A drug trafficker believed to be connected to the 1995 murder of “the Football Gentleman,” soccer star Andres Escobar, is in police custody, according to information released by Colombia’s Prosecutor’s Office.
Juan Santiago Gallon Henao was arrested in Cucuta, a city along the Venezuelan border, during a massive drug bust pursued by the European Governments.
This is the second time Henao has been arrested relating to the death of Atletico National’s 27-year-old defenseman who was killed outside a restaurant in Medellin on July 2, 1994. The incident occurred ten days after Colombia lost the World Cup to the United States by 2-1.
According to the case file, Henao and his brother Pedro confronted the athlete in the restaurant parking lot. Police say they believe the dispute could have begun as a result of gambling losses.
The pair insulted Escobar, and several shots were fired from the direction of the brothers’ car. Escobar was fatally wounded and transported to a hospital where he died shortly afterward.
Henao is also awaiting extradition to the United States according to the prosecution in the case after a New York court submitted a request to have been transferred to the United States for drug trafficking. He was also arrested in 2009 and sentenced to three years in prison for providing financial support to 300 paramilitaries in Antioquia, Colombia.
