| Diana Turbay Quintero | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 9, 1950 Bogotá, Colombia |
| Died | January 25, 1991 (aged 40) Medellín, Colombia |
| Spouse | Miguel Uribe |
Diana Turbay Quintero (born March 9, 1950 in Bogotá[1], died January 25, 1991 in Medellín) was a Colombian journalist, killed during the rescue operation while kidnapped by the Medellín Cartel. Her case was portrayed in a novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, titled News of a Kidnapping.[2]
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Diana Turbay grew up in an environment of political power; her father Julio César Turbay was the 33rd president of the Colombian Republic (1978–1982) and the son of a Lebanese immigrant[3] from Ttanourin, Lebanon.
Diana Turbay was a respected journalist in the Colombian media. She founded Noticiero Criptón, a television newscast, and the weekly magazine Hoy por Hoy.
Diana Turbay was kidnapped when she went to a supposed interview with a guerrilla leader, being telephonically invited by an unidentified man. Later, a police investigation determined that the man belonged to Los Priscos, a criminal band, and was hired by Pablo Escobar. The latter's aim was to kidnap all the politicians and journalists possible, to demand that Colombian legislators not approve an extradition treaty with the United States. Some of the victims of this strategy, besides Diana Turbay, were Francisco Santos Calderón, Maruja Pachón and Marina Montoya.
She was kept on a farm near Copacabana, Antioquia, with her cameraman, Richard Becerra. Her death happened in the rescue operation launched by the Police, without the authorization of the family. The cause of death was an assault rifle bullet in her back, which partially destroyed her liver and left kidney.
At her death, she left two children, María Carolina Hoyos Turbay (born 1972) and Miguel Uribe Turbay (born 1986) and her husband, Miguel Uribe.