sister)
Occupation:Journalist

Diana Consuelo Turbay Quintero (March 9, 1950 – January 25, 1991) was a Colombian journalist kidnapped by the Medellín Cartel and killed during a botched rescue attempt. Her story has been portrayed in a non-fiction book by Gabriel García Márquez and onscreen.

Early years

Diana Turbay was born on March 9, 1950, in Bogotá to Julio César Turbay Ayala,[1] who would later be the 25th president of the Republic of Colombia (1978–1982) and Nydia Quintero Turbay. Her father was her mother's maternal uncle. The Turbay family were originally from Lebanon and her family still belong to, and frequent, the Club Colombo Libanés, a private social club in Bogotá for prominent Lebanese-Colombians.[2] [3]

Kidnapping and death

Turbay was kidnapped on August 30, 1990, when she was tricked into going to a supposed interview with a guerrilla leader, the Spanish priest Manuel Pérez Martínez, alias El Cura Pérez (The Priest Pérez). Turbay had been contacted by phone by an unidentified man. Later, a police investigation determined that the man belonged to Los Priscos, a criminal band, and had been hired by Pablo Escobar.[4]

The latter's aim was to kidnap as many politicians and journalists as possible, to prevent Colombian legislators from approving an extradition treaty with the United States. Additional victims of this strategy were Francisco Santos Calderón and Maruja Pachón.[5]

Turbay was kept at Copacabana, Antioquia, with her cameraman Richard Becerra. She died on January 25, 1991, during a botched rescue operation launched by the police without authorization from the family. The cause of death was a bullet in her back, which partially destroyed her liver and left kidney. Becerra was rescued unharmed.[4]

Family

Turbay was survived by her two children, María Carolina Hoyos Turbay (born 1972) and Miguel Uribe Turbay (born 1986), and her husband, Miguel Uribe Londoño.

In popular culture

Literature

The story of Turbay's abduction is recounted in Gabriel Garcia Márquez's non-fiction book, News of a Kidnapping (1996).[5] [6]

Television

Turbay is portrayed by actress Liesel Potdevin in the TV series (2012).

Turbay is portrayed by Gabriela de la Garza in the Netflix Original Series Narcos (2015).

Turbay is portrayed by Majida Issa in the Amazon Prime Videoseries Noticia de un Secuestro (2022).

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Obituarios: Julio César Turbay Ayala, ex presidente de Colombia . El Mundo . September 15, 2005 . es.
  2. Web site: Diana Consuelo Turbay Quintero. 2021-03-02. geni_family_tree. en-US.
  3. Web site: Family tree of Diana Consuelo Turbay Quintero. 2021-03-02. Geneanet. en.
  4. Web site: Hoy Se Cumplen 15 Años Del Asesinato De La Periodista Diana Turbay . Las Voces Del Secuestro . January 25, 2006 . es . https://web.archive.org/web/20080118163257/http://www.lasvocesdelsecuestro.com/articulos_view.asp?id=1745 . January 18, 2008.
  5. News: The Autumn of the Drug Lord . Stone, Robert . The New York Times . June 15, 1997.
  6. Book: García Márquez, Gabriel . Gabriel García Márquez . Grossman, Edith (Translator . News of a Kidnapping . Albert A. Knopf . 1997 . New York .